The trend is called ‘granny hair’ or #grannyhair for those hashtag lovers and social media users among us, and sees women of all ages colouring their hair shades of silver and grey.
As with many beauty fads it has been boosted by celebrity, with the likes of Lady Gaga, Rihanna, and Kelly Osborne all going grey by choice, and this in-turn is helping to boost sales of hair colorants.
Colorant sales up
According to Kline PRO, a product-level database published quarterly by the global market research and consulting firm, hair colorant sales within the brights and silver shade groups are up 46% and 14%, respectively, in 2014.
“It’s exciting to see current market trends reflected in our data,” says Paula Gottdiner, Kline’s manager of the program.
It is no surprise to see that sales are up and also shows the power of social media when it comes to spreading a beauty trend as Instagram is awash with the grey-haired images of professional models as well as other users’ ‘selfies’ joining in the trend.
Trends
As well as the ‘granny’ trend, it also seems that co-washing, which is the practice of cleansing one’s hair with conditioner instead of shampoo, is also seeing a growth.
According to Kline, the clarifying segment of conditioners has been growing exponentially, and while still nascent and accounting for less than 1% of total conditioner sales in 2014, the clarifying segment posts the highest growth of all conditioner types in independent salons.
Functional hair care, or products that provide specific performance-oriented benefits like restoring hair or imparting shine, is another area where Kline PRO is reporting significant growth.
In independent salons, products that address thinning hair increase by 22% in shampoos and 12% in conditioners in 2014.
Meanwhile, hair oils are an area that is losing some steam, with sales down 6% in chains and 5% in independents in 2014.
Although the segment has reached maturity, some items experience rapid sales growth in 2014, adds Kline.