A little over a year ago, Sephora told Glossy Pop it would double its K-beauty skin-care portfolio in 2025.
That portfolio now includes 17 brands. Recent additions span heritage names like Amorepacific-owned Aestura; viral upstarts like Biodance, known for its sheet masks; and Beauty of Joseon, known for its popular SPF. In 2026 alone, Sephora has added Iope, also under the Amorepacific umbrella; Arencia; PDRN-fueled Rejuran and its first hair-care brand, Unove. On April 1, the retailer will launch its second K-beauty hair-care brand, LG-owned Dr. Groot, online. That will be followed by an in-store rollout on April 15.
This year, the retailer does not plan to slow its investment in K-Beauty. “We’re excited to expand into additional categories within Korean Beauty, especially following our recent partnership announcement with Olive Young, the leading Korean beauty and health retailer,” said Jennifer Lucchese, Sephora’s svp of hair-care merchandising.
The two retailers will debut a partnership this fall through which Olive Young will have a curated section of products spotlighting current K-Beauty trends at Sephora.
Dr. Groot is the second of four Korean hair-care brands Sephora will introduce this year, Lucchese said, adding that each “offers clients innovative, results-driven hair care at an accessible price point.”
Unove, introduced in mid-January, debuted at Sephora with seven SKUs, ranging in price from $13-$28. “In Korea, hair care has never been about styling alone,” said Selena Moon, brand director at Unove. “It’s much more like skin care. We apply the same high-performance, active ingredients found in Korean skin-care formulas to hair-care formulas.” On Instagram, Unove’s global account has 5,200 followers, and its Korean account has 52,000. Its global TikTok account has over 9,000 followers.
Unove has two key collections, one focused on frizz reduction and “glass hair,” and its hero line, which focuses on damage repair. In addition to shampoo and conditioner, the lineup also includes a hair mask, a leave-in conditioner, a hair oil and a taming wand. Unove tapped celebrity hairstylist Jenny Cho to help introduce it to the U.S. consumer and build credibility, said Tara Kim, the brand’s U.S. marketing manager. The brand’s hero ingredient is a highly-concentrated keratin, said to help smooth and strengthen hair.
The point of difference for Sephora’s newest K-beauty entrant, Dr. Groot, lies in its focus on scalp care, said Tyler Lee, director of sales at LG H&H (Household & Health Care) USA. LG launched Dr. Groot in 2017, and the brand debuted in the U.S. in 2023, first on Amazon. On Instagram, Dr. Groot has 30,000 followers; on TikTok, it has 69,000.
Though not an official partner, celebrity hairstylist Mark Townsend has consistently supported Dr. Groot, hosting media events to introduce it to the press and posting social content. Content created with Townsend was also used in Connected TV ads and paid media for the brand. His endorsement helped it gain traction in the U.S., said Susan Small, head of PR for LG H&H USA. “No one [knew] Korean hair care, and he’s the reason beauty editors even tried it. Once they tried it, they were hooked. The products are good, and they work. But, he definitely helped get people interested.”
Since K-Beauty’s renaissance last year, Sephora has been paying attention to where the trend may go next. In addition to new skin-care additions, February marked the introduction of Korean color cosmetics brand Laka.
“Obviously, [Sephora was] in its second boom, in terms of pushing K-Beauty with skin care. They obviously see the ‘skinification’ [of hair care] trend, and they were starting to feel like the next [big thing in] K-Beauty could be hair care,” Lee said. “And it was right around that time when Dr. Groot was really taking off in the U.S., even though the brand had been around for quite some time. They were starting to see a lot of the amazing partnerships we had with creators.”
Lee noted that the retail partnership had been in the works since the start of 2025, based on demand.
Data confirms that Sephora was smart to pay attention. Dr. Groot landed the No. 2 spot on Traackr’s 2025 list of rising hair-care brands, based on growth in VIT — its proprietary metric analyzing visibility (reach), impact (engagement) and trust (quality of brand mention). It is also the fastest-scaling creator ecosystem in the Tribe Dynamics portfolio, with its creator community reaching more than 2,400 members, up 750% year over year from 2024 to 2025. Its earned media value has climbed to $18.1 million (up 403.4% year over year), while U.S. digital net sales — which include Amazon, DTC and TikTok Shop — rose 1,027% year over year.
“We know hair thinning and scalp health are top concerns for many of our clients, and Dr. Groot is at the forefront of this conversation, with advanced, clinically-backed solutions — and strong credibility in Korea, as the No. 1 hair thickening hair-care brand,” Lucchese said, regarding the brand’s appeal to Sephora.
Korean hair care, Lucchese said, is “similar to Korean skin care [in that it] is built on a regimen-based philosophy, focusing on gentle, lightweight treatments that support long-term scalp health, helping clients achieve healthy hair — [such as] the viral ‘glass hair.'”
“Our merchandising team has worked hard to ensure that each brand we bring into our assortment addresses a white space and supports our clients’ unique interests and needs,” she said. “Our focus remains on prioritizing products that are efficacious, while also going deeper into product education and introducing key trends from Korea to the U.S. We hope to show consumers that ‘K-Beauty’ is not just a trend, but a category that should be taken seriously and given the credit it deserves as it continues to grow and expand over time.”
Like Sephora, Ulta also doubled down on K-Beauty in 2025, debuting 13 new brands across skin care and color cosmetics in July. On Ulta’s website, it carries Korean hair-care brands like Kundal and Daeng Gi Meo Ri, though the brands fulfill orders themselves.
