How fragrances are becoming the mane attraction

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Great-smelling hair is one of those alluring attributes eulogised by pop stars and poets. “Long, long let me breathe the fragrance of your hair,” wrote Charles Baudelaire in his 1869 poem “Un hémisphère dans une chevelure” — lines that may or may not have lost some of their potency since being quoted by Uncle Monty in Withnail & I.

Uncle Monty no doubt appreciated a fresh scalp as much as the next person. Even catching a whiff of your own shampoo-clean hair can put a spring in your step, whether you’re proceeding to a business meeting or a romantic liaison. But that smell can fade quickly. The porous quality of hair means it is just as likely to absorb the less appealing eau de frying pan, or worse, cigarettes — as anyone who spent an evening in a British pub before 2007 will remember — until that next shampoo.

This is where perfumes designed especially for hair, often categorised as hair mists, come in. While it’s not a good idea to refresh your hair by using traditional perfume in your hair (British perfumer Lyn Harris, founder of Perfumer H, warned me years ago about the drying effect on hair of perfume’s alcohol content), these mists contain a lower percentage of alcohol than eau de parfum and eau de toilette, making them less damaging to use on hair.

Fragrance generally is attracting a good deal of attention right now, particularly from the younger generations. At upmarket beauty retailer Space NK, the category is growing and expected to accelerate this year beyond make-up and skincare. Estée Lauder, whose luxury perfume brands include Jo Malone, Le Labo and By Kilian, reported that fragrance net sales increased 2 per cent in its fiscal year ending on June 30, outperforming skincare, make-up and haircare categories.

According to consumer data tracking agency Spate, which combines data from Google and TikTok, fragrance is the top-growing category with audiences on these platforms, followed by hair, above skincare and make-up. By August 11 2024, it reports, the hashtag #howtosmellgood alongside hair fragrance had grown almost 560 per cent year on year on US TikTok, with 58mn average weekly views. Within that, hair mists are gaining traction.

“As consumers are deepening their connection with fragrance, they’re finding new ways to incorporate it into their routines, including using hair perfumes,” says Yarden Horwitz, Spate’s co-founder. “TikTok is helping to fuel this trend, as seen by the rise of hair fragrances on the platform.” 

Spate research shows that within the hair fragrance trend, the brand attracting the most searches in the past 12 months on Google is Gisou. The Gen Z haircare favourite, founded in 2015 by the Dutch-Iranian former beauty blogger Negin Mirsalehi, released its first hair mist in 2018. This year it has released two floral editions, Wild Rose and, this month, Lavender Berry (£34, uk.gisou.com). As well as making hair smell attractive, Mirsalehi says the products act as a treatment to boost moisture and shine. “I typically use it post-styling, for quick spritzes when I’m out and about or between washes for a refresh,” she says. “It doesn’t leave a residue like dry shampoo can.” The Wild Rose edition is the top seller among hair fragrances at Selfridges, which currently offers hair perfume from 24 different brands.

Traditional perfume houses are on the trend. Chanel entered the category in 2015 and currently has hair-friendly versions of Gabrielle Chanel, Coco Mademoiselle and No. 5 (£60 for 35ml, chanel.com). Dior’s La Collection Privée Christian Dior Hair Perfume, arrived last year in four scents (£104 for 40ml, dior.com). Byredo launched its hair perfumes in 2019 and currently has seven scents in the range, including Mojave Ghost and Blanche (recently name-checked on Netflix drama, The Perfect Couple as, “The literal best”, £60, byredo.com).

Diptyque introduced hair mists in 2018 and now has a collection of eight, including its newest, L’Eau Papier, a take on its 2023 EDP fragrance, which smells like a new notebook: clean and lightly floral (£58, diptyqueparis.com). “While typically, fragrance application is focused on our pulse points on the skin, hair mists allow for another way to perfume yourself,” says Amanda Morgan, managing director of Diptyque UK, “creating an additional fragrance layer, which can be the same scent you are wearing in a traditional perfume, or a different one to create your own distinct signature scent.”

The attraction for a luxury perfume brand then is clear — hair mists are a new entry-point product and offer the opportunity to suggest, as many brands do at the virtual shopping basket, increasing the purchase with another member of the same perfume family. A recent Instagram post by By Kilian suggested pairing its Woman in Gold perfume and hair mist version as a “scented ritual”. And it’s a nice alternative if you’re into perfume. A beauty-obsessed friend says that she uses one on weekends or before a Pilates class. For work, she prefers a fragrance that is “a bit more heavy-duty”.

While I like having that perfumed presence around my face when my hair moves, I’m mostly using hair fragrance on the days when I work from home and don’t want to “waste” more precious perfumes or wash my hair. Because mists have a more casual feeling — usually a cheaper price point and a smaller bottle — I’m finding them useful to throw in a bag when heading out. And, occasionally, for a spritz before bed, in fragrant homage to the poets.  

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