The haircare category is heating up. As awareness of hair and scalp health grows — and taboos around hair loss and shedding decline — more consumers are expanding their haircare knowledge, exploring ingredient innovation and investing in products that combat dryness, signs of aging, damage from GLP-1 drugs (which can cause thinning), and more. Brands are tapping in.

According to Euromonitor, the global haircare category is forecasted to grow 24% by 2030, reaching £129 billion, while outpacing the growth of established beauty verticals like makeup and fragrance (both in the double digits). Driving that growth are the rising expectations for how their products perform, creating white space in the market for more clinical ingredients packaged for a modern, more savvy consumer.

The industry is gearing up for its most scientific stage yet. In February, biotech beauty brand Goddess Maintenance Co. launched its Biotech Blowout shampoo and conditioner, featuring its Goddess Molecule, a technology that claims to mimic the strength of spider silk by protecting hair against heat, pollution and frizz, as well as increasing hair strength by 173%. At the In-Cosmetics Global trade show in April, pharmaceutical companies presented an exciting future ahead of the haircare category. Laboratoires Expanscience unveiled Osmolya, a new active ingredient that helps the hair and skin balance water solutes (electrolytes and salts) in all environments, while Core Biogenesis introduced Peaureva, a protein scalp active to help hair thinning, scalp aging, tissue regeneration, and hair follicle activity.

Conglomerates are also investing in haircare brands to secure their standing in the growing category. In April, Priyanka Chopra Jonas’s haircare brand Anomaly was acquired by Reliance Retail for an undisclosed sum. In March, German group Henkel snapped up Olaplex in a $1.4 billion deal, as well as Not Your Mother’s for an undisclosed sum, and private equity firm Quadrivio Group took full ownership of French haircare brand Les Secrets de Loly.

Overall, the haircare category stands out for its growth potential. In L’Oréal Group’s 2026 first-quarter earnings, haircare grew double digits with help from its masstige brands L’Oréal Paris and Garnier, as well as the haircare arm of its dermatological beauty brands, Vichy and Cerave.

Vichy is currently eyeing up to hit the €1 billion revenue mark by the end of the year. “Our main focus remains the growth of our haircare franchise, Dercos, which is experiencing double-digit growth,” says Jamel Boutiba, global brand president for Vichy. The brand is betting on the 2026 Fifa World Cup in June to help win men’s market share in the category. In April, the brand tapped Vitinha, the Portuguese soccer player and Paris Saint-Germain FC midfielder, as an ambassador for its Dercos dermatological haircare range.

At Unilever, haircare witnessed high-single-digit growth in Q1 2026, driven by Dove, which experienced double-digit growth for its Fibre Repair range. According to the company, its other haircare brands Sunsilk, Clear, and K18 also had strong start to the year.

However, at Estée Lauder Companies (ELC), haircare remained flat in the third quarter of fiscal 2026. In the company’s Q2 results, haircare sales rose 5% to $812 million. The company owns Aveda and Bumble and Bumble. Amanda Le Roux, SVP of Aveda International, says that the factors leading to growth in the haircare category are the intersection of conscious consumption, premiumization, digital influence, and targeted innovation.

But to succeed in the category, brands must tread carefully, says McKinsey partner Sara Hudson, as there’s a risk of saturation. “Expanding too quickly into adjacent categories or proliferating SKUs can dilute brand clarity and weaken hero products, particularly in a market where consumers are looking for clear, results-driven solutions,” she says.

What’s currently in the bottle

Right now, protein is the hot ingredient in haircare, reflecting the broader fascination with protein and peptides in beauty and wellness. In April, Nexxus unveiled its Keraphix Collection range that uses proteomics (the study of proteins), to strengthen hair strands, prevent breakage, improve elasticity and support growth. According to the brand, proteins make up more than 90% of hair strands, and can not only repair damage, but also resist it.

Scalp health has become a key concern for haircare consumers. Brands are predicting that the next year will be occupied by PDRN analogues (salmon sperm) for scalp repair and revitalizing hair follicles; collagen fragments to support thinning, graying, and fight damaged hair follicles; amino acids to reduce breakage and boost moisture in the hair; polynucleotides (salmon or trout DNA) to reduce inflammation and help blood circulation; and microbiome-friendly actives that prevent dandruff and itchiness.

