The 5 Haircare Categories Your Clients Bought Most in 2025 (And What It Means for Your Retail Game)

If you've ever wondered what other salon pros across the country are selling — and what clients are actually pulling the trigger on — we've got the data for you.

We dug into the SalonInteractive platform numbers for all of 2025, and the results are telling. Across 105,000+ units sold and over $4M in sales by SI salon professionals, five categories rose to the top.

Let's break them down, because understanding what's moving off shelves isn't just interesting — it's a roadmap for your retail strategy heading into 2026.

1. Shampoo: The Steady Anchor

No surprises here — shampoo is still the backbone of professional haircare retail, and it showed up in a big way in 2025. It was the top revenue-generating category on the platform by a significant margin.

But here's the nuance: the shampoos that won weren't budget options. The top shampoos on SI were Milbon Replenishing Shampoo, Matrix Food For Soft Hydrating Shampoo, and Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate Sulfate Free Shampoo — which tells us clients are buying up when given a professional recommendation. They trust you. They're willing to spend when you take the time to explain why a product works.

What this means for you: If shampoo isn't part of your regular recommendation conversation, it should be. This is the gateway product — the one that gets a client into the habit of buying from you. Make it easy to recommend, and remember — it is always in stock on your Online Store!

2. Dry Shampoo: The Between-Visit Essential

Dry shampoo punches well above its weight as a retail category — and the 2025 data shows clients are buying it consistently when salon pros make it part of the conversation.

The top performers were K18 AirWash Dry Shampoo, amika Perk Up Dry Shampoo Original, and Moroccanoil Dry Shampoo Light Tones — three distinct brands with three distinct client profiles, which means there's a recommendation here for almost every person in your chair.

What this means for you: Dry shampoo is the perfect between-visit product. It extends the life of a blowout, keeps clients happy between appointments, and — crucially — it's something they'll run out of and need to reorder. Add your go-to dry shampoo to your SI store and let it work quietly in the background.

3. Treatment: The High-Value Dark Horse

Treatment came in neck-and-neck with styling — but the story gets more interesting when you look at units. Treatment generated roughly the same revenue as styling with significantly fewer SKUs, which means the average ticket per treatment product was higher.

Clients are investing in their hair health. The K18 Leave-In Molecular Repair Hair Mask was among the most-purchased products on the entire SI platform — across all categories. Davines OI All In One Milk and Milbon's Replenishing Treatment also ranked among the top treatment performers.

Why? Because treatments have a story. Damage repair, bond rebuilding, moisture restoration — these are concepts clients understand and care about, especially as color and heat styling continue to drive demand for reparative products.

What this means for you: Treatment is where trust meets revenue. When a client sits in your chair with weakened, color-treated, or over-processed hair, that's your moment. A personalized treatment recommendation — backed by why it specifically works for their hair — is one of the most natural home care conversations you can have. And the data proves clients say yes.

4. Conditioner: The Loyal Repurchase Category

Conditioner rounded out the top four and tells a great story about loyalty and repurchase behavior. The top conditioners on SI were Matrix Food For Soft Detangling Hydrating Conditioner, Redken Acidic Bonding Concentrate Sulfate Free Conditioner, and amika Hydro Rush Intense Moisture Leave-In Conditioner.

Conditioner buyers come back. They find something that works, and they stick with it. That makes this category a perfect fit for product recommendations sent post-appointment via SalonInteractive — a gentle reminder to reorder before they run out, or a "you loved this last time" message that converts without feeling pushy.

What this means for you: Set it and forget it — in the best possible way. A shampoo and conditioner duo is the perfect way to ensure the best possible results for your client. Add your top shampoo and conditioner recommendation to your SI product list, send it after appointments, and let the platform do the follow-up. Repurchase behavior in this category is strong.

5. Tools: Small Category, Big Opportunity

Tools was the smallest category in the top five by revenue, but don't let that fool you — the average ticket here is the highest of any category. The #1 tool on SI in 2025 was the L'Oréal Professionnel AirLight Pro hair dryer at a $475 MSRP. That's one recommendation turning into a meaningful retail win.

For most salon pros, tools feel like a stretch in the retail conversation. But clients trust your expertise on tools more than they trust any other source — more than a YouTube review, more than an influencer. When you use something on their hair and they love the result, they want it.

What this means for you: You don't need to sell a lot of tools to make an impact. Even one or two tool recommendations a month at a premium price point can meaningfully add to your retail revenue. Make sure your top tools are in your Online Store and visible when clients browse your recommendations.

The Big Picture

The SI platform data for 2025 is a window into what salon clients across the country are prioritizing for their hair — and what they're willing to invest in when a professional they trust makes the recommendation.

The brands that showed up most? Milbon, Redken, Davines, K18, amika and Matrix — each with a clear story, strong professional credibility, and products that deliver on their promises.

Your clients want great hair. They're ready to protect their color and cut investment with the right products. The opportunity is in making the connection between what you do in the chair and what they use at home.

That's what SalonInteractive is built for — and the 2025 numbers show it's working.

Data sourced from SalonInteractive platform sales, January–December 2025. Categories analyzed: Shampoo, Conditioner, Treatment, Styling, Tools, Dry Shampoo, Hairspray. All product sizes consolidated per product name.