Why scalp care is becoming the new 'it' beauty trend for hair health

Consumers are increasingly fixating on their scalps, turning to head spas, pricey treatments and products to combat thin hair and irritation

By Gina Cherelus 

For up to two hours each day this summer, Mekalah El-Amin massaged her scalp in hopes of increasing hair growth and density.

 

Using her fingers or an electric, hand-held massager — changing its position every few minutes so no area was neglected — she would gently rub her scalp with the hopes of stimulating her curly coils from their follicles.

 

“For the sake of content and my own personal research, let me dedicate a stretch of time to see what works,” Ms. El-Amin said in a phone interview from her home in Los Angeles, referring to her TikTok account, where she regularly shared her progress.

 

 

More people are focusing their attention on their scalps to combat itching and dryness and to increase hair density. They’re turning to TikTok tutorials, pricey serums containing peptides, ceramides and hyaluronic acid and are even visiting head spas for a microscopic look at their hair follicles. (Some people are even traveling to Asia to try out these spas.) 

Some in the beauty industry might say that the scalp is the new “it” body part.

 

The term “scalp serum” had an average monthly popularity of more than 910,000 searches, views and posts across Google, TikTok and Instagram combined between September 2024 and August 2025, a 77 percent increase compared with the previous year, according to Spate, a market insights company. Meanwhile, the term “scalp massagers” grew 57.7 percent and “scalp treatment” grew 4.3 percent across the same platforms during that same period, compared with the year before, the company reported.

 

Statistics are hard to tease out on how scalp care products are used and by whom, because the market is still fairly niche. Forty-one percent of Americans who experience changes in their hair use serums, oils or similar products, even though severe hair problems affect only a minority “to a great extent,” according to data from an August study by YouGov.

 

Even as scalp treatments are a trending topic online, for women and men of different backgrounds, do they actually work? And why are consumers without specific scalp conditions — like seborrheic dermatitis, postpartum shedding or alopecia — jumping on board?  “I’m all for people who take care of their skin, and it seems to me like the scalp skin is just the new kid on the block,” said Maryanne Senna, a licensed dermatologist and the director of the Hair Loss Center of Excellence at Lahey Hospital & Medical Center in Burlington, Mass. 

“If they’re really experiencing hair loss, hair thinning, other things, then they really need to seek the help of a medical provider like a board-certified dermatologist,” she added.

 

Ms. El Amin learned about the viral, two-hour scalp massages from another TikTok user who captured widespread attention online after crediting her hair growth and retention to prolonged massage sessions.

 

It is true that increased blood flow, through scalp stimulation, does help with hair growth, said Crystal Aguh, a licensed dermatologist and the director of the Ethnic Skin Program at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine.

 

But was massaging for a full two hours necessary?

 

No, Ms. El-Amin admitted, as would Dr. Aguh, who described it as being “very excessive.” “Now I do it on my wash days, like once a week,” Ms. El-Amin said. “I wish there was like a hat or something you could put on that massages it for you.” 

Amy Chang, a beauty influencer in Los Angeles, said that when she started dealing with scalp irritation and hair loss about 10 years ago, she researched and tried scalp treatments and shared her results with her audience.

 

“Our scalp is just an extension of the skin on our face,” Ms. Chang said in a video interview.

 

Recently, she purchased 24 bottles of a hair growth serum while traveling in South Korea because it contains spicules, microscopic needles that are derived from marine sponges that gently pierce the scalp for deeper product absorption. Ms. Chang, who has more than one million followers on TikTok, claims that she improved her hair density as a result of her scalp-focused regimen.

 

The allure of these trends stem from the fact that hair is important for people and can affect their societal standing, said Dr. Aguh, the Johns Hopkins dermatologist.

 

Most major hair care brands offer some sort of scalp serum today, including drugstore staples like Dove and Head & Shoulders and more high-end options like Act & Acre, Briogeo and Olaplex, which introduced its Scalp Longevity Treatment serum this year to meet this growing demand.

 

“Just as skin care is about preparing and protecting the skin, scalp care is fundamental to achieving truly healthy, resilient hair,” Amanda Baldwin, the company’s chief executive, said in a statement. 

Cécred, a hair care brand founded by Beyoncé, became a popular choice for women trying to regrow their hair and improve density, with its now famous Restoring Hair & Edge Drops serum selling out frequently. The company reports that it sold one bottle every 16 seconds and had a wait list of more than 100,000 people from November 2024 to July 2025.

 

“It’s something that can be really debilitating if you don’t get a handle on it,” Ms. El-Amin said about her seborrheic dermatitis. “I feel like in the last five years or so, I’ve seen an uptick of products that are more geared toward the scalp that I don’t have to have a prescription for.”

 

That said, Dr. Senna of Lahey Hospital insists that people without skin conditions can probably skip the products.

 

“If you’re not having a problem, there shouldn’t be this huge drive to have to get all this stuff to put on your scalp, because again, not only is it likely unnecessary, even if it feels good or fun, but it could, in many cases, lead to irritation, inflammation and other scalp issues.”  Brandy Welch, a pharmacist and natural hair enthusiast in Washington, D.C., said that because she doesn’t have any scalp conditions, she doesn’t do much besides washing her scalp weekly and trusting that it can naturally maintain its healthiness. 

“The way I like to think of them is they’re like accessories, if that makes sense,” she said. “Can I technically go on throughout my day without carrying a handbag? Yes, I can. But for some, people just want to have that accessory.”

 

The rise in popularity of scalp-focused head spas is evident on TikTok, where a simple search for “Japanese head spa” results in several dozens of videos with thousands of views featuring treatments taking place everywhere from San Diego to Denver to, of course, Tokyo. At Masa.Kanai, a Japanese head spa in Manhattan, the popular 60-minute session starts at $300, while a 90-minute session costs $330 (there are similar spas where the treatment starts as low as $35). 

Clients there can expect to have their scalps analyzed under a microscopic camera before being given a customized herbal treatment and head massage. The treatment has been in such demand that the salon recently expanded to a second location in Manhattan and will also offer head spa treatments there.

 

“It took time until people were finally interested in it, maybe five or six years ago, when American people started the self-care trend,” said Ritsuko Borges, the founder of Masa.Kanai’s head spa and a cosmetologist for more than 30 years.

 

“In Japan, head spas are something basic that everybody does,” she added.

 

According to Dr. Senna, while hair spas are great for relaxation and self-care, they should not be confused as a substitute for medical care, especially for people “having significant scalp symptoms.”

 

“Really, at the end of the day, the only real danger is to a person’s wallet,” she said.