The number of skin-care brands with hair products is growing, with accessible French skin-care brand Typology newly bringing its ingredient-focused skin care to the hair category.
On June 28, the minimalist brand launched a range of hair and scalp products on its DTC site, tapping into the “skinification” of hair. Called Racines, which means “roots” in French, the new collection features three scalp serums and two hair oils.
“We’ve been seeing the convergence of skin and hair around the scalp area. That’s a global trend,” said Typology founder Ning Li. “What we’re proposing here is a very targeted solution for a specific issue.” The brand’s scalp serums are created to target itchiness, oiliness and hair loss. The hair oils include a dry hair oil with acai and hibiscus and, for drier hair, a rich hair oil with pequi and argan. To drive the launch, it will be promoting the category through its existing social channels and tapping into its network of skin-care influencers for social promotions.
“We are very ‘new kids on the block,’ especially for this category. Our angle here is working with an existing network that we have, which are more skin-care influencers and skin-care experts,” said Li.
“It’s a new segment for us, but it’s based on a known expertise, because the scalp is skin,” said Clara Croux, the chief of skin care ranges at Typology.
Typology’s international counterparts, including Canadian brand The Ordinary and U.K. brand The Inkey List, have also made their way into the hair category. The Inkey List launched a range of hair and scalp oils and serums in October 2020, following The Ordinary’s foray into the category back in 2018. Rather than offering typical hair products, these brands feature a range of treatments aimed at getting consumers to expand their hair routine beyond shampoo and conditioner.
“Each category is incredibly crowded. And if we’re going to enter a category, we must provide something that’s not just new, but also relevant to us,” said Li.
Typology launched in the U.S. in February 2021. Beyond skin care, it has expanded into makeup-skin-care hybrid products, and also recently added SPF to its lineup.
While The Ordinary recently launched its anti-clean beauty campaign, Typology openly highlights which ingredients it avoids. For its new hair and scalp line, that means no silicones or sulfates.
“We tend to see more formulas that are free from silicone and other polluting ingredients,” said Fatima Ndiaye, an R&D chemist and formulator at Typology. “We have been testing different emollients to find the right texture.”
According to Croux, squalane, a popular skin-care ingredient, can serve as a substitute for silicone, because it has a lightweight texture that “gives a shine without [making] your hair more heavy.”
Typology is available exclusively via DTC, which has “been working extremely well for us,” said Li, who noted that the brand plans to remain DTC-exclusive for “as long as possible.” It had also been considering a physical store pre-pandemic, which has since been “deprioritized” due to the shutdowns, said Li.
DTC is “the best channel for us to preserve the direct conversation with our customer, which we value,” he said.
