This article was originally published in the Hair care Trend Report. Receive your copy here
Whether it’s the news that Beyoncé-owned hair care line Cécred has just become Space NK’s biggest brand launch in history, or the latest data showing that sales of hair serums have rocketed by 101%, one thing is certain: hair care is one of beauty’s brightest stars right now.
Beauty shoppers are passionate about the latest launches, and willing to spend extra on premium hair care products – which are still seeing double digit growth year-on-year, just as they have for the past five years.
The figures, supplied exclusively by Circana to Cosmetics Business, track sales in the 12 months ending August 2026 across prestige brands across Europe, and growth during this period reached 24% to a value of €1.2bn.
So acute is the category’s success that “hair care has become the new skin care,” says Circana’s Executive Director of Beauty in Europe, Mathilde Lion.
All the evidence is there: the ‘skinification’ of hair care has led consumers to trade up to, and invest in treatment-led products, particularly in scalp care – a sector that in the UK has grown by 50% in the past five years according to Worldpanel by Numerator.
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Sales of scalp treatments in the UK were up 12% for the year ending 9 August 2026, and according to Matt Maxwell, Business Unit Director for Health and Beauty at Worldpanel, hair growth products are the fastest growing sector in hair care with sales up 32%.
Maxwell says: “Consumers are becoming much more aware of hair health and hair thickness, and there is a lot of innovation happening in the hair growth sector.”
He notes that L'Oréal Paris' Elvive’s Growth Booster range was the number one health and beauty launch in the UK last year.
Hair shedding, specifically, has become a rising consumer concern, with search interest rising by 105.6%, in Spate data from January 2026 compared to last year.
Hair longevity: prevention over repair
This all feeds into a broader shift that is happening within hair care.
It began with consumers treating their hair and scalp the same way as they treat their skin, but they are now adopting a more holistic approach in how they view their hair and scalp – as an integral connection to their health and wellness.
Lion says: “Instead of simply washing their hair, consumers are building routines around scalp health, hair density and hair loss, damage repair, prevention, long-term hair health, and targeted treatment.
“Consumers no longer want cosmetic solutions; they want biological solutions that improve the health of their hair from the root.”
This is how hair longevity has entered the mix.
The shift from skin longevity to hair is seeing the same pivot from repair to prevention, with brands increasingly framing hair health as a long-term biological project over a cosmetic fix.
Cécred’s bestselling product is Edge Drops, a serum clinically tested to deliver 1.5x visibly denser hair and address signs of shedding
Julia Ramanadhan, President of BondiBoost tells Cosmetics Business: “My background is mainly in professional skin care, and we saw the move from treatment to prevention – longevity – and it really feels like the same thing is happening in hair care, where people are just generally more conscious about holding on to the hair that they’ve got and caring for their hair versus being in the damage and repair cycle.”
The proof of this is in the escalated sales of scalp care and hair growth products that the market and brands individually are seeing.
“Our highest growth categories are in the treatments and topical scalp treatments segment of our business right now,” says Ramanadhan.
BondiBoost's Lock Drops Anti-Shedding Scalp and Hair Serum has become the brand’s bestselling treatment since it launched last summer.
The definition of hair care is expanding and the category undergoes its biggest shift in years – the move from repair to prevention – as longevity takes root.
Lion agrees: “We are seeing this within the communication from brands – protect your future hair, maintain density over time, age-proof your hair.
“It is pretty similar to how skin care evolved from anti-ageing to longevity.”
Consumers no longer want cosmetic solutions; they want biological solutions that improve the health of their hair from the root – Mathilde Lion, Executive Director of Beauty in Europe, Circana
Dove’s Scalp + Hair Therapy launch is the brand's biggest hair innovation in the last decade, and the range is described as shifting from reactive repair to a proactive scalp-first approach.
Niacinamide and glycerin are included to restore the scalp barrier, and development was underpinned by Dove’s expertise in proteomics, which uses advanced mapping to identify what hair loses through damage.
Dr. Nichola Conlon, molecular biologist and longevity expert comments: “Hair longevity is really about creating the healthiest possible environment for follicles to function well and hair to remain strong, anchored and growing for longer.
“That scalp-first thinking is something we’re seeing reflected in Dove’s Scalp + Hair Therapy range, which focuses not only on the fibre we can see, but on the scalp environment it grows from.”
However, brands do need to be mindful of how they market ‘longevity’ to consumers and avoid drifting into the hype – it is, after all, an industry-focused term.
