HAIR TRENDS 2021

In 2020, our social feeds were awash with pictures of DIY home haircuts and dye jobs (sometimes with mixed success), with many of us truly appreciating how much we relied on professionals to feel like ourselves.

Quite rightly, The British Beauty Council have launched their #ohhellobeauty campaign to get us all back into the salons, but as we approach the halfway point of 2021, we wanted to take a look at the standout trends that have been defining haircare at home this year and what’s on the horizon for autumn/winter 21.

KEEP IT CASUAL

An Ipsos Mori survey in April 2021 found that 3 out of 5 of us in the UK were happier with a more casual approach to their appearance, with a third less likely to style their hair as a result of the changes we made to our lifestyles during the pandemic. It seems like we are not ready to let go of our messy buns just yet, especially as many are expecting the hybrid home / office working model to continue for the foreseeable future. So what does that mean for the haircare industry?

Low maintenance hairstyles dominate, with shaggy bobs, curtain bangs and ready-to-go mullets key examples of this effortless look trend. Likewise, in terms of colour some of us got used to our roots in 2020 and have moved to a softer balayage in 2021, or have embraced their natural grey (see @salihughes for inspiration on this). In terms of products, quick-fix dry shampoo will continue to be a well loved format for consumers looking for time saving hair routines with Revolution Beauty recently entering this category. Innovation will expand in this category - see the Carter+Jane Scalpfix, marketed as a healthy alternative to dry shampoo to absorb oil while soothing problem scalps with Rosemary and Peppermint Oil, and Frank Body with their Dry Clean Shampoo with Rice Bran and Tapioca Starch.

SKINFLUENCE

Skintellectual consumers continued to to build the knowledge of skincare ingredients in 2020 as many of us switched to online research and shopping. Although the trend for adding traditional skincare ingredients into hair was already present in the haircare industry, that trend has now accelerated with haircare-skincare hybrids focusing on scalp health alongside protecting and strengthening hair. From Hyaluronic Acid, AHAs, Centella Asiatica through to Micellar Water, the hair industry is now fully on board with the inclusion of skin loving ingredients.

Dove are introducing a Scalp Tonic with Niacinamide and Aloe, formulated to soothe stressed out scalps, while the Galinee Scalp and Hair Serum is based on a microbiome friendly pre and postbiotic formula with fermented rice water, aligned to one of the key skincare trends in 2021.

This trend will continue to strengthen in 2021, with skin-loving ingredient stories becoming a hygiene factor in any credible haircare launches going forward.

NATURALLY YOU

The natural hair trend has gone from strength to strength, supported with increased education and content on platforms such as Tik Tok over the last 12 months. Unique texture, coils and curls were celebrated with the Curly Girl trend in 2020, and curl defining innovation continues into 2021 through trends such as hair plopping (a drying technique for frizz free curls) and no-poo shampoo regimes. Aligned to this heritage, indie and mainstream brands are all bringing curl care products to market in 2021. Kérastase are launching their Curl Manifesto range, with a full range of treatments and cleansers, while Pattern founded by Tracee Ellis Moss, launched a range a treatments based on traditional care remedies earlier this year.

Protective styles for natural hair will also be a key feature, linking to time-saving, low maintenance and hair health boosting consumer needs. - braids, bantu knots, butterfly locs and twist outs are fully celebrated this year, alongside products to help maintain scalp health and refreshing sprays.

WELLNESS

Wellness was the key beauty buzzword in 2020, as many of us turned to at home selfcare treatments to provide some much needed TLC and downtime. Mintel forecasted in their Beauty and Personal Care Trends Report for 2021 that “The concept of total wellness has become integral to beauty routines” and that routines that help to relieve stress and anxiety would remain a key consumer need across the total industry. This will fuel the continued focus to scalp health, with Cosmeticsdesign-Asia noting that stress-related hair loss or poor scalp health will increase consumer demand for scalp and hair repair innovation.

As well as wellness-inspired ingredient and product innovation, this trend in the hair category also incorporates taking some extra time on your hair routine to treat and repair, with a dual benefit of providing you with time to relax + revitalising hair health. An example in 2021 is the launch of the Olaplex No.8 Moisture Mask which is sure to be a hit for followers of this cult hair brand, especially as their No3 Hair Perfector Treatment was one of the top selling beauty products of 2020 in UK beauty retailers.

LOOK AHEAD AUTUMN WINTER 2021

As we turn towards the second half of 2021, what other trends will emerge as we continue to explore our new post-pandemic lifestyles? We predict that big, bold OTT styles will make an appearance if we are able to fully return to nightlife, especially alongside an expected cosmetics trend of standout colour and glitter, as a celebration of the joy of being able to go “out out” once again.

Other ones to watch include continued trial of shampoo bars as the waterless trend continues to influence the hair industry (see L’Occtaine for a recent launch in this area with 99% biodegradable ingredients), alongside continued innovation in the dry shampoo market in line with low maintenance styles. Mintel calls out the latest NPD launches in these areas in their May 21 Innovation highlights. Finally, the soft curtain bands of 2020 will be replaced by bold, edgy fringes with attitude, as showcased at the Milan winter runway shows with an explosion of uber short fringes.

As ever, if you are interested in creating your own haircare range, or growing your existing range, then get in touch for a chat to find out how we can help.

THE BEAUTY BRAND COACH