Between Cosmetic Grooming, Pharmacology and DHFL Haircut: Ambiguities in the Case of Bohem by Piramal Pharma Limited

Posted on 25th October, 2025 (GMT 06:16 hrs)

ABSTRACT

This paper investigates the regulatory and ethical positioning of Bohem, a men’s grooming product line launched by Piramal Pharma Limited (PPL), within the Indian cosmetic–drug regulatory framework. Drawing upon publicly available documents from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), Piramal Pharma’s corporate communications, and state regulatory norms, the study demonstrates that Bohem—while branded under a major pharmaceutical conglomerate—is not a pharmacologically approved medicine. Rather, it is classified as a cosmetic or personal-care product, subject to the relatively lenient provisions of the Cosmetics Rules 2020. The analysis underscores how blurred categorizations between cosmetics and therapeutics enable large corporations to exploit brand trust associated with pharmaceutical credibility while avoiding the rigor of clinical testing and drug regulation. The paper situates this within broader debates on consumer safety, regulatory opacity, and corporate ethics in India’s post-liberalization health-industrial economy. A parallel case study juxtaposes the cosmetic “haircut” of Bohem with the financial “haircut” suffered by DHFL investors, illustrating how governance and grooming converge in the moral economy of neoliberal India.

1. Introduction

The convergence of pharmaceutical credibility and consumer-care marketing in India represents a critical site of inquiry for understanding the ethical limits of corporate self-representation. In 2024, Piramal Pharma Limited, one of India’s leading pharmaceutical entities, announced its entry into the men’s grooming segment through the launch of the Bohem product line.

This research interrogates whether Bohem products possess legitimate pharmacological status or constitute rebranded consumer-care items marketed under the authority of a pharmaceutical name.

The core question addressed is:

To what extent do Piramal Pharma’s “Bohem” products adhere to, or deviate from, the pharmacological standards of drug approval and consumer safety regulation in India?

2. Background: Regulatory Framework in India

2.1 Drugs versus Cosmetics under Indian Law

Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940, and the Cosmetics Rules, 2020, the classification between a “drug” and a “cosmetic” hinges on intent and claims.

• A drug must claim to treat, cure, mitigate, or prevent disease, requiring approval through the CDSCO with demonstrable evidence of safety and efficacy.
• A cosmetic is intended only for cleansing, beautifying, or improving appearance and follows a distinct regulatory pathway—either a state manufacturing licence (Form COS-8) or an import registration certificate (Form COS-1/COS-2).

2.2 Piramal Pharma’s Dual Market Presence

Piramal Pharma Limited operates through both pharmaceutical and consumer-healthcare divisions. The former engages in drug discovery and export of Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs), often possessing CDSCO “Written Confirmation” certificates for EU GMP compliance (e.g., WC-0123, WC-0549). The latter markets over-the-counter (OTC) and cosmetic products under brands such as Saridon, Polycrol, Tetmosol, and, most recently, Bohem.

3. Methodology

This study employs a documentary-analytic method combining:

1. Primary documents — CDSCO regulatory guidelines, Cosmetics Rules 2020, and publicly listed CDSCO certificates.
2. Corporate releases — Piramal Pharma Limited’s 2024 press release on the Bohem launch and consumer product pages.
3. Publicly available databases — CDSCO SUGAM portal, state drug licensing portals (Maharashtra, Telangana) and e-commerce ingredient disclosures.
4. Comparative interpretation — Analysis of ingredient composition, marketing language, and regulatory filings to determine category alignment.

4. Findings

4.1 Nature and Composition of Bohem Products

The Bohem product range includes:

• Beard Growth Oil – containing carrier oils (argan, castor, almond), vitamin E, and botanical extracts.
• Hair-Removal Spray – with depilatory actives such as calcium thioglycolate and lactic acid.
• Under-arm Roll-On – employing salicylic acid, aloe vera, and fragrance stabilisers.

These ingredients correspond to cosmeceutical formulations common in personal-care products and lack pharmacologically active substances that would mandate drug classification.

4.2 Regulatory Absence in Drug Databases

Extensive searches of the CDSCO drug-approval database and the SUGAM portal (October 2025) yielded no entries registering Bohem as a drug or therapeutic formulation. Conversely, Piramal Pharma possesses CDSCO “Written Confirmation” licences for other pharmaceutical plants (not related to Bohem), confirming corporate capability but not product-specific drug approval.

4.3 Cosmetic Registration Ambiguity

Although Bohem is marketed domestically, its COS-8 manufacturing licence numbers or COS-1 import registration details are not publicly visible. This opacity reflects a systemic limitation in India’s fragmented state-level licensing system: cosmetic registration data are not unified across state databases.

