The 2021 Hair Report

Our hair is one of the most important areas of our bodies, and also one that takes the most care to maintain. As such, hair care products and brands are big business. In fact, the global hair care industry is estimated to be worth £68.82 billion in 2021.

With hundreds of huge hair care brands out there, the 2021 Hair Report will reveal the biggest brands right now, as well as the hottest hairstyle trends across the world and the most popular ‘hairfluencers’ on social media.

HAIRSTYLES BRANDS RISING STARS HAIRFLUENCERS BY COUNTRY

Most Popular

Hairstyles

Last year was most probably the strangest year of all time for the hair care industry. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, many hairdressers and barbers have been shut for long periods of time, leading to the rise of lockdown trims and DIY haircuts. Nevertheless, trends are still constantly changing and, as such, we will reveal the most searched hairstyles over the past twelve months, as well as the styles which have had the biggest increase in popularity.

1

Mullet

2

Waves

3

Wings

4

Curtains

5

Extensions

1

Curtain Bangs

2

The new pixie

3

Layered Locks

4

Modern Mullet

5

Middle Parting

Rank

Hairstyle

2019 Total

2020 Total

Increase/Decrease

Increase/Decrease
(%)

View All

The Hottest

Hair Care Brands: Ranked

To discover the hottest hair care brands we have taken five major factors into consideration to reveal the top 100 list. These factors are the number of overall brand searches according to Google search data, as well as the increase in searches, the number of Instagram followers and hashtag mentions, and the brand’s social media engagement rate.

1

Olaplex

2

Dyson Hair

3

Wahl

4

Revlon

5

Redken

Rank

Brand

Annual searches

Annual change
in searches

Number of
Instagram hashtags

Number of
Instagram followers

Instagram
engagement rate

Overall
score

View All

The Rising Stars

of Hair Care

Using Google search data, we’ve discovered the brands with the biggest increase in searches during the last year.

1

Curlsmith

The brand that saw the most growth last year with 298% more searches was Curlsmith. This hair care brand focuses on natural and organic ingredients to healthily nourish your hair. Curlsmith products are vegan friendly and as the number of vegans in the UK quadrupled between 2014 and 2019 this could help brand growth.

2

Bleach London

Coming some way behind in second place is Bleach London who saw a 154% increase in searches. Bleach London is a real success story having grown from hair stylist and founder Alex Brownsell’s kitchen to a major name in the hair products industry.

3

Bondi Boost

It is over 10,000 miles from London to Bondi Beach in Australia, but the difference between these two brands could not be closer. Known for quality products full of essential oils that deliver fantastic results Bondi Boost is unlucky to not come in second place as they had a search increase of 153%.

Biggest

Social Following

Social media is increasingly one of the most important tools for any business to promote their brand and products to the consumer. It is especially important for the hair care industry as brands can use social media to engage with their customers and fans by the use of tutorials and collaborations with influencers to showcase their products. We have looked at the most followed brands, most tagged brands, and the brands with the best engagement on Instagram.

1

Sugar Bear Hair

2

Revlon

3

Olaplex

Sugar Bear Hair is the most followed brand on Instagram with 2.92 million, they are a brand that produces vitamins to increase hair growth. Second and third places belong to two of the top three overall brands as Revlon have 2.74 million followers and Olaplex have 2.01 million.

1

Olaplex

2

Wahl

3

Redken

As previously mentioned Olaplex is the clear winner in this regard with 11.3 million hashtag mentions, beating second-placed Wahl by 4.9 million. Just behind them in third is American brand Redken with 6 million.

1

As I Am

2

Lee Stafford

3

Dapper Dan

Having a lot of followers on social media is obviously important for brands, but it’s also good to have a high ‘engagement’, which means having a lot of people liking and commenting on your posts. The hair care brand with the highest engagement rate was As I Am, with 3%, followed by Lee Stafford (1.97%) and Dapper Dan (1.78%).

The Most Powerful

Hairfluencers

With the rise of influencers in the last few years, it is unsurprising that there are giants of the hair care industry known as ‘hairfluencers’ who have a huge social media presence. In some circumstances, the faces behind the hair care brands are as big as the brands themselves, and others have a great platform to promote products for the biggest brands.

By using Instagram and YouTube data to calculate the estimated combined social earnings of each hairfluencer we have created a ranking to determine who is the biggest right now.

1
@negin_mirsalehi Verified

Negin Mirsalehi

The highest-ranked hairfluencer by far is Negin Mirsalehi who takes in a combined £15,810 per post which is almost 50% more than her nearest competitor. The Amsterdam based influencer is the sixth generation of a family of beekeepers and used this tradition to inspire her self funded hair care brand Gisou. Mirsalehi has 6.3 million followers on Instagram which is also by far the biggest on the list.

2
@bradmondonyc Verified

Brad Mondo

Despite having almost 4 million fewer followers than Mirsalehi, New York-based hairstylist Brad Mondo comes in second place. However, he leads the rankings in terms of YouTube subscribers of which he has 6.83 million, which also makes him the highest-ranked hairfluencer for number of followers. On the other hand, he earns £10,281 which is significantly lower than the number one spot.

3
@sarahangius Verified

Sarah Angius

Another Dutch-based hairfluencer has made it into the top three, Sarah Angius is an Iraqi born hairstylist now living in Rotterdam. Her estimated income per post of £10,196 narrowly keeps her from claiming second place overall, the majority of her earnings come from Instagram on which her hairstyling tutorials are particularly successful.

Select Currency:

Rank

Name

Instagram Followers

Estimated Instagram
Earnings Per Post

Youtube Subscribers

Estimated Youtube
Earnings Per Video

Combined Followers

Combinded Earnings
Per Post

View All

Each Country’s Favourite

Hair Style

Using search data we were able to determine the most searched hair style from countries around the world. Extensions were the highest scoring in 24 countries which was by far the most, and was followed in second place jointly by Ombre, Waves and The Rachel.

KEY
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1

Extensions

Favoured In

24

Countries

2

ombre

Favoured In

14

Countries

3

The Rachel

Favoured In

14

Countries

4

Waves

Favoured In

14

Countries

5

Box braids

Favoured In

12

Countries

6

Fringe

Favoured In

11

Countries

7

Wings

Favoured In

8

Countries

8

Afro

Favoured In

7

Countries

9

Curtains

Favoured In

6

Countries

10

Mullet

Favoured In

6

Countries

11

Platinum

Favoured In

6

Countries

12

Undercut

Favoured In

6

Countries

13

Dreadlocks

Favoured In

6

Countries

14

Cornrows

Favoured In

4

Countries

15

Bun

Favoured In

4

Countries

16

Fade

Favoured In

3

Countries

17

Highlights

Favoured In

3

Countries

18

Chignon

Favoured In

2

Countries

19

Lob

Favoured In

2

Countries

20

Payot

Favoured In

1

Countries

21

Pixie Cut

Favoured In

1

Countries

22

Queue

Favoured In

1

Countries

23

Taper Fade

Favoured In

1

Countries

24

Beehive

Favoured In

1

Countries

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