As hair loss has entered the zeitgeist—at the end of last year, Atlantic writer Amanda Mull dubbed 2021 “the year America’s hair fell out”—the topic has become less taboo. “It was one of those problems that people were hesitant to speak about, even to one another,” says Shaban. “But there's a new set of women out there who are just not gonna suffer in silence no matter what the issue is. They're not embarrassed or ashamed.” 

Rumer Willis, a 34-year-old actress, is one of those women. She partnered with hair-wellness brand Nutrafol in September to share her own journey with thinning hair. “Hair loss is so normal,” says Willis. “The more conversations that people can have and [the more we can] be vulnerable, the better.” Stars like Jennifer Garner, Nicole Kidman, and Ricki Lake have also been vocal about their experiences; by partnering with hair-growth brands Virtue Labs, Vegamour, and Harklinikken, respectively, they’ve added star power to the hair-loss conversation.

People are looking for solutions, and the market is swelling to meet their demand: According to a market analysis by The Insight Partners, the hair-loss-prevention products market is predicted to climb from $23.6 million in 2021 to $31.5 million by 2028, with a plethora of more targeted, varied, and elegant solutions contributing to this growth. Until recently, the most well-known and readily available hair-growth drug was topical minoxidil, which you may recognize as the active ingredient in Rogaine. But minoxidil only works for hormonal hair loss, like female pattern baldness—it won’t do anything for stress-related hair loss. “It doesn't matter how wonderful any compound or drug is, it all is going to work differently on different people,” says Jessica Cho, MD, an integrative medicine physician and hair restoration specialist. And as more and more people experience stress-related hair loss, “we definitely need a lot of options.” 

Options will abound in 2023. First, we’ll see expanded medical solutions for treating hair loss, particularly the types caused by autoimmune conditions or genetic issues. This past June, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first drug for the treatment of alopecia areata—an autoimmune disorder that causes hair loss—from Eli Lilly. Pfizer is seeking FDA approval for its own similar drug and expects the agency to announce a decision in the spring of 2023. And Concert Pharmaceuticals plans to file its application for a related option in the first half of next year. “After a drug is approved, it should be able to be prescribed fairly soon afterward,” says Michael Wolfeld, MD, a board-certified hair restoration specialist and plastic surgeon. This means that these options could be available as early as next year.

Another new prescription option came with an October launch from direct-to-consumer company Muesly: The brand’s oral minoxidil pills include hair-growth-inducing ingredients like spironolactone and zinc so that you can combat shedding and promote new growth with a single treatment. (Hormonal hair loss is an off-label use for oral minoxidil, a drug used to treat high blood pressure.) “With these new hair pill formulas, we are able to achieve an offense and defense approach that is entirely new for the industry,” says Brandon Kirsch, MD, board-certified dermatologist and medical director at Musely. 

Over the counter, we’ll soon see more research-backed products that promote growth by focusing on scalp health; these products are a boon to folks dealing with stress-related or post-partum hair loss. “If the scalp is dirty, if it's oily, if the follicles are clogged, if the microflora balance is off, if the pH is off, you're not going to grow healthy hair,” says Shaban. In 2022, we saw brands including Ouai, Luseta Beauty, and Nécessaire enter this space with new launches, and 2023 will bring even more. 

To name a few: Unilever, one of the largest beauty conglomerates, acquired a majority stake in Nutrafol this past May. (Fun fact: Nutrafol launched holiday bundles for the first time ever this year, highlighting the fact hair loss is now so ubiquitous, you can gift treatment products without fear of shaming the recipient). Virtue Labs raised $3.6 million in 2022 for the development of its Flourish line, which targets female hair loss with hair-healing protein Alpha Keratin 60ku. It launched its Flourish Mask for Thinning Hair, which adds strength and moisture back to thinning hair while supporting new hair growth, in August, and plans to expand its Flourish formulas into a new category in 2023. Act+Acre, which is known for its hair-growth products, introduced a twice-as-large version of its always-sold-out growth-promoting exfoliating serum, Cold Processed Scalp Renew, in November, and will launch its first curl collection in January.

Additionally, the new year will bring more products that help you give the appearance of fuller hair while also helping your hair grow back. Monat IR Clinical launched a three-part system in November that uses caffeine to reduce hair fall-out and Capixyl to strengthen stands, perking them up and helping them appear fuller. Luminess released air-brush root and scalp cover-up pigments in October and plans to launch a complementing scalp serum and oil in 2023. "Luminess has been rooted in air-delivery technology and, previously, this was only being used for coverage of skin with airbrush makeup,” says Andrew Videira, chief marketing and product officer at Luminess. “We realized that the same precision application used for makeup could be used for root coverup, giving the consumer greater control over application and a more natural appearance. We believe that hair and scalp will continue to be an emerging area of consumer interest.”