We just had a chat with Kate Holden, our go-to expert for all things hair and scalp, and let's just say the future of follicle health is looking seriously exciting. We're talking AI that can read your scalp like a book, skincare ingredients making their way into your hair care routine, and next-level sustainable beauty trends.
Kate spilled the tea on all the coolest innovations coming our way, so if you’re obsessed with keeping your hair healthy and happy, you’re gonna want to keep reading.
Here are four innovations in hair care to look out for according to Kate:
AI technology for scalp health
AI is everywhere, and it’s coming for our follicles too. Whatever you may think about the ethics and challenges of AI, there’s no doubt that we will be using it to optimise our hair and scalp health. Forward thinking brands already use AI based quizzes (take our quiz here) to suggest your perfect hair care routine, and now scientists are developing tools to be able to scan your scalp to tell you how oily, dry, irritated or flaky it is as well as if it detects hair loss.
Our unique microbiome
If you’ve been a fan of Noughty for a while, you’ll know they’re keen on supporting the hair follicle microbiome. We are just beginning to understand how our microbiomes function and what happens when they become imbalanced. People with hair loss and scalp conditions often have different makeups of microorganisms, and the more we know about this the more we’ll be able to design hair care to target these issues. Anti-fungal ingredients, coconut oils and heat-treated probiotics have all recently been shown to help replenish the scalp microbiome. Noughty’s Care Taker Scalp Tonic contains Coconut Oil and it’s clinically proven to reduce flakiness up to 60% in just 4 weeks of consecutive use.
Skinification of hair care
Bringing skincare hero ingredients into our haircare has been around for a couple of years now, but it shows no signs of stopping. Skincare faves salicylic acid, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and peptides are popping up more because after all, our scalp is skin too. UV protection, skin barrier support and anti-ageing will likely be the next big trends in supporting our follicle health. Did you know that Noughty’s Care Taker Scalp Relief Mask contains Salicylic Acid?
Green chemistry and biocosmetics
There is a huge demand for the beauty industry to be more sustainable while staying affordable. Researchers are working hard to develop natural ingredients that don’t impact the planet while being kind to our follicles. Biodegradable cleansing agents from coconut and palm trees, harvesting renewable ingredients from algae, and extracting powerful plant compounds from food waste are just some of the technologies that are being worked on. Read more about how Noughty supports sustainability here.