Hair oils greasing the wheels for US scalp care growth

The trend for hair oils, such as Moroccan, coconut or agave, which began a few seasons ago has had the knock-on effect of raising consumer interest in products for scalp nourishment and care, the researchers state.

“It raised consumers’ consciousness about the importance of a healthy scalp and made a big enough impression to continue strengthening and growing the segment​,” note the company’s analysts.

Conditioning opportunities​

According to the researchers, it’s within the hair conditioning segment that the scalp care category is seeing biggest gains.

“The chain and independent salon segments saw the share of scalp care conditioner dollars grow by 13.8% and 50.1%, respectively,​” they observe.

They highlight Moroccanoil’s ‘Oil Treatment’ as a continuing market leader, and also notes that brands like Mtrix, Pureology and It’s a 10 are faring well in the US.

A recent report by Report Stack market researchers noted that increasingly advanced product claims are likely to further strengthen the category.

“The increasingly complex lifestyles of consumers have given rise to hair and scalp problems, which could be solved through the development by vendors of advanced hair care products that are used in salons or at home​,” analysts note.

Shampoo less strong​

Although conditioning claims are boosting scalp care sales, Kline analysts note that shampoo products are a bit of a dead-end where the category is concerned.

The shampoos category “experienced mixed results regarding scalp care products. The chain salon segment saw basically flat sales that were anchored by the long-standing leader, John Paul Mitchell Systems’ Tea Tree Special Shampoo,” they state.

However, they also note that within independent salons speciifically, the shampoo scalp care category did fairly well, enjoying 25% over the previous year. 

In the industry eye​

Chemicals specialist Evonik’s hair and scalp care active ingredient SPHINGONY was selected for an Award of Merit by PCHi 2014, confirming the industry is responsive to this rising trend.

The ingredient claims to rebalance the life cycle of the hair, promote a healthy scalp, and reduce hair loss. It won the accolade in the personal care and cosmetics innovation award category at the Asia trade show.