4.4 Absence of Therapeutic Claims

Neither the Bohem packaging nor Piramal’s marketing materials claim to “treat”, “cure”, or “heal” conditions. Terms like “nourish”, “revitalise”, and “refresh” indicate deliberate positioning within cosmetic discourse—thereby circumventing the need for CDSCO drug approval.

5. Ingredients

Underarm roll-on (Deodorizing Roll-On) — marketed as containing AHA (lactic acid) & BHA (salicylic acid). (Label/product listing). 1mg+1

Hair-removal foam/spray — listings mention AHAs (glycolic acid, kojic acid) and aloe vera as active/exfoliating/soothing ingredients. Wellify

Face wash / cleansers — commercial listings show typical surfactants and additives (e.g., purified water, coco-glucoside, acrylates copolymer, cocamidopropyl betaine, lauryl glucoside, vitamin E — see product ingredient listing). Amazon India

5.1. Toxicity & likely side effects (ingredient-specific, general guidance)

• AHAs (glycolic, lactic, etc.) — chemically exfoliate; common side effects: redness, stinging, burning, dryness, increased sun sensitivity. Use sun protection after use and avoid over-application. Serious systemic toxicity is not expected from topical cosmetic AHA at normal OTC concentrations, but irritation is common if concentration/pH is high. PMC+1
• BHA / salicylic acid — effective for oily/acne-prone skin; common side effects: local irritation, dryness, stinging. In large surface area use, or on broken skin, or in very young children, there is a theoretical risk of systemic absorption (salicylate effects) — avoid heavy use on infants and consult a clinician if you have diabetes, poor circulation, or large wounds. Stop use if severe irritation or allergic reaction occurs. U.S. Food and Drug Administration+2Mayo Clinic+2
• Surfactants (coco-glucoside, cocamidopropyl betaine, lauryl glucoside, etc.) — generally safe but may cause contact dermatitis in sensitized persons. Amazon India
• Kojic acid / skin-lightening actives — can cause irritation and paradoxical hyperpigmentation in some users; patch testing advised. Wellify+1

Summary Table

Product	Key Actives / Features	Main Risk Points
Beard Growth Oil	15 natural oils + Vitamin E, fragrance botanical blend	Fragrance/allergen risk, sensitive skin caution, realistic expectations of “growth”
Hair Removal Spray	Thioglycolate depilatory system + Glycolic Acid, Kojic Acid, Aloe Vera	Chemical burn/irritation risk, exfoliant risk post-hair removal, fragrance/surfactant risk
Anti-Acne Face Wash	Niacinamide + Salicylic Acid (activated charcoal)	Exfoliant drain on barrier, dryness/peeling, over-use risk

6. Discussion

6.1. Regulatory Grey Zones and Corporate Strategy

The Bohem case epitomizes what might be termed regulatory performativity—a strategy where corporate actors perform pharmaceutical credibility through brand lineage without undergoing pharmaceutical scrutiny.
By operating within the cosmetic–drug grey zone, Piramal Pharma Limited mobilises the aura of scientific legitimacy while benefiting from the lower regulatory burden of cosmetics. As Foucault (2008) argued, neoliberal governance converts market rationality into moral rationality, allowing self-care and corporate reform to masquerade as ethical acts.

6.2 Consumer Trust and Ethical Concerns

Consumers encountering Bohem under the Piramal Pharma name may assume pharmaceutical safety standards apply. This constitutes a subtle form of regulatory misdirection, where the signifier of pharma reputation substitutes for empirical validation. Ethical risks emerge when such products are misused for quasi-medical purposes (e.g., beard-growth stimulation for androgenic alopecia), which could entail dermatological side-effects such as contact dermatitis or chemical burns from depilatory agents.

6.3 Transparency and Data Deficits

The absence of publicly accessible COS-8 or COS-1 certificates for Bohem underscores India’s regulatory opacity. Unlike drug approvals—routinely published with batch, formulation, and site data—cosmetic licences remain siloed in state archives. This lack of transparency undermines public accountability and complicates academic or journalistic scrutiny.

6.4 Broader Socio-Economic Context

Piramal Pharma’s diversification into grooming aligns with neoliberal market logics of brand extension, where health capital merges with lifestyle capital. The pharmaceutical brand’s movement into non-therapeutic domains mirrors global trends of pharma-consumer convergence, wherein corporations capitalise on public trust built through life-saving medicines to expand into vanity or wellness markets.

7. Parallel Case Study: The “Haircut” as Metaphor — From Grooming to Governance

7.1 The Economics of the Haircut

In financial parlance, a haircut refers to the deliberate reduction in the value of assets or claims during a corporate resolution. The collapse and resolution of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL) stand as one of the most morally charged examples of this phenomenon in contemporary India. Under the ill-conceived Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process, millions of retail investors, small depositors, and pensioners witnessed a drastic erosion and erasure—over 80 percent in many cases—of their life savings, euphemistically termed a “haircut.”

