Data from Mintoiro shows that brands catering to natural and curly hair types are seeing soaring momentum on Instagram, among them high-powered newcomers like Rihanna’s Fenty Hair and Beyoncé’s Cécred, plus the “insta-brand” OG, La Belle Bouclé, which began in 2017 as a curly hair blog.
Other brands with strong points of difference — such as Negin Mirsalehi’s honey-infused Gisou and the biotech-powered (and, as of June, Simone Biles-fronted) K18 — are also seeing strong engagement and reach on the platform.
“Compared to the crowdedness of skin care and makeup, there’s a lot of space in hair care,” said Jennifer Carlsson, founder of Mintoiro. “It’s a market where people are actively looking for new products and better products — finding a niche within that is definitely possible.”
During the first quarter of 2024, prestige hair care — which has been riding a sales high since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic — was second only to fragrance in terms of sales growth. The category grew 11 percent during the period, while skin care and makeup saw 10 percent and 5 percent increases, respectively, per Circana .
While the current dominance of Fenty Hair and Cécred is indeed fueled by their novelty and of-the-moment celebrity founders, that they both target underserved consumers with diverse hair types could be a key to securing the kind of longevity that evades many celebrity-founded brands.
“Whether momentum persists will depend on how much they keep innovating,” said Carlsson, pointing to Tracee Ellis Ross’ Pattern Beauty as example of a celebrity-founded brand that excels at having both a highly visible founder and a steady stream of solution-oriented product. Ditto Taraji P. Henson’s 2020-founded TBH by Taraji brand, which emphasizes scalp care and is positioned more in the masstige sector.
“It’s hair care that caters to Black hair, and is fronted and founded by a Black woman versus a corporation,” continued Carlsson, who anticipates the prestige sector will “see further growth at the hands of that curly, coily hair care umbrella over the next year.”
Here, the top 10 hair care brands on Instagram in June, per Mintoiro.
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