“Longevity can very easily become a buzzword, and I’m quite cautious about ‘longevity washing’ by putting the word longevity on something without being able to explain the biology or demonstrate a meaningful benefit,” says Conlon.
“For consumers, I think we need to make it much simpler. Hair longevity means helping people maintain healthy and resilient hair for longer.
“Then brands need to explain exactly how they’re doing that and importantly, provide evidence that the technology actually works.”
“The most important message is to make longevity specific,” adds Dr. Catherine Leray, Account Head of R&D at THG Labs.
“Brands need to explain whether the product is designed to reduce breakage, improve scalp comfort, support fuller-looking density or maintain hair quality over time. The science can sit behind the product, but the benefit should be easy to recognise.”
K-hair care is poised to shake up the market, with brands such as Unove launching into major US and UK retailers this year
Korean hair care is well placed to capitalise on the shift towards preventative care, as it is traditionally focused around a scalp-first philosophy.
K-hair brands have been moving into the major retailers this year – a move that is expected to continue into 2027.
Unove, for example, launched in Sephora in the US as well as Boots in the UK this year. The brand has recently launched Hydracoat Hair Mist, a milky bi-phase formula featuring 3HA water and protein milk to instantly deliver up to 25 hours of weightless hydration, boosting shine and protecting against heat up to 482F.
Hair care is clearly on the brink of further change. But how will beauty’s booming category develop next?
Rita El-Khouri, Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation at K18 Hair says: “I think we’re going to see the definition of hair care continue to expand.
“For a long time, the category was primarily centred around the hair fibre itself and more recently, we’ve seen much greater attention paid to the scalp. We think the next evolution is understanding how all of these systems are connected.”
“We’re still at the beginning of understanding what a truly preventative approach to hair care can look like and I’m excited about this next phase we are in.”
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Trend 1: Brands target 'bond repair fatigue'
Bond repair is not a new category, but it continues to be a focus for hair care innovation with new technology upgrading bond builders from an occasional treat to everyday usage.
2026’s launches represent a refresh in terms of technology, versatility and speed.
“The category started with a narrow focus on internal strength in the cortex,” Katie Gohman, CMO of Olaplex, tells Cosmetics Business.
“Today, the expectation is comprehensive repair, combining deep structural bond rebuilding with immediate visual benefits like softness, shine and manageability.”
This trend explores how bond building is entering its convenience era as brands including Briogeo, Oribe and Olaplex target 'bond repair fatigue'.
Trend 2: Scalp scalers
Forget hair scrubs, scalp scalers are K-beauty’s take on microbiome-first exfoliation, bringing a key step in viral Korean head spa rituals into at-home hair care.
A scalp scaler is a liquid or gel exfoliant that is used before shampooing to target buildup from sebum or styling products, pollution particles and dead skin.
Melody Yuan, founder and CEO of K-beauty retailer Skin Cupid says: “By exfoliating the scalp, they promote healthier hair growth and pave the way for nutrients to work.”
And scalp scalers are now starting to gain traction in the West. This trend explores why and how it's the next K-hair care trend to take off.
Trend 3: Dry shampoo mists
For years, dry shampoo has been the backstage hero of the beauty cabinet.
But what was once synonymous with aerosol cans, telltale white residue and product build-up, is evolving as the category moves towards lighter, more sophisticated concepts designed to refresh hair rather than simply mask excess oil.
Dry shampoo mists are emerging as a new format, with brands rethinking the traditional approach through weightless formulas designed to refresh the hair and scalp without the heaviness associated with conventional dry shampoos
In this trend, Cosmetics Business explores what dry shampoo mists actually are, and why they could mark the next stage in dry shampoo's evolution.
Trend 4: Top 3 hair longevity trends
The longevity movement has taken the leap from skin care to hair care in 2026, mirroring the shift from repair to protection.
But as we inch towards 2027, the most interesting trends to spring out of this shift are around which consumers are most engaged with hair longevity, how it is altering the way they use hair care, and the change it is bringing to the way that brands are developing new products.
In this trend, Cosmetics Business rounds up the biggest shifts impacting hair longevity, with exclusive, expert insight from Dove, K18, BondiBoost and THG Labs.
Trend 5: GLP-1 hair loss
Hair care that promises benefits such as volumising, thickening and strengthening, plus treatments helping with hair loss and thinning are all far from new.
But the demand behind these types of products are, thanks to the rise of GLP-1 use.
As consumer appetites quite literally shrink, products promising to help with the undesired side effect of hair loss are on the rise, from dedicated supplements to four-step hair care routines.
