Cosmetics Business has revealed the top five hair care trends of 2026 in a new report, as the category undergoes its biggest shift in years: the move from repair to prevention.

According to figures supplied exclusively by Circana to Cosmetics Business, prestige hair care sales across Europe grew 24% to a value of €1.2bn in the 12 months ending August 2026. “Hair care has become the new skin care,” said Mathilde Lion, Circana’s Executive Director of Beauty in Europe.

Key figures

• Sales of hair serums have risen by 101%.
• Beyoncé-owned hair care line Cécred has become Space NK’s biggest brand launch in history. Its bestselling product is Edge Drops, a serum clinically tested to deliver 1.5x visibly denser hair and address signs of shedding.
• Scalp care in the UK has grown by 50% in the past five years, according to Worldpanel by Numerator, and UK sales of scalp treatments were up 12% for the year ending 9 August 2026.
• Hair growth products are the fastest-growing sector in hair care, with sales up 32%, according to Matt Maxwell, Business Unit Director for Health and Beauty at Worldpanel. L’Oréal Paris Elvive’s Growth Booster range was the number-one health and beauty launch in the UK last year.
• Search interest in hair shedding has risen by 105.6%, according to Spate data from January 2026 compared with last year.

Hair longevity: prevention over repair

Consumers are now treating their hair and scalp as part of their overall health and wellness, with brands framing hair health as a long-term biological project rather than a cosmetic fix. “Consumers no longer want cosmetic solutions; they want biological solutions that improve the health of their hair from the root,” said Lion.

• BondiBoost - President Julia Ramanadhan said the brand’s highest growth categories are treatments and topical scalp treatments. Its Lock Drops Anti-Shedding Scalp and Hair Serum has become its bestselling treatment since launching last summer.
• Dove - Its Scalp + Hair Therapy launch is the brand’s biggest hair innovation in the last decade, shifting from reactive repair to a proactive, scalp-first approach.
• Korean hair care - K-hair is well placed to capitalise on the shift towards preventative care, with brands moving into major retailers. Unove, for example, launched in Sephora in the US and Boots in the UK this year.

Molecular biologist and longevity expert Dr Nichola Conlon warned against “longevity washing”, adding: “Brands need to explain exactly how they’re doing that and importantly, provide evidence that the technology actually works.”

The top 5 hair care trends of 2026

• Brands target ‘bond repair fatigue’ - New technology is upgrading bond builders from an occasional treat to everyday use, as brands including Briogeo, Oribe and Olaplex enter bond building’s convenience era.
• Scalp scalers - K-beauty’s take on microbiome-first exfoliation brings a key step in viral Korean head spa rituals into at-home hair care. A scalp scaler is a liquid or gel exfoliant used before shampooing to target build-up, and the format is now gaining traction in the West.
• Dry shampoo mists - Brands are rethinking dry shampoo with weightless mist formulas designed to refresh the hair and scalp without the heaviness of conventional formats.
• Top 3 hair longevity trends - A round-up of the biggest shifts in hair longevity, including which consumers are most engaged and how it is changing product development, with expert insight from Dove, K18, BondiBoost and THG Labs.
• GLP-1 hair loss - The rise of GLP-1 use is driving demand for products addressing hair loss, from dedicated supplements to four-step hair care routines.

The trends will be revealed in detail throughout October, exclusively for subscribers.

For more information, visit cosmeticsbusiness.com.