Finished hair with polished flair is the top hairstyling look for 2019 as seen during Spring/Summer 2019 Fashion Week, according to Redken global creative director Guido Palau.

“There was a nod to more finished hair this season,” he said. “From the Marc Jacobs Show featuring vintage hair color tones, to the finished hair at Prada, to the fashion-inspired hair at Miu Miu, we saw a mix of natural textures celebrating individuality. With a contrast to these more ‘dressed’ looks, which seem to be well-received. There must be something in the air and a desire for polish.”

Anthony Turner, lead stylist for Moroccanoil, agreed that sleek styles are all the rage right now. At the Missoni 65th Anniversary Show - Spring / Summer 2019 Collection, Turner created a minimalist, almost graphic hairstyle in perfect 1990s fashion.

“I thought of a simple, smooth, elegant look that could highlight and complete this extraordinary collection, so rich in content. Straight hair, graphic and squared on the back; deliberately loose for a slight touch of sweetness,” he said about the hairstyles. To celebrate Missoni’s 65th anniversary, select looks were dedicated to menswear, complemented by a super-sleek, high shine hairstyle.

“It’s something old, something new, something borrowed, and something ‘true’… this is how I would describe Esquire Grooming’s Urban Block,” said Trevelle Baker of the Esquire barber team at Farouk Systems.

Market Overview
In Kline’s Trends to Watch Report for 2019, experts note that while the professional segment traditionally influences the mass market, mass trends are now impacting the professional sphere.

In professional hair care, smaller independent brands such as Kevin.Murphy, amika, Eleven Australia, and milk_shake are thriving. Many are expanding in salons and retail as well.

Brands like Ouai Haircare and milk_shake are expanding internationally too, with the latter recently entering select Middle Eastern markets.

Naturally positioned products continue to be more visible in the professional hair care market and personalization is entering the segment, too.

In the mass market, hair styling gel/mousse sales rose 2% to $1.1 billion, according to data from Information Resources Inc. (IRI) for total US multi-outlet (supermarkets, drugstores, mass market retailers, military commissaries and select club and dollar retail chains) for the 52 weeks ended Dec. 2, 2018. However, hair spray/spritz sales fell 1.8% to $668.3 million.

In the prestige hair care marketplace, for the 12 months ended November 2018, hair styling sales soared 20% to $237.9 million, according to The NPD Group.

Consumer Demand
Today’s modern beauty consumer is savvy; she reads labels and also looks up ingredients to learn about their origin.According to Fabian Lliguin, founder and president, Rahua by Amazon Beauty, Inc., New York, they also read reviews and ask questions.

“Consumers seek products that are clean yet effective, non-toxic, with plant-derived ingredients that are safe for their health, their family and for the environment. They also look for natural, fresh-smelling herbal scents derived from fruits, herbs and flowers,” he told Happi.  “Retailers are hot on this movement and stores across the nation that cater to this category are expanding.”

Lliguin noted that natural retailers like The Detox Market, Follain, Beautycounter and Aillea are popping up to meet this demand. Sephora has instituted a “clean beauty” section and high-end salons like Butterfly Studio Salon in New York have brought in clean beauty hair and skin brands.

According to Ecovia’s latest personal care report, North American sales of natural and organic hair care products was expected to reach $1.35 billion in 2018—or about 9.5% of total hair care product sales. At press time, hair styling-specific figures were unavailable.

“The hot trend right now in stylers are products that provide shine, volume, fullness and softness which coincide with the trend for healthy, shiny, bouncy full hair,” said Lliguin. “Rahua products such as Legendary Amazon Oil serves as both a treatment and styler, as the light as air formulation provides a natural shine without the use of silicones and without weighing the hair down. Rahua Leave-in treatment also has a dual purpose of conditioning while keeping the hair controlled.”

Shoppers seek products that work and actually do what they say they do. According to Glamsquad artistic director Giovanni Vaccaro, specifically, they are looking for smoothness, volume, texture and heat protection.

“Consumers are more educated today and they want products that keep hair healthy. Products that extend the style are also very popular,” he told Happi.

Leading Launches
Pantene is the official hair care partner for the 2019 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival which is scheduled for April. The hair care brand will host an “immersive onsite activation” with an engaging experience for festival-goers where they can play, shape and style their look at Pantene styling stations inspired by the latest “festival hair trends.” While there, attendees will also have the chance to sample or purchase various Pantene products, including those that can help recover and repair post-festival hair— no matter how wild the style.

“With 20 million people going to music festivals every year and 93% of them using styling products or tools to up their festival look, Pantene saw a great opportunity to enable personal expression to go to the next level,” said Ilaria Resta, VP-hair care for North America, Procter & Gamble. “At one of the premier events where music and self-expression are celebrated, we want everyone to be able to reveal their personality through their hair and help them achieve the look they want.”

To prep consumers ahead of festival season, Pantene launched its #FestivalHair Capsule Collection Kit with every festival and summer hair essential, including nutrient-infused stylers like Pantene Dry Shampoo and alcohol-free Airspray, and On-the-Go Frizz Iron and conditioning treatments such as Pantene One Step Nourishing Hair Masks and the new Intense Rescue Shot— the brand’s first at-home rescue treatment imported directly from Brazil, which just launched in the US. The kit comes with a festival-ready, reusable zipper bag was available for pre-order on Amazon in January.

