Data from LeadLeo shows that the scale of China’s hair care market reached 65.5 billion yuan in 2023 and is expected to reach 82.7 billion yuan by 2027. The core driver of market growth has long shifted from basic cleaning to refined care and efficacy solutions.
In the first half of 2025, the online transaction volume of hair care products increased by 20.67% year-on-year to 34.037 billion yuan, with the men’s segment showing a staggering growth of 131.5%.
01 Market Overview
China’s hair care market is undergoing dual transformations in scale and structure. According to a report from HuaJing Research Institute, between 2019 and 2023, the scale of China’s shampoo and hair care market grew steadily from 57.3 billion yuan to 65.1 billion yuan.
This growth was particularly significant in the first half of 2025, with online channel transaction volume increasing by 20.67% year-on-year. Estimating at this growth rate, the market size is expected to exceed 70 billion yuan in 2025.
From a channel structure perspective, the market shows a clear trend of polarization. Traditional shelf e-commerce and content e-commerce platforms form a strong duopoly, while some emerging platforms focusing on specific demographics or functions show significant growth rates.
The rapid market growth is reflected not only in sales but also in exceptionally active product innovation. The number of hair care product filings in 2024 increased by 22% year-on-year to over 62,000, and the number of new product filings in the first 7 months of 2025 has already exceeded 30,000.
02 Evolution of Consumer Demand
Consumer expectations for hair care products have upgraded from “getting hair clean” to “caring for hair like skincare.” This trend is specifically reflected in three dimensions.
Scalp health has become a core concern. According to industry reports, the online mentions of “hair maintenance” in 2025 increased by 154% year-on-year, while discussions related to “scalp anti-aging” grew by 45%.
Anti-hair loss demand has significantly increased, with a younger user base. Over 250 million people in China are troubled by hair loss, with the 18-30 age group accounting for a high proportion of 66.6%. This data directly drove a 52% year-on-year surge in the number of new anti-hair loss product filings in 2025.
Diversification of consumer decision-making factors. Among the factors influencing consumers’ choice of hair care products, fragrance concern reached 36.8%, second only to efficacy at 38.4%, far exceeding factors like texture and ingredients.
03 Directions for Product Innovation
Facing upgraded consumer demands, manufacturers’ product development shows four clear trends.
First is the customization and segmentation of efficacy claims. Among new products filed in 2025, products claiming “hair conditioning” efficacy led overwhelmingly with over 16,000 items, while the number of products claiming “anti-hair loss” surged by 52% year-on-year.
Taking Off&Relax as an example, the brand首次 distinguished the mechanisms of hair loss for dry scalps versus oily scalps and accordingly launched specialized shampoos for different scalp types.
Second is the comprehensive penetration of the “skincare-grade” concept. High-end hair care products are纷纷 introducing skincare-grade ingredients and technologies, such as the “Marine Micro-Origin Elixir” used in Kérastase’s new products and the 6-fold Natural Plant Essential Oils added by Furterer.
Third is the professional extension of the scalp care category. Scalp oils have rapidly emerged as a new category, contributing nearly 94.75% of the performance within the scalp care category on Alibaba’s platform. Brands like Kérastase, L’Oréal Professionnel, and L’Occitane have all launched targeted products.
Finally, the practice of new concepts like “condition first, wash later”. Frutarom’s Ji Mu brand innovatively proposed this concept. Its “Double Rest Hair Mask” uses a dual-chamber design, aiming to improve ingredient absorption by changing the care sequence.
04 Evolution of the Competitive Landscape
Brand competition in the hair care market is undergoing structural changes, with international giants, domestic brands, and white-label products competing on the same stage.
International brands still hold important positions but face challenges to their market share. In the first half of 2025, the market share of top CR5 brands like Kérastase, L’Oréal, and Pantene decreased from 19% in 2024 to 16%.
Domestic new锐 brands show strong growth momentum. New锐 domestic brands like Off&Relax, Chillmore, and Banmu Huatian successfully entered the TOP20 list for online market share. Off&Relax’s sales grew rapidly from 21 million yuan in 2021 to 215 million yuan in 2023.
White-label (non-branded) products should not be underestimated. White-label brands like Caixi, OKCS, and Hansi also entered the TOP20 market share list凭借 high-speed growth.
Major beauty groups are accelerating their布局 in the hair care赛道. Proya launched Jingshi, Shangmei Co., Ltd. built a matrix consisting of brands like One Leaf Hair Care and Kans Hair Care, and Frutarom launched the Ji Mu brand.
05 Ingredient and Technology Trends
Ingredient innovation has become a core means for manufacturers to achieve differentiated competition. Ingredient applications in 2025 show three characteristics.
Oil-control and anti-dandruff ingredients continue to lead. “Citric Acid” topped the list with use in over 12,000 new products, with a three-year compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 24%. Meanwhile, the use of Piroctone Olamine, hailed as a “gentle anti-dandruff新星,” saw a three-year CAGR as high as 57.9%.
Repair-focused ingredients are rising rapidly. “Panthenol” ranked second in the ingredient list with use in 5,800 new products, and “Hydrolyzed Keratin” ranked fourth with 4,626 items. These ingredients primarily provide moisturizing and repair benefits, addressing common hair damage problems.
Natural botanical extracts are favored. Unlike 2023 where only “Ginger Root Extract” stood out, the TOP10 ingredient list in 2025 includes four botanical extracts: “Ginger Root Extract,” “Ginseng Root Extract,” “Polygonum Multiflorum Root Extract,” and “Polygonum Multiflorum Extract.”
Proprietary ingredients have become key for brands to build barriers. For example, Off&Relax首次 added its王牌 hair growth ingredient, Type 17 Collagen, to its anti-hair loss series.
06 Future Growth Areas
Based on current trends, the future growth of the hair care market will mainly revolve around four directions.
The men’s hair care market holds巨大 potential. In the first half of 2025, the transaction volume of the men’s hair care market increased by a remarkable 131.50% year-on-year, making it one of the fastest-growing segments.
Combining premiumization with emotional value. Kao’s newly launched high-end hair care brand, Melt, is positioned as “Beautiful Care, Relaxing Moments,” advocating for hair care while relaxing. Such premium products combining emotional value are gaining increasing favor from consumers.
The rise of the color-protection and color-fixation细分 market. As the hair-dyeing population expands, repair and color-locking products for permed and dyed hair have promising prospects. L’Oréal’s professional color-care brand PUREOLOGY made its debut in the Asian market, focusing on color-depositing and color-protection needs after dyeing.
“Nourishing hair with oils” continues to deepen. The market share of hair oils has突破 10%, with a year-on-year growth rate of 24%, and有望 become a staple bathroom category. Product forms have also evolved from traditional oils to lighter leave-in oils and oil sprays.
The international brand Kérastase still稳稳 holds the top market position, but its market share is being gradually eroded by new锐 domestic brands like Off&Relax and Chillmore. These rising stars,凭借 their precise grasp of segmented needs, drove the entire online market transaction volume to exceed 34 billion yuan in the first half of 2025.
A代工厂负责人 in Guangzhou found that among orders received in 2025, the proportion of products with anti-hair loss claims激增 from last year’s 15% to nearly 40%, with over half of those orders requiring the addition of botanical extracts like Polygonum Multiflorum and Ginger Root.
The market’s growth trend line continues to extend upward, but the axes of competition have already changed. When consumers start choosing shampoo by skincare standards, the manufacturers’ race has just entered the most professional arena.
