Hair Serum and Hair Care Trends Shaping the Industry- KBV Research

Just as the extra boost skincare serums can give the face, in any beauty arsenal, the best hair serums will dive deeper into the hair than conventional cleaning products alone. They act as a styling tool to fix a variety of hair issues including out-of-control frizz to adding shine to protect hair from aggressors to the environment.

It is different from the oil that works mainly for inner conditioning, while serums can be used as a quick fix to cure surface hair. However, the drawback of hair serums, especially when it comes to how you use it, lies in the application process. Even if it's an excellent product, it can make or break the interaction with the application.

What is a hair serum?

Hair serum is a silicone-based product that coats the hair's surface, unlike hair oil that penetrates the hair cuticles and causes hair structure changes. Nowadays, there are several hair serum styles and brands available that you can try to figure out which one works best for your hair type.

Designed as a hair care product that prevents the hair from getting tangled while giving it softness and shine, good hair serum will effectively protect the hair from sun exposure and contaminants such as dust and grime any time you step outside. Once you've found the perfect serum for your hair, it's important to know when adding a serum to your hair to help maximize the benefits.

Gender trends in the hair serum and hair care industry

• Men

With the demand for men's grooming growing rapidly, the potential for new men's hair care products is also expanding on the market. Male customers are still ignored in the market, with the vast majority of marketing messages aimed at females. Nevertheless, researchers have found that men gravitate towards less feminine brands, suggesting that it can only be a matter of time before a more masculine brand is produced or expanded from another category to capture this segment.

• Women

Trends show that women are becoming more confident with their natural hair textures and using fewer products to achieve their ideal style — even shampoo and blow-drying less than in the past. Before using other heated styling devices such as straightening irons, hair serums have significant advantages when used on dry hair. Increasing scalp health concerns, particularly associated with hair thinning, hair loss, and dandruff, are helping to increase demand for scalp care hair serums among women.

• Gender-neutral trends for the future

Some major, recent shifts in the broader culture have also led to changes in the beauty and grooming industry. Social media is giving consumers a voice and brands listen. Men realize that they would like to get into self-care, too. And an increasing awareness of a range of gender identities has begun to deconstruct silos between male and female-coded items. We're heading for a brave, modern, gender-neutral world of personal care.

There are tons of women who are not interested in excessively feminine packaging, as well as many people who do not need any of the products to be charcoal gray, black, or marketed as something that will make them stronger. The universal truth is that everybody only wants to feel free to be the unique person they are. The emergence of non-binary, gender-neutral goods is incredibly popular because it is a breath of fresh air.

Industry insights

• In January 2018, L'Oreal Paris launched Elvive, a haircare range designed to help revive all forms of hair damage. It is rooted in insights that almost eight in ten U.S. women have experienced some kind of hair damage, either from color processing, heat tools, or dryness.
• The same year, in November, Henkel launched a new vegan and natural beauty brand, Nature Box. The product has five sets of oils derived from fruit and nuts, like avocado, coconut, almond, apricot, and macadamia. It includes 11 body products and 11 hair products, and these products are free of sulphates, silicones, artificial colorants, and parabens.
• P&G, an American multinational consumer goods corporation launched Waterless Hair Care Collection, a completely new haircare brand. The collection includes ultra-light Foam Dry Shampoo, residue-free Dry Shampoo spray, a collection of Dry Conditioners and a variety of alcohol-free Hair Refreshers. Alcohol-free hair refreshers include instant odor-detox, anti-freeze, and static control.

To conclude

The hair serum market and the haircare industry have come a long way. Constantly changing technologies have seen the introduction of a plethora of new product lines, particularly beautifully packaged hair serums for every possible hair type and concern. Although hair serums are not necessarily pathbreaking products, they have been turned into multitasking perfectors that repair, restore and transform the way hair looks and behaves.

Gen Y consumers (Millennials) demonstrate a solid willingness to experiment with new products, brands, and concepts of haircare. Nearly half of this generation consumers say they frequently try new serum varieties while trying new types of shampoo and conditioner items. Hence, haircare companies should capitalize on this by introducing new products to help fulfill the appearance-related expectations of individual consumers.

The consumer demographic of Gen Z is another that encourages haircare brands to pursue possibilities. The "i-generation" is said to be highly connected and socially active, with birth years starting in the early 2000s, requiring unique products customized to their specific needs and personalities. This enables haircare brands to deliver hyper-customizable products. Such products can be purchased through social media channels, and are unique enough to be photographed and shared online.