2023 hair care trends

Oct 28, 2023

Whether driven by TikTok trends (social media is currently awash with 90's style blowouts) or a desire to soothe itchy scalps, people are buying more hair care products.

Mass market retailer dollar sales in hair care rose 5% in the final month of 2022, capping off a year where growth never dipped into the red, as per NielsenIQ data. Prestige hair care is also booming, according to The NPD Group, which said the category expanded 23% in the third quarter of 2022.

During the past year, retailers including Walmart, Target, Walgreens, CVS and Ulta Beauty expanded selections of products for textured hair, added new solutions for healthier scalps and stocked up on hair growth remedies. Here are a few trends industry experts believe will keep the momentum flowing in 2023.

Acquisitions: Founders, especially BIPOC creators, worked hard to solve specific hair care needs by formulating products, often in kitchens before securing distribution. Multinational powerhouses, seeing the traction these brands are gaining, look to leverage that power by joining forces.

Procter & Gamble's acquisition of Mielle Organics, a brand founded by Monique and Melvin Rodriguez in 2014, is a case in point. Monique, who has a nursing degree, gained fame on social media after she shared her hair care regimen for her tailbone-length tresses. Most recently, her Organics Rosemary Mint Scalp & Hair Strengthening Oil went viral.

She started the company with one product, the Advanced Hair Formula which included a blend of herbs, amino acids and minerals. Today her brand is sold at CVS, Walmart, Target and Walmart, among others. For Mielle, P&G will help expand the availability of the brand; for P&G, Mielle brings a broader assortment of products for people of color to its portfolio. "Within this partnership, our role as P&G Beauty will be to support the Mielle Organics team with what they need to achieve their vision—including product expansion in Black and brown communities and investing in research and innovation," said Alex Keith, CEO of P&G. What is important for the brand's future is that Monique and Melvin Rodriguez will continue at the helm as CEO and chief operating officer, respectively and will operate as an independent subsidiary.

This is the latest in a string of purchases of brands built by Black founders including Carol's Daughter (L’Oréal), The Mane Choice (MAV Brands) and Shea Moisture (Unilever).

With demand for products for people with textured hair, multinational companies are on the prowl for acquisition opportunities in 2023.

[Read more: HRG's five notable products from January 2023]

Ingestible Hair Health: The hair supplements market is projected to cross $2.8 billion by 2031, according to Transparency Market Research. Several brands are capitalizing on the demand for beauty from inside to outside.

Reserveage just launched Keratin Hair Booster Gummies, providing a combination of biotin and keratin, two of the most important ingredients for hair health. This product is formulated to support healthy hair and nails, according to Yamit Sadok, vice president of marketing for Twinlab, the maker of Reserveage.

"Among several symptoms of biotin deficiency is hair loss. Researchers investigated the serum biotin level in women complaining of hair shedding and found that low biotin levels were found in 38% of them," said Sadok. "In addition, research has shown that biotin supplementation helped improve brittle nails, making them firmer and harder. Considering that the primary protein in hair is keratin, it would seem to make sense that supplementation with keratin would help support the structure of keratin in human hair—and indeed that is the case as demonstrated in clinical studies." Gummies, she added, are the format consumers say they prefer.

"Besides benefits to hair, consumers are also interested in fun and convenient delivery forms for their supplements—including hair supplements. Gummies fit the bill. In fact, when consumers were asked which format they prefer, 27% said gummy. That's ahead of tablets at 25%, capsules at 20% and SoftGels at 13%. The gummy supplements market size was valued at about $9.5 billion in 2021 and is projected to grow to $16.5 billion by 2028, with a compound annual growth rate of 8.3% from 2021 to 2028," Sadok said citing, a report from The Insight Partners.

[Read more: Target adds new brands to health, beauty aisles]

Celebrity Tie-Ups: Famous faces are getting their hands into the hair business. Taraji P. Henson, Priyanka Chopra, Jennifer Aniston, Youtuber Mindy McKnight and Tracee Ellis Ross are among the stars with their own hair care brands. Ross just announced the extension of Pattern brand into tools with a blow dryer for curls, coils and tight textures.Firstline, a leading textured hair accessories company, continues its mission to innovate high-quality hair care and fashion items.

