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

@mileycyrus

1

Most Searched Hairstyles

The Mullet

Described by the BBC as ‘Style’s Unlikeliest Comeback’ the mullet is well and truly back. The mullet was the most searched hairstyle in the past year, with over 15.5 million searches, which is a 142% increase from the previous year. Having previously been a haircut seemingly reserved for people clinging onto the ‘80s or Aussie rules football players, the mullet is now back in the mainstream for both men and women.

@jenniferlawrence

2

Most Searched Hairstyles

Waves

Waves are a hairstyle created by flattening down hair to create a rippling pattern. At just under 15 million searches it is the second most searched hairstyle and is still incredibly popular despite the relatively small search increase of 16.5%. As waves can be used to tidy up long hair, they are a perfect answer to excessive lockdown hair growth.

@harrystyles

3

Most Searched Hairstyles

wings

Despite the popularity of this hairstyle perhaps peaking in the 2010s when the likes of Harry Styles helped make it one of the most popular male trims, it is still very popular to this day. During the past year, it had a growth in searches of 17.5% for a total of 13,100,000 searches which earns it a spot in the top three.

@bradpittofflcial

4

Most Searched Hairstyles

Curtains

Yet another style that favours long hair is next up, which is symptomatic of the trends seen over this unique year. The increase in searches for curtains has risen by over 50% resulting in 12,923,000 searches. Despite having a fair level of popularity through the generations it appears that the ‘20s are the time for curtains to really come to the fore.

@kyliejenner

5

Most Searched Hairstyles

Extensions

If you cannot fully realise your dream hairstyle on your own, then a little extra help will never go amiss, and as such, extensions are extremely popular. So popular in fact that they rank much higher on this list than many natural hairstyles, with 12,880,000 searches propelling extensions into fifth place. Like all styles in the top five, it has also had an increase in searches, in this case, it is a 32.43% rise.

1

Curtain Bangs

2

The new pixie

3

Layered Locks

4

Modern Mullet

5

Middle Parting

@selenagomez

1

Styles with the Biggest Search Increase

Curtain Bangs

Curtain bangs are exactly what they sound like, long bangs parted in the middle to perfectly frame your face. The comeback of this hairstyle in the past year has been astronomical with a huge increase in searches of 1,016% from less than a million to 11,051,000 in a single year. The popularity has been fuelled by TikTok, as well as top celebrities including Halle Berry and Jennifer Lopez emulating the likes of Brigette Bardot who helped make curtain bangs massive the first time around back in the ‘60s and ’70s.

@zoeisabellakravitz

2

Styles with the Biggest Search Increase

The New Pixie

Despite only being the 195th most searched hairstyle, the new pixie is a slightly longer and thicker variation on the ever-popular pixie style short hair cut. Over the past twelve months, it has had a search volume increase of 508%, this again is helped by celebrities such as Charlize Theron and Zoë Kravitz appearing on red carpets with a perfect Pixie in that time period.

@halleberry

3

Styles with the Biggest Search Increase

Layered Locks

Layered hairstyles are certainly nothing new, but in the last year they have had a big increase in interest with 13,390 searches, which is an increase of just under 270% from the twelve months prior. Layered locks are fantastic because they work in conjunction with numerous different styles to create the desired voluptuous and textured look. For instance, in the past year, Amber Heard rocked long layered locks whereas Selena Gomez has had her layered locks in a bob.

@mileycyrus

4

Styles with the Biggest Search Increase

Modern Mullet

As previously mentioned, the mullet, in general, is very popular at the minute, and the modern mullet is the foremost reason for its comeback. The modern mullet is characterized by shaving the sides in conjunction with the standard mullet formula. Famous examples include Rugby League player John Bateman who sported one in the NRL last season. Searches for this hairstyle have increased by 242% in the past year which makes it the 64th most searched hairstyle.

@dualipa

5

Styles with the Biggest Search Increase

Middle Parting

Searches for middle partings have also had a big increase with 187% more this year, totalling 606,000. Of course, a middle parting is an essential part of the top-ranked curtain bangs which suggests that there is a correlation between the popularity of the two styles. One of the most famous celebrities to show off the middle parting in all its glory is Jennifer Aniston, and another hairstyle developed from her character in Friends (the Rachel) is the eighth most-searched style, which shows that Aniston’s look is highly influential.

Rank	Hairstyle	2019 Total	2020 Total	Increase/Decrease	Increase/Decrease (%)

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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

1

The Hottest Hair Care Brands

Olaplex

At number one comes Olaplex with a total score of 5.32, this is helped by having almost 5,000 more hashtags than its nearest rival. Olaplex was created by scientists to repair damaged hair in 2016 and is currently the only brand that rebuilds broken hair bonds. Their increasing popularity is shown by a huge 73% increase in searches during the past year.

2

The Hottest Hair Care Brands

Dyson Hair

Despite what you might think, Dyson Hair products are not vacuum cleaners to suck up your clippings. In fact, the UK technology firm recently turned their attention to hair care products and now produce high-quality hairdryers, straighteners and other appliances. While Dyson Hair has low Instagram stats, they have a big Google search number of over 35 million which helps them score 4.06 and rank second overall.

3

The Hottest Hair Care Brands

Wahl

During the last year with lockdown and lots of people deciding to cut their own hair from home the hair clipper became a massively in-demand product. Therefore, it is unsurprising that one of the most renowned brands of clippers, Wahl, had a search increase of over 50%, this helped them to an overall score on our rankings of 3.45. Since Leo J. Wahl patented an electronic hair clipper in 1919 the brand has gone from strength to strength, and now produces many more hair products than just clippers.

4

The Hottest Hair Care Brands

Revlon

American beauty brand Revlon comes in fourth place with an overall score of 3.44 with solid scores across all the categories. Almost 90 years on from the introduction of the brand in New York City, Revlon has grown to become a world-leading hair and beauty brand worth almost $3 billion. Despite having the lowest annual searches of any brand in the top one hundred it’s high scores on social media propel Revlon up the rankings.

5

The Hottest Hair Care Brands

Redken

Redken was a brand launched in 1960 by actress Paula Kent, and just like her on screen roles the product dazzled and captured the attention of the public. In the subsequent sixty years the company has grown massively and now sells a wide range of products for both men and women. Revlon achieved an overall score of 3.11 which puts it in fifth place in the rankings, it is helped by having a high number of instagram hashtag mentions and solid scores across the rest of the categories.

Rank	Brand	Annual searches	Annual change in searches	Number of Instagram hashtags	Number of Instagram followers	Instagram engagement rate	Overall score

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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%.

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.

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Rank	Name	Instagram Followers	Estimated Instagram Earnings Per Post	Youtube Subscribers	Estimated Youtube Earnings Per Video	Combined Followers	Combinded Earnings Per Post

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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

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