Germany Hair Styling Market Report 2026
After two years of recession, Germany's hair styling market is proving resilient, with category value estimated to have edged up 3% in 2025.
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- What you need to know
- Outlook for Hair Styling in Germany
- Opportunities
- Turn textured-hair gaps into a growth opportunity
- Germans are building weather-responsive styling portfolios
- Adapt styling ranges to shifting seasonal needs
- Turn private-label trust into tailored solutions
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THE MARKET
- Snapshot – market size and forecast
- The German economy remains under strain
- EU regulations reshape hair styling innovation
- Regulation fuels growth in silicone-free hair styling launches
- Hair styling enters a new phase of growth and transformation
- The styling category continues its gradual expansion
- Graph 1: market size and forecast for the retail sales of hair styling products, 2019-30
- Sprays reign supreme, while waxes and gels make waves
- Henkel anchors the category, while competition intensifies among mid-tier and value brands
- Hair styling remains concentrated among key players
- Graph 2: market share for hair styling products, by ultimate company, 2025
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THE CONSUMER
- Usage of hair styling products and routines
- Germans favour simple hairstyles
- Users are confident in their hair styling knowledge
- Reinforce time-saving benefits to match quick routines
- Graph 3: time spent on hair styling on an average day, 2024/26
- Modular routines match different hair needs
- Graph 4: repertoire of hair styling products used, by hair type, 2026
- Younger consumers respond well to time-saving product-tool pairings
- Close the heat damage gap
- Graph 5: usage of any heat styling tool and heat protection product, by gender and age, 2026
- Experiential styling links tools, techniques and products
- Usage of social media for hair styling needs
- Younger consumers look to social media for hair styling inspiration and advice
- Optimise social content by hair type, not just gender or age
- Graph 6: most common social media activities related to hair styling among women, by hair type, 2026
- Men proudly show off their looks
- Make social commerce seamless for men with textured hair
- Graph 7: most common social media activities related to hair styling among men, by hair types, 2026
- Behaviours around scalp and hair health
- Younger Germans are keen on scalp-friendly formulations
- Provide options that prioritise both scalp and hair health
- Ingredient concerns strongly influence Germans’ hair styling choices
- Bridge the gap between free-from and product-tested claims
- Graph 8: launches of hair styling products with free-from and product-tested claims, 2022-26
- Offer gentle solutions for cautious consumers
- Behaviours around hair styling brands
- Germans place mass-market/own-label styling on par with salon brands
- High trust clashes with availability in the affordable styling segment
- Address unmet needs in the mass-market/own-label segment
- Graph 9: behaviours around hair styling brands, by hair type, 2026
- Salon-quality brands face stiff competition from mass-market and own-label alternatives
- Professional/salon brands can double down on solutions for underserved hair types
- Graph 10: behaviours around hair styling brands, by hair type, 2026
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PRODUCT, INNOVATION AND MARKETING
- ‘Finish’ and ‘sleek’ claims gain momentum
- Graph 11: share of launches in hair styling products mentioning ‘finish’ , 2020-25
- Graph 12: share of launches in hair styling products mentioning ‘sleek’, 2020-25
- Germany’s curly hair awakening drives premiumisation
- Sagitta × Barnet Concept emerges as a premium ‘clean styling’ disruptor
- Henkel mainstreams care actives inside styling, while capturing micro trends
- L’Oréal bets on Color Wow to drive innovation
- Hair styling brands win with pop-ups and live demos
- The rise of the male ‘hairfluencer’
- Professional styling brands reflect barber culture and high-end salon care
- Generating newness through improved design and portfolio segmentation
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APPENDIX
- Market definition
- The market
- Market segmentation of hair styling products
- Market shares of hair styling products
- Forecast methodology
- Forecast methodology – fan chart
- Market size – value
- Market forecast and prediction intervals
- The consumer
- Consumer research questions
- Consumer research methodology – EMEA
- Repertoire analysis methodology
- Germany generation groups
- Abbreviations
- A note on language – Germany
"Simplify routines while scaling climate‑responsive, health‑first formulations to succeed, catering to those with underserved hair types."
Mihaela Suhalitca, Senior Research Analyst - Beauty and Personal Care
After two years of recession, Germany’s hair styling market is proving resilient, with category value estimated to have edged up 3% in 2025. However, consumers are guided by practicality: 87% of German users intentionally keep their styles simple, driving preference for ease and quick routines, despite increased product diversity.
EU regulatory shifts will be a defining industry force in the coming years, with rapid reformulation reshaping portfolios. This regulatory wave will boost non-aerosol launches and ingredient substitution. For professional and salon brands, mass-market and own-label alternatives pose a significant threat: users find them just as effective, but limited offerings hold back switching for now.
Opportunities exist to unlock solutions for Germany’s textured-hair users, who overindex on time, spend and product repertoire, but remain twice as likely to feel underserved, especially by budget and private-label players. Brands can also capitalise on the significant interest in styling ranges that shift according to seasonal needs, offering climate-responsive formulas and curated kits to meet varying weather-related changes. Prioritising health-first formulations, such as those with skin- and hair-friendly ingredients, and free-from and tested claims, will appeal to the vast majority of users.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- Hair styling usage and routines across demographics and hair types
- Consumer engagement with social media for hair styling advice, discovery and purchase
- Trends in consumer preferences for scalp- and hair-friendly formulations
- Behaviours and preferences around hair styling brands
- Product innovation and marketing strategies
Market Definitions
The Report covers the German retail market for hair styling for men and women, including unisex products. It includes all products used to style, sculpt or fix the hair. These include mousses, gels, gel sprays, jelly, styling sprays, lotions, serums, gums, glue, paste, mud, clay, waxes, creams, milks, styling water, glosses and hairsprays.
Sales of styling products through all retail outlets and sold by hair salons for home use are covered by this Report.
Exclusions include haircare products such as shampoos, conditioners, oils and masks as covered in the haircare report.
Sales of hair styling tools such as hairdryers, curling wands and straighteners are not covered in this report, but are included in the Consumer Research.
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