The company's brand portfolio includes Evolve, WavEnforcer, DriSweat, Sleek, and Camryn's BFF for girls and tweens. New from Camryn's BFF is an assortment of satin bonnets and pillowcases under a licensing agreement with Karma's World, an animated Netflix series produced by Chris Bridges (also known as rapper-turned-actor Ludacris). Made with non-abrasive, high-quality satin, the Satin Bonnet helps retain hair's natural moisture while keeping it secure and intact during nighttime wear. The Satin-lined Bonnet offers the same benefits as the Satin Bonnet and is reversible, with a fun print on one side and a bold solid on the other to provide two styling options. The non-abrasive fabric of the Satin Pillowcase minimizes hair breakage, reduces frizz, and maintains natural moisture to protect hair during sleep. The Karma's World collection will officially launch on Amazon.com and specialty stores in February 2023, offering three fun, vibrant, and coordinated prints that inspire sweet dreams.

Cantu Beauty inked a deal with singer Jordin Sparks to be the brand's ambassador. The natural hair care brand's global vice president of marketing Dametria Kinsley met Sparks at a music festival where the two said they had an instant connection. The brand, Sparks added, resonates with her textured hair needs.

Retailers expect more famous faces to enter the fray, especially with the ease of reaching fans via social sites.

[Read more: Sally Beauty elevates bondbar collection]

Wellness Meets Scalp/Hair Care: The "skinification" of hair care is nothing new, but 2023 will take scalp and hair health to new heights, according to Clyde Haygood, the celebrity hairstylist partner with Pura D’Or.

"Bed head is dead and has been replaced with hair that has a glass like finish," Haygood said. "There is a strong trend for healthy, shiny hair. Gone are the days of messy, unwashed hair. Pura D'Or has always been and will always be about the foundations of hair. A healthy scalp is a conduit to healthy hair. We treat the issues at the core, and we are concerned about the hair shaft and cuticle. Pura D'Or's mission is to home in and treat problems at the core so healthy, shiny, hair is what the customer is left to deal with, and they can try out any of the hottest hairstylist trends."

One of his go to products is Pura D'Or Argan Oil Heat Shield Spray for its protecting, hydrating, defrizzing and shine capabilities.

Under the wellness umbrella are new products designed to lessen hair loss. "Hair loss continues to be a hot topic," Haygood added, noting that everything from Pura D'Or is one of the top selling brands to address hair loss on many levels. The brand is clinically proven, clean and has proven results to treat hair loss. The pandemic is also blamed for perpetuating hair loss. Eighty percent of men and about half of women experience some form of hair loss in their life, according to data from The Mayo Clinic.

Mass retailers are clearing more space for hair growth products beyond Rogaine. CVS stocks BosleyMD products, which was created with the input of physicians and endorsed by professional stylists. "We find consumers are really looking for clinically supported products," Andrea Harrison, CVS’ vice president of beauty and personal care said in regard to brands like BosleyMD.

Other popular hair growth lines include Vital Proteins, Viviscal, Love Beauty Planet, Olly, Mielle, Function of Beauty and Keranique.

[Read more: Winning the beauty pageant: Drug stores want more timely, trendy beauty offerings]

Simple, Safe and Sustainable: Hair trends often mimic skin care preferences. Recently shoppers started moving away from complicated 10-step skin care regimens. Christ Lopez, marketing director for Okay Pure Naturals sees the same in hair. Consumers are shopping with a less is more mentality, he suggested. Lopez backs that up with reports from retailers that shoppers are paring back on things they don't need but buying more daily use items. "A lot of those consumers are looking for affordable products that satisfy their needs," he said.

Shoppers are also researching ingredients in products, looking for lines that are not merely green washed. "Consumers now have the option to purchase natural and vegan and eco-friendly beauty products, and many of them are now available at affordable prices," he said. "This has expanded the growing demand for consumers seeking out natural and pure products. Why buy an expensive synthetic shampoo when you can now easily purchase a natural one that works even better than the synthetic one at a more affordable price. Okay has a full pipeline of innovations slated for the year including hair growth serums, Kosher and Halal gummy vitamins and fragrance-free hair and skin debuts.

Experts believe ingredients will be put under the microscope this year. Recently an organization called Color of Change called on retailers to pull and audit their Black hair product assortments following an October study by The National Institutes of Health that found the use of chemical straighteners or relaxers (used especially by Black women) is associated with an increased risk of uterine cancer. The study found that women who reported frequent use of hair straightening products (defined as over four times in the previous year), were more than twice as likely to develop uterine cancer than their counterparts.

Consumers are clamoring for sustainable packages. In fact, Spate registered more than a 23% surge in online searches for refillable hair care. The industry produces more than 120 billion units of plastic packaging each year, according to Zero Waste Week—about 95% of that is discarded after use. Hair care is one of the worst offenders, especially since people don't tend to have recycling bins in bathrooms. Products made without water and "naked" packaging are gaining attention. One example is HiBar, now stocked at Target and other chains. Dove also gets high marks from retailers for its Dove refillable products. Many expect 2023 to be the year of more sustainable hair care debuts.