Professional Products

In 2023, the Professional Products Division confirmed its position as the historic leader in the professional beauty market, proving its ability to continuously adapt to industry changes and evolving professional and consumer expectations.

Premiumisation in haircare

Consumers have confirmed their appetite for premium haircare products since the Covid-19 pandemic, seeking increasingly sophisticated hair routines inspired by skincare trends, like serums. The Division offers many disruptive innovations featuring high-end formulas, such as the Genesis anti-hair-fall fortifying range by Kérastase and the Metal Detox shine routine by L’Oréal Professionnel, to name just two. Thanks to its powerful brand portfolio, the Division is perfectly positioned to meet all consumer needs.

Serving all hairdressers

The Division continuously adapts to an ever-changing market, characterised by the rise of independent stylists, who make up 55-60% of hairdressers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Brazil. Meeting the needs of hairstylists, whether employees or independent, has always been the Division’s priority. With the launch of its B2B e-commerce platforms — L’Oréal Partner Shop and SalonCentric.com — and its online academy, L’Oréal Access, the Division now boasts a comprehensive online ecosystem that serves all hairdressers.

The omnichannel approach: a winning strategy

Today the Division is truly omnichannel. It remains dedicated to its 400,000 partner salons, where stylists’ professional expertise and advocacy are valuable assets in reaching new consumers. At the same time, the Division is growing online sales worldwide. It is also steadily expanding distribution specialty retail. These new channels, e-commerce and specialty retail, now account for 35% of the Division’s total sales.

Growth drivers around the globe

The Division is accelerating rapidly in growth markets. In China, it is expanding the premium haircare category with Kérastase and developing high-end salons that provide ultra-personalised services. In India, the Division helped develop the profession by training over a million hairdressers in 2023. Today it has over 50,000 partner salons in the country.

Disruptive formulas

L’Oréal Professionnel has brought to market many disruptive innovations, such as the Metal Detox haircare range, which features patented technology. Enriched with Glicoamine, it neutralises the metal naturally present in excess in hair to amplify shine, reduce the risk of breakage and preserve hair colour. Another breakthrough is the new Absolut Repair Molecular range, which tackles the problem of damaged hair by reconstructing the hair’s molecular structure, thanks to its high concentration of peptide binders and amino acids. For the first time, L’Oréal Advanced Research has successfully repaired hair fibre at the smallest molecular level: the peptide.
Kérastase meanwhile has developed high-end solutions for specific issues, such as the Genesis range to combat hair loss.

Innovations enhanced by Beauty Tech

Kérastase provides ultra-personalised services such as the innovative K-scan, a camera that analyses scalp and hair. This AI-enhanced tool helps hairstylists select the right haircare routine for clients and makes it easier for consumers to understand their hair issues.
The iNOA [iD] application is another key innovation rolled out by L’Oréal Professionnel in 71 countries, where it has been downloaded 450,000 times. This professional tool enables in-salon colour diagnosis and virtual try-on to find the perfect shade combination. iNOA [iD] allows clients to explore more than 4,000 formulas, after a comprehensive assessment to determine the percentage of grey hair, type of coverage desired, root colour, hair length and natural highlight colour.
In addition, many of the Division’s products now feature QR codes6 on their packaging. They give consumers access to a host of information including ingredients, tutorials, results and expert reviews to promote informed purchases. Forty-one percent of products already feature QR codes.

Innovation drives sustainable transformation

With L’Oréal for the Future, the Group is shifting to a more sustainable model. The Professional Products Division is supporting hairdressers as they make their sustainable transition with its Hairstylists for the Future programme.
In 2023, the Division sold more than 5,000 Water Saver showerheads, co-developed with startup Gjosa and which made TIME magazine’s “100 Best Inventions of the Year” list. The L’Oréal Professionnel Water Saver features patented water micronisation technology that helps salons reduce water consumption at the back bar by 69%, while preserving the quality of the experience for their clients. In 2023, the technology saved the equivalent of 80 Olympic-size pools.
Brands are also working hard to reduce their environmental impact. For example, L’Oréal Professionnel has rolled out bottles made of 95% recycled plastic for its Série Expert line, and its Dia Light and iNOA hair colour ranges feature aluminium tubes made of 95% recycled metal.

Smart beauty devices for ultra-personalisation