2024 may be remembered as the year that the “skinification” of hair went mainstream.
While niche brands took scalpcare seriously early on, this was the year that everybody else decided to cash in. The launches came from all angles: Unilever’s Dove launched a new scalp and hair therapy collection, L’Oréal relaunched its CeraVe dandruff haircare, and brought Vichy’s Dercos dandruff line to the United States. Sales of products targeting hair thinning and loss grew 34 percent in 2024 versus 2023, according to market research firm Circana; Scalp care upstarts, like Jupiter and Divi, secured growth investment. On social media, influencers like Abbey Yung showed us how to expand our haircare routines beyond what we thought was cosmetically possible. Even Beyoncé felt compelled to post a video of her wash day routine, if only in promotion of her newly launched haircare Cécred.
Fermented haircare ingredients, capable of taming the scalp’s unruly microbiome, also grew in popularity, appearing in products from lines like The Rootist and Cécred, with its $52 conditioning Fermented Rice and Rose Protein Ritual. Hair oils continued to be popular among shoppers wanting more moisture and less frizz, at the high end — K18’s hair oil was the winner of this year’s Cosmetic Executive Women award for best hair treatment — and the low end — TikTokers traded treatment tips using batana and prickly pear oils.
The surge in scalpcare reveals one of the ways in which consumers are becoming more health-aware in their personal care routines. But industry regulation has yet to catch up. A proposed FDA ban on formaldehyde in hair relaxers, which has been linked to hormonal cancers, has been mysteriously delayed for years, most recently in September 2024. Meanwhile, the sales of hair relaxing products continues to skyrocket around the world, especially in some African nations. If the conversation around how our hair affects our health has just only begun, then the industry’s most pressing topics still have yet to be meaningfully addressed.
Top Stories
Inside the Growing Hair Loss Market: Once a verboten topic, hair shedding testimonials and regrowth solutions are now flooding social media. A host of new startups are attempting to address the growing hair loss market, win consumer loyalty and provide sometimes-elusive results.
The Kombucha Effect Comes for Hair Care: Following the well-worn path from wellness hack to beauty solve, fermented ingredients are making their way to hair care, thanks to a growing number of high-profile startups.
The Indie Beauty Brands Transforming Africa’s Hair Care Market: A crop of upstart brands are betting on Africa for their next global expansion, ready to benefit from the continent’s growing middle class. To kick-start Africa’s premium hair care market, they’ll need to carefully consider marketing and retailer strategy, as well create a new value proposition.
How New Laws on Textured Hair Education Will Shake Up Beauty: The hair services industry has a long history of discrediting Black hairstyles such as braids, locs and twists as unworthy of study. Now, a new set of state laws will finally require cosmetology and barber schools to teach students how to style curly hair types.
Inside the Search for the Next Cerave: The L’Oréal-owned skincare line grew its sales almost five times between 2017 and 2021. Could other mass brands like Dove copy their playbook?
Why Beauty Brands Keep Getting Accused of Causing Hair Loss — and What They Can Do About It: Mielle Organics is the latest company to face viral claims its products cause hair loss and scalp injury. How it navigates the next few weeks will determine whether this is a short-term setback or a serious threat to its long-term viability.
The Sweet-Smelling Revival of Hair Perfume: Slow to catch on but booming post-pandemic, scents specifically made for hair are helping both fragrance houses and haircare brands grow.
Why Beyoncé‘s Cécred Hair Tutorial Matters: In a rare video, the mega-singer responded to sceptics and gave the public a look at what her beauty founder personality might be.
How Kamala Harris’ Signature Tresses Became a Gen-Z Hit: Once a symbol of assimilation in post-slavery America, the silk press has taken on a new life among young Black women, thanks to an old clip of Kamala Harris discussing her hair routine that went viral on TikTok.
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