YOLANDA GRUNEWALD
RUKA Hair, London, United Kingdom

Abstract

The pandemic has understandably had an immense impact on consumer shopping and usage habits and hair care has not been spared from these changes. Whilst the hair styling segment has seen a decline (7), likely due to work from home and hybrid styles of working– hair treatments and at home colour treatments are on the rise for similar reasons (14).
Starting before the pandemic and continuing through it is the growth of the prestige segment which is reported to grow 3.5x above the mass segment (14). This, along with the skincare influenced “Skincarehaircare” trend has created room for active filled, specifically targeted hair products which can form part of the consumer’s carefully selected hair care routine – just as they would with their skin care! Now is the time to take a more holistic view to hair care with a focus on wellness, wellbeing and self-care rituals and a thought through hair care routine makes the perfect addition to this approach!!

HAIR PHYSIOLOGY AND COSMETIC VS MEDICINAL HAIR CARE
Broadly speaking, hair can be divided into two parts. The first part is the hair root, where the hair begins to form within the hair bulb in the dermis and it is followed by the part most relevant in hair product development and formulating- the hair shaft. As the hair penetrates through the epidermis, it appears as a visible hair fibre on the scalp (1).

In the European Commission’s directive 2001/83/EC on medicinal products for human use, a medicinal product is defined as “(a) Any substance or combination of substances presented as having properties for treating or preventing disease in human beings; or (b) Any substance or combination of substances which may be used in or administered to human beings either with a view to restoring, correcting or modifying physiological functions by exerting a pharmacological, immunological or metabolic action, or to making a medical diagnosis.” (2).

As hair growth is a physiological function, conditions affecting hair growth, such as Alopecia, should be treated with medicinal products and not by cosmetic products.