HAIR CARE 101
Why market data reveals a hair care paradigm shift
Rahee Lee - Trendier AI
In this article, I examine the hair care categories of Amazon US, Qoo10 Japan (an e-commerce platform run by eBay Japan) and Korea’s leading beauty store Olive Young from January 2024 to September 2025 using Trendier AI’s e-commerce big data analytics platform. Trendier AI is a platform that captures beauty and wellness trends in real-time through global marketplace analysis.
The paradigm shift The scalp ampoule and tonic category is experiencing unprecedented global growth. Amazon US’s Hair Regrowth Tonics increased 286% from 114 reviews in Q1 2024 to 440 in Q3 2025. Qoo10 Japan’s Scalp Essence category surged
even more dramatically, jumping 408% from 1,166 to 5,928 reviews during the same period. Notably, both markets accelerated sharply after Q1 2025, signaling a fundamental shift in consumer approaches to hair care. This growth reflects a paradigm shift: from
“reviving lost hair” to “preserving before losing.” Traditional hair loss treatments like minoxidil focus on stimulating dormant follicles to regrow hair—a reactive approach. In contrast, hair longevity emphasizes delaying
scalp cell ageing before hair loss occurs—a proactive, anti-ageing strategy. This parallels the evolution of facial skin care, from “applying retinol after wrinkles appear” to “preventing with serums from your 20s”.
What stands out in this market growth is the high market share of Korean brands, alongside integrated approaches in multi-active formulations, sophisticated delivery technologies, and user experience design driving category expansion. All products in Qoo10 Japan’s Top 10 are Korean brands, while Amazon US’s Top 10 includes three Korean brands (Seapuri #3, Sungboon Editor #6, Celladix #7).
Rising ingredient trends: data signals of scalp anti-ageing Anti-ageing ingredients expanding to scalp The rise of hair longevity is most clearly revealed in rising ingredient data. Recently fast-growing scalp care ingredients across global e-commerce channels share a common characteristic: rather than traditional hair loss treatment ingredients, they are actives already validated and familiar to consumers from facial anti-ageing applications. Vitamin A has emerged as a rising ingredient at Amazon US hair care category with 137.2% year-
www.personalcaremagazine.com
on-year growth. Vitamin A is a representative anti- ageing ingredient long recognized in dermatology for cell turnover, skin structure improvement, and ageing delay. Its rapid adoption in scalp products
demonstrates that brands are beginning to interpret the scalp not merely as a hair management area but as an ageing management target identical to facial skin. At Korea’s Olive Young, Adenosine emerged as a rising ingredient with 133.3% year-on-year growth. Adenosine is also an anti-ageing active long utilized in facial skin care as a wrinkle- improvement functional ingredient. This suggests that, in the Korean market, applying anti-ageing ingredients to the scalp is already accepted as a relatively natural extension. What these two ingredients share is an
approach closer to preventive care for gradually weakening scalp due to ageing, rather than immediate hair growth promotion or hair loss treatment.
Rapid Influx of Regenerative Ingredients Alongside the diffusion of anti-ageing ingredients, rising ingredient data simultaneously shows rapid influx of regenerative and repair ingredients. At Amazon US hair care, PDRN entered most
rapidly as a new arrival ingredient, while at Korea’s Olive Young, Exosomes (950%) and PDRN (425%) took the top two rising ingredient positions side by side. In Japan’s Qoo10, PDRN (378.6%) and exosomes (211.8%) are growing simultaneously. Both PDRN and exosomes first spread in facial
anti-ageing and skin regeneration areas. Originally a clinical injection for skin regeneration, PDRN was commercialized into facial ampoules and creams in the Korean market, achieving home care democratization and triggering global consumer interest in 2025. Now it is expanding into scalp care. This
trajectory — clinical procedures → facial home care → global expansion → scalp application — demonstrates Korea’s role as a lead market in ingredient globalization. The rapid adoption of these ingredients in the
scalp category shows expansion toward long-term perspectives of recovery and maintenance.
Concurrent growth of low-irritation and condition management ingredients Another notable point in rising ingredient trends is that ingredients stabilizing scalp condition are growing simultaneously alongside aggressive functional ingredients. At Amazon US, Ceramide NP (142.1%); and
October 2026 PERSONAL CARE MAGAZINE
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124 |
Page 125 |
Page 126 |
Page 127 |
Page 128 |
Page 129 |
Page 130 |
Page 131 |
Page 132
