Celebrities drive hair color market

How celebrities influence beauty consumers today is shifting. Endorsed fragrances come and go, while famous actors, models, and musicians are getting in on the business side of cosmetics and personal care​.

Now a study by online hair color company eSalon (which blends custom colors for its customers to use at home) shows that celebrity looks motivate a substantial number of consumers to dye their hair. 90% of women have colored their hair “to look like a celebrity,”​ reports eSalon.

On trend​

Popular looks also drive the business in a big way. “73% of women have colored their hair because of a current trend,” ​according to the survey.

And speaking of being on trend, eSalon released the data just in time for National Color Day on Thursday. The company is cleverly aiming to capitalize on social media buzz and quirky news coverage of the national day designated for learning about how colors affect our everyday life.

Nonetheless, the eSalon survey results paint an interesting picture of who colors their hair and why.

No big cover up​

To gather the data, the custom at-home hair care brand, surveyed 2,500 people who currently use hair dye. And it turns out that many of them aren’t hiding anything.

Less than half (46%) of respondents color their hair every 4 to 5 weeks to cover gray.  Plus, “there's no secret about going gray,” ​notes eSalon, “with 82% of women saying that their significant other knows they have gray hair and 89% saying close friends and family know they have gray hair.”​

When women do opt to die their gray hair, they start young. The survey shows that women, on average first see gray hair at 33, and 25% of respondents saw gray in their 20s. “53% of women began coloring their hair when it was 0-15% gray, immediately covering it up.”​

Mismatched color​

eSalon points to the challenge of finding a good DIY shade as real a pain point for consumers. “23% of women have tried more than 4 different at-home box dye brands in the last 5 years.”​

The company notes that women who have a go-to shade often can’t reliably find their preferred box dye on the shelf at brick and mortar shops. “Of those, nearly 80% settled for a different brand/shade that looked close to what they were looking for. A sad 13% gave up and didn’t color their hair,” ​according to the survey.

All this of course (along with the nuances of natural hair colors and people’s unique complexions) suggests that personalized shades are an inviting alternative for consumers.