Our Story

Bows and Bags India is a handmade hair accessories brand based in Bengaluru. Every satin scrunchie, silk scrunchie, velvet scrunchie, hair bow, beaded headband, hair clip, and hair jewellery piece in our collection is made by hand, in small batches, by skilled artisans. We make hair accessories specifically designed for thick Indian hair — and we started because no one else was.

How It Started

The brand began with a straightforward observation: the hair accessories available in India were mostly imported or mass-produced for hair types that were not Indian. Fine, straight, thin hair. The kind that a standard 5mm elastic can hold. The kind that a light polyester satin sits smoothly against.

Indian hair is different. It is thicker on average, often dense and heavy, and frequently processed — coloured, rebonded, permed, or oiled. Standard rubber bands snap under the weight. Cheap satin scrunchies crease it. Thin elastics leave dents. The imported “premium” options available online were either inaccessible in price or simply not built for the realities of Indian hair.

We started making our own. In a small workspace in Bengaluru, with a focus on two things: the right materials, and making them properly by hand. The response from customers told us we had found something real. We kept going.

The Problem with Hair Accessories Made for Indian Women

Walk into any accessories shop in India today and pick up a scrunchie. Turn it over. Look at the elastic: it is probably thin, housed inside a thin tube of fabric that will crease badly within a week. Look at the fabric: it is probably a lightweight polyester that pills at the seams and loses its sheen after a few washes. Look at the stitching: it is probably machine-run at speed, with no individual inspection.

These products were not designed badly by accident. They were designed for a different market and then sold into India at whatever price point moved volume. The result is a category where even “premium” options disappoint: satin that is not quite satin, elastics that snap within two months, scrunchies that leave creases deep enough to see in a photograph.

Indian women have been sold the idea that hair accessories are disposable. Buy a pack, expect them to fray, replace them next month. We believed that was a problem worth solving — with better materials, genuine handmade craft, and a standard that treats hair accessories as something worth making properly.

How We Choose Our Materials

Every material decision at Bows and Bags India starts from the same question: will this hold up for thick, heavy Indian hair?

Our satin is a charmeuse-weave fabric — the kind that has real weight and drape, not the lightweight polyester that mimics it at a distance. The difference in hand-feel is immediate. Charmeuse satin lies flat against the hair shaft, reducing friction, which means less breakage and less creasing at the point of contact. We source our satin and silk fabrics for sheen consistency across the roll and reject batches where the weave density is uneven or where the finish dulls after a single test wash.

Our velvet is cut-pile velvet, chosen for density and pile depth. Velvet has a natural grip that makes it excellent for thick hair that tends to slide free of smoother fabrics. Our velvet scrunchies hold without tightening, which matters for long wear through a full day.

The elastic inside every scrunchie is wider than the industry standard. Wider elastic distributes pull across more of the hair, which reduces the creasing and denting that thin elastics cause. We test elastic batches for recovery — how well they return to their original diameter after stretching — because elastic that permanently stretches out over weeks is the primary reason scrunchies fail before their time.

Every fabric and elastic batch is checked before it enters production. Materials that do not meet the standard do not become products.

How Every Piece Is Made

Handmade at Bows and Bags India means six steps, carried out by a person, one piece at a time.

Cutting. The fabric is cut to precise length and width by hand, following a consistent template. Consistent cutting means consistent gather in the finished piece — the difference between a scrunchie that looks full and one that looks flat.

Stitching. The fabric is stitched into a tube on the seam, right sides together, at a tension our artisans learn to judge by feel. Too tight and the seam puckers; too loose and it opens under use.

Turning. The tube is turned right-side out — the step that determines the texture and drape of the outer fabric. Done carelessly, this step damages the satin weave. Our artisans take the time it requires.

Elastic insertion. The elastic is measured, cut to the correct unstretched length for the intended fit, and threaded through the fabric tube.

Joining. The elastic ends are overlapped and stitched, and the tube opening is closed. The join is the most failure-prone point in any scrunchie — ours are sewn with a reinforced pass that holds through years of daily use.

