Is "Drugstore" Hair Care Making a Comeback? The Internet Says: Maybe!

Cracks seem to be forming in the beauty industry, once heralded as the industry for explosive profit potential. Recently, I’ve noticed a shift in online sentiment toward affordable mass market, or “drugstore”, hair care products—a category that has been relentlessly targeted by claims of “ineffective and dangerous” ingredients. But despite the promising rise of the “Sephora kid” and a growing industry, individuals who once turned their noses up at the thought of using a conditioner with silicones from the drugstore are now returning to brands many millennials haven’t touched since high school. Considering the decline in client bookings among my stylist and esthetician friends, alongside shifting consumer attitudes amidst the economic uncertainty looming over 2025, I had to ask myself: Will drugstore hair care have a skin care-esque renaissance?

First, I think it’s important to note the typical beauty consumers' confidence in affordable hair care. The era of the blogger marked an undeniable shift toward “natural” products that avoided “ineffective” and “dangerous'“ ingredients, which led many towards premium or salon quality hair care. On the opposite end of the spectrum, affordable skin care has seen an explosion in popularity and consumer trust. You wouldn’t judge someone for grabbing a serum from Target, but the internet might give you a few side-eyes if you posted a picture of a hair care product from the non-Ulta aisles. So, you bet my curiosity was piqued when I found YouTubers like Abbey Yung sharing her drugstore favorites—alongside countless TikToks of people returning to brands like Pantene, L’Oréal Paris, and Dove.

Did I agree with everything I saw? Of course not, but I had to do some digging to determine if what I was seeing online had some truth behind it.

A report published by McKinsey & Company in 2024 pointed out a few interesting numbers, including low volume growth and a trend of consumers “trading down.” And while I’m mainly focusing on hair care, these trends within the larger beauty industry showed there was some merit to my thought process when I put “drugstore hair care” on my “in list” at the start of 2025.

The first interesting data point focused on retail sales and volume growth from 2022 to 2023, highlighting that retail sales rose by 9% in the North American market while sales volume only increased by 1% , indicating profit mainly coming from price increases. While the concept of increasing prices is not unfamiliar to me—having watched certain brands at the salon I worked in during college raise prices almost yearly—I always wondered about this practice’s sustainability. And while I also understand the fluctuating costs that go into developing, creating, and marketing a product, I’ve caught wind of industry friends who personally feel that the practice was getting out of control.

I was left wondering: When will consumers decide the price and quality of a product no longer align? The McKinsey report hinted that this shift is already taking place:

“The value of the mass tier grew 10 percent during this period, in part because a share of consumers (up to 20 percent) in mature markets such as the United States and Europe said they had switched to cheaper brands.”

While the market at large (including prestige brands) reported growth, the looming threat of the “tariff wars” threaten to drive prices even higher as many brands are likely to see an increase in ingredient and packaging costs. When you pair that with America’s current economic anxiety, clients booking less, and unemployment numbers increasing, the trend toward “trading down” doesn’t seem like it will slow.

I’ll admit, I’ve added a bottle of Pantene shampoo and L’Oréal Paris conditioner to my shower caddy collection with results I can live with. Something I wasn’t able to say during my high school years. And while I’m typically open to trying most beauty products, “Sephora kids” reaching for those same bottles that contain the “S” words (silicones and sulfates) was something I did not have on my bingo card.

At the same time, maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised. The internet has been complaining about oversaturation for years, with breakneck launch schedules and a new celebrity or influencer brand appearing at every turn. In hair care specifically, the ever-increasing urge to have “perfect” hair has led to complicated routines, over-manipulation of hair, and constant use of drying styling products, leaving strands shredded. This is backed up by the fact that bond builders and repair products are in the spotlight at the moment.

Overall, I think the beauty consumer is tired—tired of their ever-growing collection of products, tired of constantly trying to emulate “the perfect look,” and tired of having to forfeit a significant portion of their paycheck during a time when layoffs and the economy are constant topics of conversation. A natural rebound effect was bound to happen.

So, where will high-end and mid-range brands go from here if a shift becomes neccessary? Will they relocate production and packaging sources in an attempt to weather the storm and come out bruised but alive? Will there be a return to hero products and slow release cycles? Or will they shame consumers trying to save money in a tone-death fashion?