The new-age view of men’s grooming is “hair” to stay. During the month of November, the Movember movement shines a light on men’s health. The annual event and year-round organization are symbolized by the moustache, perhaps bringing men’s skin care and facial hair care into the conversation as well.
The men’s hair care market is growing, led by Gen Z and millennial men who are ready and willing to spend more on products apart from the basics of addressing graying and balding. Social media influencers and the celebrity sphere give endless, sometimes crossing into relentless, inspiration for men to experiment with new looks and hair styles.
“Market experts recommend that brands move beyond functionality, cut the confusion, take an expert positioning, create a natural look and get creative with color in order to make the most of this category,” Scratch Magazine says. “More education is needed to overcome the confusion men feel about formats and how to achieve the look they want.”
With many brands slow or yet to adapt, the opportunity is even larger for those brands that are ready to listen to consumers and innovate new solutions across the board in men’s hair care. Here are a few examples incorporating ingredients from Sensient:
Hair Detox
A healthy scalp is the secret to good hair, and traditional shampoos and conditioners tend to fall short of serious scalp care. An activated charcoal hair detox can help to eliminate flakes, product residue and other impurities beneath the hair, down to the scalp. Consumers are familiar with activated charcoal from skin care products and are now starting to use it in hair care as a clarifying scalp treatment.
Extracted from European peatlands, Sensient’s 100% natural steam activated carbon vegetable charcoal powder absorbs excess sebum to balance the skin on the scalp and keep the hair root and shaft from presenting as oily or appearing heavy and flat. With this ingredient, brands can formulate hair care products that deliver shine, bounce and freshly cleansed strands.
Hair Repair
Restoring damaged hair has long been one of the most marketed challenges in hair care, and short hair doesn’t always put men in the clear. Any length of hair can show damage from dry weather, low humidity, heat, sun and other factors. With damage prevention in mind, Sensibiopro® R provides a biomimetic combination of hydrolyzed proteins to reinforce hair barrier structure. It’s also heat-activated, making it ideal for heat-protectant men’s hair products than can treat weakened hair by restoring resistance and softness.
Hair Styling
From light frizz to beachy waves to undone mops and crazy curls, we’re living in a golden age of men’s hair styles. Film formers are essential for hair styling performance, and Sensient offers natural options with sensory appeal. Natpure® Feel-M Eco is a natural, multifunctional and non-volatile film former, similar to silicone, that gives a strong conditioning effect with extra shine and detangling strength. Brands can use it for styling creams, shine sprays, conditioning mousses and more.
Another one of our natural film formers, the sugar-based Natpure® Film AP, is coated with acacia gum, the result of a unique process combining bio-fermentation with surface coating technology. Thanks to its transparency and alcohol compatibility, this ingredient can be used in versatile styling applications—such as a gel to define curls, for example, with non-stick properties and superior hair retention, stiffness and drying time.
Hair Coloring
Mintel recommends that brands target “increasingly engaged male hair colorant users,” noting that 3 percent of hair colorants launched in the 12 months to June 2020 were aimed at men, compared to 1 percent during the four years prior. Knowing permanent coloring is all but synonymous with hair damage, men can turn to safer, semi-permanent dyes to stave off grays or experiment with a new shade.
The use of vegan dyes, a global trend that values a healthier lifestyle with sustainability and respect for animals, is also an emerging and intriguing solution for maintaining the health of strands. Our Natpure Col® line offers 100% botanical, vegan hair coloring solutions for ready-to-use natural shades with permanent results for up to 21 shampoos.
Sensient has several lines of cationic or acid dyes for semi-permanent hair colorings, including our Arianor®, Arianor® Flash and Unicert® collections. These dyes meet the highest SCCS purity standards and have no ammonia, preserving hair structure while still achieving vibrant color.
Radiant Hair Color Cream
This cationic emulsion formula provides high coloring effect. Covafix 123 is an optimized solvent blend to promote dyes penetration into the hair. Natpure® Feel-M Eco will increase the conditioner effect of the formula. Arianor® range will provide you all the colors that you want to make from intense to pastel shades.
Lead the way with Sensient. Contact us to learn more about our full portfolio of powerful, natural hair care ingredients and formulations.
