Dr. Vinay Koparkar: The Scientific Expertise
Chairman & Chief Mentor
A proud pioneer of the concepts of bringing medical knowledge to the hair and beauty business and setting up a men’s parlor in India, Dr. Vinay Koparkar is the scientific and technical expert behind Papillon Hair World. Dr. Vinay Koparkar started his medical practice in 1986 and he realized that it was difficult and not very profitable to practice medicine ethically, at least for the first 5-6 years. Moreover, practicing medicine with regular clinic hours was no more than a half-day job. So to utilize his medical knowledge, talent and energy, entrepreneurial potential and to be able to supplement his limited income from an ethical medical practice, he started exploring avenues of business. With a passion to use his medical knowledge, he decided to do something in the field of beauty with a focus on men as he realized there was a tremendous need and scope in men’s grooming. To be able to give his clients the best experience, he studied cosmetology by sourcing books from the U.S. in 1987. Since a men’s parlor needed to have hair-related services, he himself took training from international institutes Morris Master Class (London) and Toni & Guy (Singapore) in hair-cutting and hair-dressing. And so in 1988, he set up India’s first men’s parlor, the Papillon Men’s Beauty Salon. Apart from the men’s beauty parlor, Dr. Koparkar also brought many innovative concepts to the field of hair and skin and the Papillon brand grew by leaps and bounds. He started the Papillon Institute of Cosmetology in 1994 to provide scientific training to those who want to enter the field of beauty.
He also established the Papillon Hair and Face Clinic in 1996 which was the first-of-its-kind clinic exclusively for hair and face problems. He is also behind the idea of the Papillon Hair and Makeup Studio which was established, scaled up and is being led by Kavita Koparkar, who is also Papillon Hair World Creative Head. Dr. Koparkar is also the founder and scientific expert of Papillon Wigs and Weaves and Papillon Hair World. The idea came to him when he was exploring the field of hair loss to see whether there are any needs that are not being met. He realized through his research that one of the most important causes of hair loss is chemotherapy. He began talking to his network of oncologists and he realized that there is a great need for quality wigs for cancer patients. He decided to become involved in meeting this need and Papillon Hair World was established.
Dr. Koparkar brings to Papillon Hair World his scientific expertise in the field of hair, training in advanced wig fixing and styling and years of customer experience. While he has passed on the reins of molding the vision and strategy to Aniket Koparkar, the CEO & Chief Strategist of Papillon Hair World, his values of passion, enthusiasm and innovative thinking lie at the core of it.
