K-Hair Care Goes Global: Korean Shampoo Brands Surge in U.S., China, Europe

Korean hair care is becoming the next big Korean export, following the same path that turned K-beauty into a global phenomenon. Hair product exports from South Korea rose about 33% in the first four months of this year, according to data from the alternative data platform Aicel, released on May 24.

Exports reached $190 million from January to April, up from $143 million in the same period a year earlier. Shampoo exports climbed 44%, conditioner rose 66%, and other hair products grew 23%. If the pace holds, total hair product exports are on track to set a new record this year, after already hitting an all-time high in 2024.

The growth is being driven in part by Gen Z consumers overseas and a trend the beauty industry calls "skinification," the idea that the scalp deserves the same careful treatment as facial skin. Korean companies have been quick to design products and marketing around that shift.

"K-hair care combines function, emotional appeal and value, and it's following the same success formula as K-beauty," a beauty industry official said. "It's quickly becoming a new export engine."

The numbers from major brands back that up. In the United States, sales of Dr.Groot, a hair care line from LG Household & Health Care, jumped more than 800% last year compared with the year before. Two years after entering the North American market through online channels, the brand is now stocked in 682 Costco locations across the U.S., Canada and Mexico.

Ryo, the hair care brand from Amorepacific, saw sales in the Greater China region grow more than 90% last year.

I'm from Just, launched in China in 2024 by Shinsegae International, is also gaining ground. During the Women's Day shopping period on March 8, a major sales window in China, I'm from Just ranked third in the shampoo category on Douyin, China's largest short-form video and live commerce platform, beating local brands. The brand's sales in China surged 174% last year and another 180% in the first quarter of this year.

Korean brands are pushing into Europe too. Gravity Shampoo, from the startup Polyphenol Factory, became the first Korean hair care brand to enter France's three major luxury department stores.

Polyphenol Factory was founded by Lee Hae-shin, a professor at KAIST, and built its products around science-based dermocosmetics, an approach that appeals strongly to European consumers. Industry watchers say smaller Korean brands like Gravity have been able to crack global retail because the products work and the marketing is sharp.

K-hair care is leaning on the same playbook that worked for K-beauty. Brands build buzz with short before-and-after videos on social media, launch first on online stores that overseas shoppers already use, then expand into physical retail once demand is clear.

The shift is changing the business mix at Korea's largest beauty companies. At Amorepacific, LG Household & Health Care and Aekyung Industrial, sales of household goods, including hair products, are now growing faster than cosmetics. After being hit by the fast rise of indie brands, these larger companies are treating hair care as a key area for future growth.

"There's never been a case where Korean consumer goods have spread this widely across categories in advanced markets like the U.S. and Europe," said Park Jong-dae, an analyst at Meritz Securities. "It's hard to even estimate how much bigger the K-beauty industry can get."