The hair treatments category has seen steady growth over the past five years. NPD is increasingly driven by serums, while traditional hair oils’ share in hair treatment launches has declined, signaling a clear shift toward newer formats. Even so, usage of treatments like serums, leave-in conditioners and masks remains small. With younger women embracing multi-step haircare routines, turning this emerging behaviour into an everyday habit is the next growth frontier. In this, democratising serums will be key: sachet formats can unlock access and adoption. However, success depends on targeting specific concerns that trigger consumer need.
The Report further explores how hair volume is age-related, with younger women reporting thicker hair while fine/thinning hair increases with age. This creates both emotional and functional whitespace. Brands can target younger consumers with preventative solutions and address progressive thinning from scalp ageing.
Hair serums have evolved beyond traditional styling benefits like frizz control and shine, with hair-growth serums emerging as a fast-growing sub-category. To reduce friction in routines, multifunctional serums that combine growth and repair benefits with shine and frizz control offer significant potential.
Lastly, professional salon services remain dominated by haircuts and root touch-ups, but growing interest in advanced treatments for hairloss and damage repair signals rising demand for specialised, high-performance solutions.
This report looks at the following areas:
- Haircare product usage
- Factors negatively impacting hair health
- Awareness of skincare ingredients in haircare
- Hair concerns experienced in the last six months
- Emerging claims in the hair treatments category
- Opportunity to tap into age-related hair thinning
- Benefits that can encourage trial of hair treatments
Democratise hair treatments by making them accessible and concern-led. Address age-related thinning through scalp health and anti-ageing solutions. Unlock growth with multifunctional serums that blend care and styling benefits.
Twinkle Behl, Research Analyst – Beauty and Personal Care, India
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- What you need to know
- The outlook for the hair treatments category in India
- Hair serums and sprays gain traction in NPD
- Graph 1: hair treatment product launches, by select formats and textures, 2020-25
- Democratise hair treatments to accelerate stepification in haircare
- Hair oils dominate usage, other treatment formats remain niche
- Graph 2: usage of haircare products in the past six months, 2025
- Graph 3: net usage of haircare products in the last six months, 2025
- Broader usage among younger cohorts shows they’re primed for stepification, opening space for treatments
- Graph 4: repertoire of haircare products used, by gender, 2025
- Graph 5: usage of haircare products in the past six months, by gender and five age groups, 2025
- Encourage adoption by creating entry points that feel familiar and effortless
- Now: make stepification intuitive through clear education
- Now: showcase the compatibility of treatments when paired with oils
- Now: packaging can help democratise hair treatments
- Next: address hair concerns other than frizzy hair
- Graph 6: hair concerns experienced in the last six months, 2025
- Now: make treatments for hairfall, dandruff and thinning in more accessible formats
- Now: design ‘single-step’ upgrades for haircare staples
- Now: bring single-serve convenience to hair serums
- Next: make modern formats like ampoules more accessible in single-serve packaging
- Drive hair treatment relevance by addressing stressors such as hard water, pollution and humidity
- Now: drive hair treatment relevance by addressing stressors such as hard water, pollution and humidity
- Next: localise haircare with city-led treatment sachets
- Opportunity to address age-related hair thinning
- Hair volume declines with age: fullness signals youth, thinning signals ageing
- Graph 7: women’s hair volume, by age, 2025
- Graph 8: benefits in hair treatment products that can drive usage or encourage adoption for first time, 2025
- Hair volume declines with age: fullness signals youth, thinning signals ageing
- Graph 9: hair volume, by five age groups and gender, 2025
- Prioritise solutions for age-related thinning as the next growth frontier in hair treatments
- Graph 10: claim landscape for haircare category
- Prioritise solutions for age-related thinning as the next growth frontier in hair treatments
- Graph 11: share of hair treatment product launches with hair thinning* and anti-ageing claims, 2020-25
- Now: appeal to younger consumers with a preventative narrative around hair thinning
- Target progressive hair thinning driven by ageing, stress and hormones
- Next: target progressive hair thinning driven by ageing, stress and hormones
- Counter progressive thinning caused by scalp and follicle ageing
- Graph 12: scalp concerns experienced in the last six months, by haircare product users, 2025
- Now: address sensitive scalp concerns to maintain follicular performance
- Now: tap into the skinification trend for scalp and follicular ageing
- Graph 13: women’s awareness about ingredients for haircare products, 2025
- Tap into the skinification trend for scalp and follicular ageing
- Now: tap into potential of skinification trend for scalp and follicular ageing
- Now: position exfoliation as a proactive solution to combat scalp ageing and preserve hair density
- Next: amplify ingredient performance with precision delivery systems
- Next: explore the potential of exosomes for scalp regeneration
- Graph 14: share of haircare product launches with exosomes, 2020-25
- Next: explore the potential of exosomes for scalp regeneration
- Next: address volume decline and breakage as twin signs of weakened hair health contributing to thinning
- Graph 15: benefits in hair treatment products that can drive usage or encourage adoption for first time, by gender, 2025
- Next: create dual-performance treatments that repair, fortify and amplify volume
- Future: build scalp longevity systems that targets hair thinning
- Tap into functional hair treatments that also provide styling benefits
- Whitespace for multifunctional serums that deliver both care and aesthetic payoff
- Graph 16: share of hair styling, hair-growth and dual sub-categories, 2024-2025
- Now: innovate with multifunctional serums that fight hairloss and deliver styling benefits
- Next: look beyond hairloss for functional claims in hair serums
- Graph 17: benefits that can enhance usage of hair treatments, 2025
- Graph 18: hair treatment product launches with beauty enhancing claims, 2025
- Next: advance most common functional claims in hair serums
- Next: develop bond repair with cortex-level restoration for deeper structural recovery
- Unlock opportunities in functional claims that resonate with active lifestyle needs
- Position functional hair treatment formats around stress relief benefits for holistic hair health
- Professional treatments
- Hair cut and hair colour remain the top professional services done at a salon
- Graph 19: hair treatments/services done in the last 12 months at a salon/parlor or at home, 2025
- Now: advance damage repair, hair control and scalp strengthening professional treatments
- Future: Shiseido’s professional range built on circadian rhythm
- Unlock opportunities in men’s professional hair care services
- Graph 20: future interest in trying select hair treatments at a salon/parlour, 2025
- Future: example concept of an AI-driven, personalised at-home hairloss treatment
- Efficacy, ingredient credibility and safety collectively drive consumer trust in professional salon treatments
- Graph 21: features/benefits expected from professional treatments done at a salon/parlor or at home, 2025
- Now: collaborate with the trichologists
- Differentiate with long-lasting fragrances in professional hair services/treatments
- Graph 22: long-lasting fragrance as a benefit expected in professional hair treatments done at a salon/parlor or at home (eg urban company), 2025
- Now: tap into K-beauty-inspired hair services to deliver standout professional results
- Next: look to J-beauty for inspiration
- Key takeaways
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APPENDIX
- Consumer survey methodology
- Social data research methodology
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