Meanwhile, the company’s supposed eventual acquirer, Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Limited a.k.a. Piramal Finance a.k.a. Piramal Enterprises a.k.a. Piramal Finance Limited ⤡ ⤡ obtained DHFL’s assets at a fraction of their book value, allegedly with regulatory blessing and political proximity. The presumed nexus between the corporate beneficiary Mr. Piramal and the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)⤡⤡⤡⤡, though seldom scrutinized in official narratives, underscores a deeper pathology: the transformation of insolvency from a corrective legal tool into an apparatus of crony expropriation. The “resolution” thus became a theatre of financial abuse where governance cloaked predation in the language of legality.

7.2 The Politics of Grooming and Self-Care

The Bohem brand, marketed under Piramal Pharma’s consumer-care division, offers an unsettling counterpoint. On the surface, it belongs to the sphere of self-care and grooming—beard serums, hair sprays, aesthetic enhancement. Yet, its semiotics intersect disturbingly with the DHFL case. Both revolve around the notion of improvement through cutting: the literal trimming of hair and the figurative trimming of public claims.

In neoliberal parlance, grooming becomes a metaphor for “reform.” The citizen is told that losses, like haircuts, are cleansing—removing the unproductive to allow fresh growth. In this (im-)moral economy, both the depositor and the consumer are rendered complicit in their own diminishment.

7.3 Parallels of Trust and Extraction

Trust is the binding fiction in both narratives.

• DHFL’s investors placed faith in triple-A credit ratings, statutory auditors, and the Reserve Bank of India’s oversight—an institutional trust that ultimately subsidized corporate plunder.
• Bohem’s consumers trust the pharmaceutical pedigree of Piramal Pharma, assuming therapeutic credibility in what regulatory documents classify as a cosmetic line lacking pharmacological validation.

In both cases, the asymmetry of knowledge allows elites to convert trust into sellable capital. The depositor’s faith finances the oligarch’s empire; the consumer’s faith sustains the brand’s illusion of care. Together, they form the infrastructure of what may be called crony capitalism in cosmetic form.

7.4 The Aesthetic of Loss

The corporate “haircut” in DHFL and the cosmetic “haircut” in Bohem converge in their aesthetic logic: loss repackaged as renewal. In the DHFL resolution, financial annihilation was celebrated as fiscal hygiene—“cleaning up the balance sheet.” In Bohem’s imagery, personal imperfection is commodified into an opportunity for self-improvement. Both normalize dispossession through the aesthetic of reform.

The metaphor thus reveals a continuum of violence—economic, symbolic, and epistemic—where grooming, governance, and greed share a single grammar. The culture of cronyism thrives precisely by aestheticizing its own brutality, turning the wound into a saleable feature.

7.5 Toward Accountability

If the DHFL haircut was an act of state-enabled expropriation, and the Bohem haircut a marketing sleight of hand, both demand an ethics of redress. Justice for victims of financial abuse must begin with the recognition that the same ideological machinery—corporate-state collusion, regulatory opacity, and moral cosmeticization—operates across sectors.

True accountability requires stripping away these layers of appearance. The scissors of reform must no longer serve the oligarch’s vanity; they must instead cut through the fabric of political patronage and corporate impunity that allowed one man’s profit to emerge from a collective loss.

7.6 Ethical Implications and Corporate Responsibility

The Bohem–DHFL parallel illuminates a larger ethical deficit in India’s corporate-state compact. When pharmaceutical prestige is used to legitimize non-therapeutic products, and insolvency law is weaponized to dispossess citizens, a single continuum of moral hazard emerges. Corporate social responsibility (CSR), often invoked by conglomerates like Piramal Group, remains performative unless matched by ethical restitution toward victims of financial or informational asymmetry. Ethical compliance, in this sense, must extend beyond regulatory conformity to include distributive justice and truth in representation.

8. Conclusion

This inquiry establishes that Bohem is not a pharmacologically approved medicine and lacks any verified CDSCO drug-registration number. It operates under the cosmetic / personal-care regulatory regime. However, the association of a grooming line with a pharmaceutical corporation raises pressing questions about regulatory ethics, consumer perception, and governance transparency in India’s hybrid pharma-consumer economy.

The metaphorical parallel with the financial “haircut” scandal further highlights how regulatory ambiguity and institutional capture can shift risk from the powerful to the vulnerable—whether in savings lost or consumer trust mis-appropriated. The blurred threshold between medicine and cosmetic thus not only reflects semantic ambiguity but also reveals structural deficiencies in India’s regulatory infrastructure—deficiencies that allow corporations to manoeuvre within low-visibility categories.

Future policy reform must address such ambiguities through unified databases, transparent cosmetic-licence publication, clear distinction of pharmacological versus cosmetic branding claims, and formal mechanisms of citizen-redress and accountability.

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