The prestige hair market is experiencing significant growth, and it looks like 2020 might see that growth trickle down to mass. NPD tracked third-quarter hair category sales in 2019 as up 17% to $207 million, reporting clean is becoming a bigger deal in the category.

After two years of flat growth, Nielsen numbers for the 52-week period ended December 29, 2019, show overall health and beauty care sales in mass doors advancing 1.7%—a small but notable increase. Mass haircare has historically been seen as a commoditized category, but that is beginning to change, with consumers showing a willingness to spend a bit more on their hair products.

In January of 2017 Target secured the exclusive launch of celebrity hairstylist Kristin Ess’ range created in partnership with Maesa, breathing new life into the category. The brand was reported to be on track to do $100 million in sales in 2019, and launched a new range of fragrance-free haircare inspired by skincare to the line last December.

Off the success of the Kristin Ess launch, Target seems to be doubling down on the hair category with a number of significant new launches, from the relaunch of Frédéric Fekkai’s namesake brand to two new brands for textured hair.

Odele is a riff on the Norwegian phrase “a dele,” which means “to share.” This clean, inclusive salon-quality haircare line was created by a trio of female founders who are millennial moms with deep CPG, mass retail, and manufacturing experience. Lindsay Holden spent the past eight years as a Senior Buyer for Target, Britta Chatterjee spent the past 15 years of her career across six different industries in both manufacturing and retail including Target and General Mills, and Shannon Kearney spent the past ten years in the haircare industry.

The high-performance formulas are cruelty-free, vegan, dermatologist tested, EU compliant, and all share the active ingredients amaranth and rice tein and contain a 100% natural gender-neutral fragrance. The assortment consists of three shampoo/conditioner duos covering volumizing, smoothing, and curl defining, as well as three styling products.

Available exclusively at Target and on the brand’s website, the simplified assortment of nine products are all priced at $11.99.

Frédéric Fekkai in partnership with Cornell Capital acquired the namesake brand and six salons he launched in 1995 from the fourth owners of the business Designer Parfums and Luxe Brands. He has reintroduced his namesake brand Fekkai as clean, vegan, and sustainable.

Each Fekkai formula contains optimum levels of natural or naturally derived ingredients and goes through an in-salon evaluation process. With a focus on glossing, repairing, strengthening, and protecting the hair, each product is free of parabens, sulfates, silicones, phthalates, and is 100% vegan and gluten-free. Every bottle in the collection is made with 95% high-grade repurposed plastic and is 100% recyclable.

The range consists of 15 products across five categories: Technician Color, Brilliant Gloss, Full Blown Volume, Super Strength, and Baby Blonde. Every product in the collection retails for $20, with smaller $5 sizes available from certain collections. The collection is available at Target, Walgreen, CVS, and Fekkai.com, and will be available in the UK at Selfridges and Feelunique.com in March 2020, with expansion in Europe and Asia planned for later in the year.

According to WWD, industry sources estimate the brand could do $50 million in sales in its first year.

Emerge is a new textured haircare brand created by Unilever and Sundial Brands for Gen Z multicultural women. Sundial’s deep knowledge of multicultural beauty and Unilever’s commitment to brands with purpose resulted in a range designed for today’s next-generation naturals who want to explore different hairstyles and lifestyles. The brand was founded to enable these acts of self-discovery at an accessible price point with a product range that allows consumers to braid, twist-out or wash-n-go.

The collection is infused with pequi oil and almond milk, and the products are formulated with a combination of naturally derived and non-natural ingredients to aid in adding curl definition and reducing frizz for 48 hours. The products are all formulated without sulfates, parabens, phthalates, silicones, mineral oil, petrolatum, or dyes.

To spread awareness of the brand’s product range and purpose, Emerge has assembled the Emerge Creative Collective (ECC), which is comprised of influential young women of color with diverse hair types, styles, and creative passions. These women include Erica Lall (professional ballet dancer), Jessica Zyrie (LGBTQIA activist), Tonina Saputo (singer, songwriter, bassist), Nesrin Danan (professional photographer), Blake Ja‘el (student, nail artist, natural hair vlogger), Veronica Bonilla (vintage fashion entrepreneur), and rounding out the group, celebrity hair artist Nai’vasha.

The range consists of six products priced at $6.99 and is sold exclusively at Target.

TPH by Taraji – Taraji P. Henson

Actress Taraji P. Henson has thrown her hat into the beauty game with an 18-SKU haircare collection born in Taraji’s kitchen from her tried-and-true experiments as her own haircare mixologist. TPH by Taraji was developed with Maesa for all hair types and textures, is priced under $15, and sold exclusively at Target in more than 1,800 doors.

TPH’s scalp-first approach creates the best environment for beautiful, healthy hair with products that encourage experimentation while tackling real hair concerns. From scalp cleansing to innovation in daily care and styling, TPH is the professional-grade solution for the next step in protective haircare for all hair textures.

Industry sources expect TPH to hit $20 million at retail in its first year.

COLab Dry Shampoo, the breakthrough UK product that boasts selling 10 million cans globally, is launching in the US market. COLab is a portfolio company of SLG Brands created by a team of beauty industry experts including international blogger Ruth Crilly. The cruelty-free and vegan formula has been developed for all hair colors and textures to leave hair feeling instantly clean, soft, and refreshed.

The dry shampoo comes in six scents and will be sold at Target, Walmart, and RiteAid for $5.49.

The mass channel might just be getting its mojo back, and the Target 2.0 beauty department is creating a backdrop to highlight trends and brand launches.