“The consumer appetite is for evidence and products that can explain the mechanism, not just list an active,” says Karlee Zhang, founder of beauty and wellness brand Hello Klean. She says that research labs are already experimenting with longevity formulations for the hair and scalp, such as senolytic peptides that eliminate dead cells, as well as NAD+ boosters and Wnt pathway activators that regenerate hair follicles. “The brands that crack targeted selectivity when it comes to hair problems will have something genuinely defensible,” says Zhang.

Luke Hersheson, celebrity hairstylist and CEO of the London-based salon and haircare brand Hershesons, says that consumers are responding to ingredients like peptides, rosemary oil, bond-repair technology, ceramides, and scalp-focused actives. But more importantly, it’s about how those ingredients are delivered through lightweight, non-greasy, multi-functional formulas.

Unilever, which is home to haircare brands Dove, Tresemmé, Sunsilk, Nexxus and Clear, is actively pushing its stable of brands into exploring scalp health with a focus on ingredients. In March 2024, Dove introduced its Scalp + Hair Therapy range, which was co-created with dermatologists using ingredients commonly found in skincare such as niacinamide that enhances keratin synthesis, peptides that extend hair growth, and zinc to nourish the scalp and strengthen hair from the root by maintaining oil glands. Similarly, Clear expanded into scalp dermatology in May 2025 with its Scalpceuticals range, designed to go beyond cleansing and actively improve scalp health, creating the ideal foundation for stronger, vibrant hair.

The haircare category has also had a boon from the rise of GLP-1s, which have shown to cause hair shedding and loss. Brands have taken this opportunity to tackle this issue. Traditionally, these concerns were coming from an older consumer, but the audience has now widened. “It’s brought a whole new consumer into the category that now thinks about scalp serums or growth-supporting routines seriously,” says Anna Lahey, founder of haircare brand Typebea.

GLP-1s have shifted consumers to think about hair loss as a systemic signal rather than just a cosmetic problem, and this is where there’s an opening for brands to tap into the market. “GLP-1s have certainly put hair loss and shedding at the forefront of the haircare industry right now,” says Leila Asfour, president of the British Hair and Nail Society and consultant dermatologist at Montrose London.

Haircare as a ritual

Consumer hair routines are evolving from purely functional steps that address needs like dryness or volume, into more expressive, flexible and wellness-driven rituals. “We’re seeing a shift particularly among Gen Z toward what we call ‘hair play’, where hair becomes part of everyday self-expression in the same way makeup already is on social media. While makeup touch-ups are all over social media, hair touch-ups like fixing your hair throughout the day have been historically more absent in the conversation, creating a clear opportunity for innovation,” says Jason Harcup, chief research and development officer for beauty and well-being at Unilever.

Hair mists have become a key product in the wellness-driven haircare space. This month, Valentino Beauty expanded into hair and body mists, while in April, Bella Hadid’s Orebella launched hair parfum mists. Other brands that have stepped into the space include Chanel, Dior, and Mane. In January, Sunsilk launched Wondermist, a hybrid hair mist combining fragrance, haircare, and emotional wellness into a portable format powered by EmotiWaves, a fragrance technology developed by Unilever, which neuro-scientifically validates to evoke feelings like joy, confidence, and self-esteem, with a mood-boosting scent designed to last up to 100 hours. “It’s a strong example of how the category can expand into new territories that seamlessly unite the desire for beauty, while delivering on-demand for well-being benefits,” says Harcup.

“Our broader strategy is to evolve from a traditional haircare player into a more comprehensive hair health and wellness leader,” he continues. “We’re investing in new formats, advanced formulations, and science-backed solutions that meet consumers’ growing expectations for efficacy, personalization, and holistic care.”

Kuldeep Knox, founder of ayurvedic haircare label Champo, says there’s a growing interest from consumers for neuroscience-backed and emotionally driven formulations designed to support stress reduction, mood enhancement, and overall well-being through fragrance and ritual-led experiences, with consumers increasingly viewing hair and scalp health as visible indicators of overall wellness. The brand has sold over two million products since it launched in 2019, with its Pitta Growth Serum selling every 15 seconds, according to the brand, targeting hair loss, shedding and scalp health with ingredients such as caffeine and creatine.

