Moreover, as India’s beauty competition landscape evolves, Skillathon brings together national industry expertise. As a result, international competition standards prepare Indian artists for the global stage. Priyanka Parshurami brings you the details of this multi-skills competition at Professional Beauty India Mumbai 2026.
However, India has a growing pool of beauty professionals, educators and artists. The competition ecosystem still centers on individual disciplines. International competitions, meanwhile, often demand a broader combination of technical skills, consistency, speed, adaptability and professional standards.
Against this backdrop, PBI Mumbai launches Skillathon – Skills Ka Marathon. Vaishal Shah, Founder-Director of LTA School of Beauty, leads the competition as its conceptualiser and curator. The goal is to establish a multi-disciplinary platform. Indian artists are familiarised with the formats and rigour of international skills competitions.
An important part of this vision is the collaboration between LTA School of Beauty and VTCT. It brings an international vocational and technical perspective to the Indian beauty competition landscape. The association aims to ensure India’s skill development matches international competition platform standards.
National Expertise Meets International Perspective
Skillathon brings together a jury panel comprising established Indian beauty professionals, educators and technical experts alongside international competition expertise.
The jury includes Neha Joshi, Founder, Indian School of Beauty; Jody Jones, Key Account Manager – Hair & Beauty, VTCT. Devangi Vala, Beauty & Wellness Educator, WorldSkills Trainer and Technical Head, LTA School of Beauty. Smita Narwekar, Founder, SmiRa Academy; Hinna Khan, Education Head, Dermalogica India; Nisha Chauthani; Sanjay Thakkar, Bridal Makeup & Hair Artist and Educator; Mahima Gandhi, Proprietor, MG Makeup Studio & Academy.
The composition of the panel reflects Skillathon’s larger objective. It combines Indian industry knowledge with an international understanding of skills. This includes assessment and professional competition.
Skillathon does not view competition as merely a contest. It seeks to make the judging and evaluation process an important part of an artist’s professional learning. A panel will evaluate participants’ execution across disciplines, helping them see how their skills measure up under competition conditions.
One Competition. Multiple Skills.
Skillathon emphasizes a simple distinction: an artist must excel in more than one skill and show competence across several areas of beauty.
Participants will compete across disciplines including skin and facial, foot reflexology, waxing, manicure, pedicure, makeup and nails. Their performances across the different categories will contribute to their overall evaluation.
This multi-skill structure places technical execution, precision, consistency, time management and adaptability at the centre of the competition.
Participants must prepare across multiple specialties. They need to demonstrate their skills across a wider professional spectrum and maintain consistency from one discipline to another.
Preparing Artists for International Competitions
The international relevance of Skillathon lies in its approach to skills assessment.
International skills competitions require participants to work within defined parameters, demonstrate technical proficiency and deliver consistent results under time and performance pressures. Skillathon aims to give Indian artists an opportunity to experience some of these expectations within a structured domestic platform.
The intent is not to replicate an international competition, but to create greater familiarity with the standards, discipline and mindset required to participate in one.
Biosoft Joins the Waxing Competition
The waxing category will also have dedicated industry support, with Biosoft as the Waxing Product Partner for Skillathon.
The partnership brings a professional product component into the competition and supports participants as they demonstrate their waxing skills within the structured competition environment.
With product knowledge and technical execution coming together, the category will further reinforce the importance of precision and professional technique when a skill is evaluated under competition conditions.
A Platform for Indian Beauty Talent
Hosted at PBI Mumbai, Skillathon brings together beauty academies, educators, professionals, industry experts and aspiring artists around a common focus: skills.
For academies and students, the competition offers an opportunity to move beyond classroom-based assessment and experience the demands of a professional competition. For working artists, it provides a platform to benchmark their capabilities across multiple disciplines.
The broader objective is to encourage a stronger competition culture within India’s beauty education ecosystem — one where participation is also viewed as a route to skill development, professional exposure and international readiness.
The Vision Behind Skillathon
For Vaishal Shah, Founder-Director, LTA School of Beauty, Skillathon represents an effort to create a more structured pathway for Indian beauty professionals to test and develop their skills.
By bringing multiple disciplines into one competition and combining national jury expertise with international technical perspective, the platform seeks to challenge artists to broaden their capabilities.
The collaboration with VTCT further strengthens this direction, connecting an Indian beauty education platform with an international vocational framework and creating greater awareness of what it takes to compete beyond the domestic arena.
The Skills Marathon Begins
Skillathon – Skills Ka Marathon is ultimately about changing the way competition is approached — from demonstrating one specialised ability to proving consistency across a range of professional skills.
Therefore, at PBI Mumbai, Indian artists can test their skills, technique, and adaptability against international competition standards. LTA School of Beauty brings Indian education expertise and an international vocational perspective. It is supported by a jury drawn from across the beauty and skills ecosystem. Skillathon aims to create more than winners.
As a result, it aims to prepare artists who can compete more effectively on the international stage.