On a more local level, New York City’s Glamsquad beauty service is branching out into finished products with a new line of hair stylers. With a unique approach to R&D, Glamsquad gathered an in-depth understanding of what people are really looking for when it comes to their beauty products through the 500,000-plus appointments they’ve booked since launching in 2014! The Glamsquad collection’s products prime, protect, perfect, style and stretch, ensuring that one’s look lasts the second (or third) day.

The Glamsquad products span from a The Untamed Texturizing Finishing Spray formulated with açai fruit oil to infuse moisture and prevent dryness, vitamin B to boost hair elasticity, hydrolyzed vegetable protein to strengthen hair over time and polymers to provide a matte finish; to Essentially Multitasking Oil featuring marula, flax and babassu oils and can be used as a styler or finisher to instantly smooth, soften and condition; to The Iconic Blowout Lotion which protects against heat damage up to 450°F for a full, shiny and flawless blowout all with one product. Formulated with beeswax for lasting shape memory, argan oil for shine and hydrolized quinoa to prevent stubborn tangles, this product is also cruelty free and free of parabens, phthalates, sulfates and mineral oil.

Unilever is thinking big with Spring hair launches from Suave and Dove. Recognizing that more women are joining the non-wash day revolution, Suave is adding Suave Professionals Between Washes Volume & Fullness Dry Shampoo. The shampoo cleans and refreshes hair for easy maintenance on non-wash days. The formulation removes oil and adds lift to any style. Meanwhile, the lightweight formula of Dove Volume & Fullness Mousse, formulated with collagen, boosts roots for fuller, healthier-looking hair with a medium hold, according to the brand.

At L’Oréal, consumers cut down on styling time and skip the flat iron with Garnier’s new Fructis Sleek Shot In-Shower Styler, which can be mixed with shampoo to provide faster, easier blow dry styling and lasting sleekness. The technology coats every hair strand evenly from root-to-tip with a flexible, hydrophobic polymer to smooth hair in the shower. The formula, infused with argan oil and Fructis’ new and innovative “sleeking” technology results in 24 hours of smoothness, shine and frizz control plus heat protection against breakage, said the company.

Also, new from Garnier are Fructis Men’s Stylers, a line  of easy-to-use styling products that are said to deliver typical putty, pomade and cream in an “unexpected” new liquid formula. There are no dosage mistakes with Garnier’s liquid styling technology; the formula goes on evenly and does not stick or clump, said the company. These liquid styling products allow for effortless styling with just the right amount of hold, resulting in hair that is soft with no waxy coating.

L’Oréal Professionnel added Liss Control & Web to its arsenal of stylers. According to the company, this duo of products is ideal to shape any style. Liss Control is a gel-cream hybrid that smooths, controls and adds a sleek finish. Top it off with Web, a multi-purpose design sculpting paste, to add structure or a tousled finish. It can be used on wet, dry, styled or air dried hair.

Add polish and body to all types of tresses—no hair dryer required—with Paul Mitchell Awapuhi Wild Ginger No-Blowout Hydrocream. This lightweight styling cream speeds up air-drying, defines natural texture and prevents frizz for a more refined take on the effortless air-dried look, said the company. The formula is infused with a ginger tea mango fragrance, a fresh and effervescent tropical mango with notes of Italian bergamot, Sicilian lemon, green tea, lily, ginger, jasmine, musk, wood and spice.

Additionally, new at Paul Mitchell for 2019 is Invisiblewear Cloud Whip for controlled texture with defined style. This multi-tasking formula is infused with velvet flower to condition, control and define hair for a dry, touchable texture with a clean finish, according to JPMS. The Invisiblewear Air Gel is touted as a light-as-air hair gel with a unique, no-residue formula that adds volume and gives definition with a flexible hold. It is ideal for shorter hair and second-day restyling.

OGX expanded its styling collection with new formulas and package sizes. New OGX Natural Finish + Aspen Extract Texture Dry Texturizing Spray creates instant fullness with a dry touch finish that holds lift and supports shapeless hair. According to the company, it offers a non-tacky finish that’s neither stiff nor heavy.

“Shoppers are looking for products with natural ingredients that are going to provide a solution for their hair needs—whether it’s to achieve a certain style or enhance curl definition,” noted Nicola Chung, senior brand director, Sundial Brands, Amityville, NY. “In today’s consumer world, shoppers are looking to family and friends, influencers and YouTube for product recommendations and product knowledge. This shopper isn’t just shopping in one place for beauty. She is shopping multi-channel for all her beauty. In addition, price and product benefits are main drivers in purchase.”

Sundial just launched Coconut Custard Make It Last Wash N’ Go collection under its SheaMoisture banner. The formulas help achieve a defined wash-and-go for a range of textures. Made with natural, certified organic and Fair Trade ingredients with a bond-building complex that enhances natural curl patterns, the five-piece range extends the life of natural hair styles between washes. Also new under the SheaMoisture banner is Coconut & Cactus Water Hair Care. Designed for fine/medium hair, the four-piece set blends two powerhouse waters—coconut and cactus—to deliver weightless nourishment while leaving strands light and bouncy, according to the company. 

A Bright Outlook
What’s trending in hair styling? Heather Coughlin, Amika’s director of product development, Brooklyn, NY, told Happi that the color category remains red hot.

“Temporary color allows both professionals and consumers to mix, match and play to create customized looks. Amika will be launching a collection of kits inspired by this trend,” she added.

Chung of Sundial Brands thinks that the industry will see a lot more stylers and innovative forms, as well as a push to combine science and nature.