European consumers are increasingly discerning about the beauty products they use and hair care is no exception. With product choices available for every hair type and condition, consumers are turning their attention to eco-inspired attributes, such as reduced or recyclable packaging, natural/organic formulations and waterless formulations.

According to Euromonitor Interna- tional, sales of hair care products in western Europe slipped 0.2% to nearly $13.9 billion last year, but the results actually represents a recovery for European hair care sales, which fell 3.6% in 2016. Most of the major European countries witnessed sales declines in 2017, the worst hit being the UK, where hair care sales fell 5.5%. Only Spain put on growth, up 2.6%, a reversal of its fortunes following a long period of decline. Hair care sales in eastern Europe have been far more buoyant, notes Euromonitor International, as sales rose 12.1% in the latest period to reach nearly $4.2 billion. Much of this increase is due to  big gains in Russia, where hair care sales surged 19.1% in 2017.

Scalp Microbiome Is a Trend
Despite a relatively poor showing for hair care brands in many of the European markets, the category has benefited from consumers wanting to take care of their hair and scalp in much the same way they take care of their skin. Lia Neophytou, associate analyst, GlobalData, noted growing consumer interest in products which can deliver superior benefits and care.

“As such, there is an opportunity for mainstream brands to formulate hair care products using natural, organic ingredients which can nourish the hair and exclude, as far as possible, ‘harsh’ chemicals,” she explained.

This trend is providing an opportunity for brands to launch products that protect and nourish the scalp microbiome in much the same way as skin. L’Oréal Research & Innovation, for one, is currently investigating microbiota imbalance in the scalp.

Andrew McDougall, global hair care analyst, Mintel, maintains that there is an opportunity for brands to showcase on-trend, microbiome-friendly probiotics, which are expanding beyond food and into beauty.

“The microbiome/probiotic trend is heavily influenced by skin care at the moment and we are seeing opportunities in scalp care to produce gentler formulas that will care better for the scalp and hair health, as well as expand the hair care routine,” according to McDougall.

One example of this trend, he pointed out, is “biome-friendly” Mother Dirt Shampoo.  

Linked to this trend has been the emergence of hair care toners that take their cue from skin care and signal increased scope for consumers to add more steps to their hair care routine and mimic multi-step skin care regimes. For example, Philip Kingsley Scalp Toner is said to stimulate the blood supply to the scalp to encourage a “healthy scalp environment” and hair growth in a mildly astringent formula that protects against bacterial overgrowth.

Sustainable Packaging Options
Efforts to eliminate plastic pollution and mitigate environmental degradation are rising to the top of the beauty agenda with hair care brands taking steps to reduce plastic usage, avoiding virgin plastics where possible and providing recycling initiatives for consumers.

“Brands are being prompted by green consumerism to reduce their packaging usage and even eliminate plastic usage altogether to satisfy the new wave of eco-consumerism and build a positive brand reputation,” stated Neophytou.

Garnier, for example is collaborating with recycling firm TerraCycle to enable consumers to drop off empty Garnier packs bearing the TerraCycle logo at selected locations to be repurposed, thereby eliminating plastic waste.

“Like Garnier, hair care brands should address the issue of plastic waste by investing in schemes to enhance the convenience of recycling products,” said Neophytou. “Brands could further provide incentives in the form of discounts in exchange for used containers to further encourage sustainable consumer behavior.”

Mintel has highlighted the following examples that break the traditional packaging mold:

• L’Oréal Professional Source Essentielle Shampoo comes in a square stackable refillable bottle that taps into sustainability and plastic waste concerns.
• Seed Phytonutrients has a range of hair and shower products in “the first ever shower-friendly post-consumer recycled paper bottle” with a post-consumer recycled liner, which has 60% less plastic than standard bottles. Embedded seeds in the packaging provide an additional incentive to consumers to dispose of it in a sustainable fashion.
• Beauty Kubes is a range of organic and vegan-friendly single-use shampoo cubes marketed as plastic-free and zero-waste.
• TreSemmé Compressed MicroMist hairspray adapts compressed aerosol technology first used in the deodorants sector.

Waterless Solutions?
For this year’s Earth Month Campaign, Aveda launched #AvedaCleanWater to challenge customers to take action on clean water shortages and cut back on how often they wash their hair. This included replacing regular hair washes with dry shampoo.

“Dry shampoo or no-rinse shampoo products are increasing in popularity with more people using them in 2017 than in 2016,” observed McDougall. “We’ve also seen dry formats adopt multi-benefits, such as R&CO Spiritualized Dry Shampoo mist which uses micellar technology.” 

In addition, Mintel has noted more sheet formats, such as L’Oréal Hair Expertise EverPure Hair Sheet Mask.

The waterless concept is a strong trend in South Korea, where such formulations are positioned as being more potent and effective. The trend has yet to catch on in Europe, where consumer acceptance of concentrated or waterless hair care formulations is currently limited, but there is clear potential for this emerging category in the future.

According to GlobalData, 23% of European consumers are actively buying beauty/grooming products that do not contain water, or that can be used without water. A further 36% are also interested in this kind of formulation, though they are not actively buying such products.

European brands are predominantly addressing this trend with the launch of rinse-free products aimed at conserving water. GlobalData has identified these two rinse-free brands from Poland: Garnier Fructis rinse-free treatment for weakened hair and Schwarzkopf rinse-free booster solution for use after shampoo and conditioner for weakened hair.

“This emphasizes the whitespace in Europe for brands to tap into the waterless concept using the growth in green consumerism to leverage sustainability benefits,” noted Neophytou.

Small gains in hair care sales are not deterring brands from investing in developing creative alternatives to traditional packaging and formulations, and leading the way toward a more interesting and sustainable future.

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Imogen Matthews
Headington, Oxford UK
Tel: +44 1865 764918

Imogen Matthews is a respected consultant, journalist and researcher focusing on trends in the beauty industry. She regularly contributes to many of the world’s foremost beauty trade titles. Every year in April, she publishes The Premium Market Report, focusing on trends in the UK premium beauty markets.
www.thepremiummarketreport.com