Inspection. Every finished piece is checked individually before it is set aside for packaging: seam integrity, elastic tension, fabric surface, and overall shape. A piece that does not pass does not leave the workshop.

Beaded headbands and hair jewellery involve additional handwork: individual bead placement, wire wrapping, and clasp attachment, each requiring focused artisan attention. These pieces cannot be replicated at machine speed, which is exactly why we make them by hand.

The Artisans Behind Every Piece

The people making our products are skilled needleworkers based in Bengaluru. Handmade textile work has historically been underpaid and precarious across India — home-based, piece-rate, with no job security, no consistent income, and no path to higher-value skills. The products are often beautiful. The conditions in which they are made frequently are not.

We work differently. Our artisans work in a defined workshop environment, are paid fairly for their time — not per piece at a rate that pressures speed over quality — and are trained in the specific techniques that our quality standards require. When someone joins our team, they learn to assess elastic tension by feel, to identify fabric flaws before cutting, and to inspect their own finished work against our quality standard before it moves forward. That training has value. We treat it as such.

The result is a team that takes ownership of the product. Not workers executing a mechanical process, but people who understand what they are making and why the details matter. Our artisans know the difference between fabric that holds for six months and fabric that holds for three years, because we showed them, and because it matters to them that the piece they finish is good.

Every purchase from Bows and Bags India directly supports this model: stable, skilled, fairly compensated artisan work in Bengaluru, for people who are very good at what they do.

What We Make

Our range covers the full spectrum of everyday and occasion hair accessories, all made in small batches in Bengaluru:

Satin scrunchies — our core product, available in an extensive colour range and multiple sizes. Designed for daily use, long elastic life, and the smooth hold that satin provides against thick Indian hair.

Silk scrunchies — made from a higher-grade silk-finish fabric for the softest possible contact against the hair shaft. Ideal for fine or damaged hair that needs extra gentleness.

Velvet scrunchies — cut-pile velvet in deep, rich seasonal colours. Stronger grip for thick or heavy hair, and a texture that holds through a full day without tightening.

Hair bows — statement hair bows in satin and silk, from small and understated to large and dramatic. Made to wear at the nape, half-up, or pinned as a bag charm.

Beaded headbands — handcrafted with individual bead placement on padded bands. Designed to stay in place on thick hair without digging in or slipping.

Hair jewellery — embellished pieces for occasions when a scrunchie is not quite enough: beaded pins, embroidered clips, and decorative hair accessories for festive and formal wear.

Bridal hair accessories — a dedicated range for weddings, covering bridal scrunchies, embellished headbands, and hair jewellery sets designed to complement Indian bridal looks from mehendi to the wedding day itself.

Combos and gift sets — curated combinations of scrunchies, bows, and accessories in gift-ready packaging, for birthdays, bridesmaid gifts, and corporate gifting.

All ranges are produced in small batches. Seasonal colours and limited designs rotate throughout the year; core styles are kept in permanent stock.

Our Values

Made properly, or not at all. We do not cut quality to hit a price point. If a fabric batch does not meet our standard, it does not go into production. If a finished piece does not pass inspection, it does not leave the workshop. This is not a complicated principle, but it requires consistent discipline to hold to it.

Designed for Indian hair. Every material choice, every elastic specification, every fabric weight decision is made with thick Indian hair as the test case — not fine hair, not straight hair, not the hair type that most global hair accessory brands default to. We make things for the people who actually buy them.

Fair work, not charity. The story of Indian handmade craft has too often been a story of beautiful products made by people who could not afford to keep making them. Piece rates that look acceptable until you count the hours. Skills that go unrecognised and undercompensated. We are building something different: a workshop where skilled work is paid as skilled work, where artisans have stability, and where the craft itself is valued — not just the product it produces.

That is what Bows and Bags India is. A hair accessories brand, made in Bengaluru, by hand, for Indian hair, by people who are paid fairly to do it well.

From Our Journal