Consumer savvy

Brands are cutting back on packing 10 ingredients into one bottle, now targeting hair problems individually like skincare. In addition to targeting specific hair concerns, as shampoos have done for decades, sustainable beauty brand Davines caters to specific tones of hair such as dark brown or copper, to provide more personalized haircare. Each bottle label explains what regenerative extracts are in the products, like apricot, black chickpea, buckwheat, and green coffee, so consumers can understand the benefits of natural ingredients.

McKinsey’s Hudson says that trust and proof are becoming more important sources of competitive advantage, as consumers grow increasingly aware of ingredients and scientific claims.

The demographic that’s pushing the needle for ingredient transparency is Gen Z. At British department store John Lewis, Gen Z are the main drivers when it comes to ingredient-conscious products. “They’re a digital savvy generation that has all the information at their fingertips and are hungry for it,” says Helen Spencer, John Lewis’s director of beauty. Science-backed brands such as Living Proof and Olaplex (each have their own research labs and patented formulations) are best performers, as well as plant-based haircare brand Aveda. The three brands are marketed for their high performance and efficacy, but packaged in a plain aesthetic that almost resembles that of pharmaceutical products. In the UK, the fastest growth in haircare is coming from Gen Z and younger millennials, according to a Circana report, with hair treatments, styling, and scalp care as standout performers. “For Gen Z, haircare is as much about wellness and self-expression as it is about performance,” says Aveda’s Le Roux.

Beth Eyre, buying manager for multi-brand beauty retailer Lookfantastic, notes that Gen Z as a demographic are shopping differently when it comes to hair, because their perception of value is based on product proof. “They will buy less, but see value in proven products, doing plenty of research before they buy, and will trade up into more expensive products and brands where they see value. They also tend to spend more on full routines,” says Eyre.

The future is looking bright for the category, according to investors. “We’re going to see a lot of haircare brands come to market, and I think the success ratio is going to be better than in color cosmetics — it’s a more interesting category,” Ilya Seglin, managing director of investment bank Cascadia Capital, says.

Dyson Beauty president Kathleen Pierce says that Dyon has invested over £500 million into the beauty category. In August 2024, the brand launched into haircare products with styling formulations and has since brought haircare treatments and oils to market. “Our styling formulations are engineered alongside our devices,” says Pierce.

The demand for K-beauty

With the second coming of K-beauty, beauty retailers are ramping up their efforts to gain haircare market share. K-beauty has become a big beauty player, because it merges the consumer’s needs for solutions-driven and scientifically backed products.

At John Lewis, the department store is tapping into the demand by partnering with Skin Cupid, a UK beauty retailer specializing in Korean and Japanese beauty, to stock haircare brands including Manyo, Treecell, Medicube and Unove, Korea’s number one premium haircare brand synonymous with the glass hair trend. “Customers are searching for hair restoration and thickening treatments. There’s a lot of scalp-based products coming through from Korea onto the market now,” says Spencer.

In February, Sephora was the first retailer to tap Unove and has since accelerated its attempt at being a K-beauty retailer in the West with the likes of Dr. Groot, A’pieu, and Mise En Scène. The beauty retailer is still taking baby steps when it comes to K-beauty and haircare. “We still have a lot more education to do with the client, to get them above and beyond shampoo and conditioner and into a more sophisticated routine [and sector such as K-beauty],” says Agnès Brissiaud, global VP of fragrance and haircare at Sephora, adding that the challenge in the category is customer retention. Sephora has been slowly easing customers into haircare with online hair quizzes and introducing haircare brands sporadically. In the future, the retailer hopes to bring hair consultations to its stores.

Brands need all the help they can get in the haircare market, as competition in the category continues to rise. In South Korea, a majority of beauty retailers have consultants on hand to help with face and hair scans, while skin lab Space Dosan allows consumers to test out devices in-store, and Molock, a scalp and hair care clinic, offers services including deep hair cleansing, microneedling for hair growth, and microscopic scalp diagnostics.

“Haircare will soon have as many service propositions around it as some of the other categories,” says Spencer. “It is an evolving market at the moment, and we are working on something that will be quite exciting to come up soon,” says Spencer.