Making hair and scalp care products in Korea

Korean beauty treats the scalp as skin, and that idea has spread. Scalp scalers, scalp serums and gentle shampoos built around skincare ingredients are some of the products brands abroad most often want to make in Korea, alongside hair masks and oils.

Korean cosmetics manufacturers make hair care for brands around the world. A few things set it apart from skincare: larger bottles, heavier shipments and claims that can quickly change how a product is regulated.

The products

• Shampoos and conditioners. The core of most lines, usually in larger bottles.
• Scalp scalers. Pre-wash treatments that loosen buildup, often with exfoliating ingredients.
• Scalp serums and tonics. Leave-on products, closer to skincare in how they’re made and tested.
• Hair masks and treatments. Rich rinse-off or leave-in products, often in tubes or jars.
• Hair oils and essences. Lightweight leave-in products for shine and protection.

Many brands start with one or two products, such as a shampoo and a scalp serum, and build out from there.

Formulation choices

• Cleansing system. Shampoos are built around surfactants. Mild, sulfate-free systems are popular, and the choice affects foam, feel, cost and how the product rinses.
• pH. Scalp products are often formulated to be gentle on the skin, and the pH affects both the scalp and the hair.
• Key ingredients. Ingredients such as panthenol, niacinamide, plant extracts and exfoliants are common. Each one has to be allowed, at that level, in every market you sell in.
• Silicones, oils and fragrance. These shape how hair feels, and they’re often where brands want to stand out.
• Preservation. Water-rich products need preservatives that work, and testing to prove it.

With an ODM manufacturer, development usually starts from one of the lab’s existing bases and is adjusted to your brief, which is faster than starting from nothing.

Claims change the rules

Words on the label matter more in hair and scalp care than in most categories.

• United States. A product that claims to treat dandruff or to prevent or treat hair loss is regulated as a drug rather than a cosmetic. Anti-dandruff shampoos can be sold as over-the-counter drugs if they use approved active ingredients at allowed levels, with a Drug Facts label and a manufacturer registered with the FDA. Hair growth claims are much harder to support.
• Korea. Products that claim to ease hair loss symptoms are functional cosmetics that need review by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety.
• European Union. Cosmetics can’t claim to treat a condition, and some anti-dandruff ingredients are restricted to set levels.

Decide your claims and markets before the formula is final. Words like “strengthening”, “nourishing” or “for a balanced scalp” keep a product a cosmetic in most markets. Claims about hair loss or dandruff need a plan.

Packaging and shipping

Hair care comes in bigger sizes, often 300 to 500 ml, so packaging and shipping make up a larger share of the cost than in skincare.

• Bottles and pumps. Stock bottles with your printing or labels are the fastest way to start. Pumps add cost and need testing with the formula.
• Tubes and jars for masks and treatments.
• Refill pouches, if you plan to offer them, with their own minimums.
• Shipping. Liquids are heavy, so sea freight is usually far cheaper than air for full orders. Plan the extra weeks into your launch.

As in other categories, packaging often sets the minimum order, and each size or scent is usually its own minimum.

Testing

Expect stability testing, preservative testing and checks that the formula works with its bottle and pump. If you want to say a product is suitable for sensitive scalps or has been dermatologist tested, plan for the testing behind that claim.

Questions to ask a manufacturer

• Do you make hair and scalp care for our markets, and which certifications do you hold?
• Can you start from an existing base for this product, and how many sample rounds are included?
• If we want anti-dandruff or hair loss claims, have you made those products for our markets?
• What is the minimum per product and per size, and is it set by the batch or the packaging?
• Who sources the bottles and pumps, and who tests them with the formula?
• Who owns the formula once we’re done?

How Andle helps

We find Korean hair care manufacturers and packaging suppliers that fit your product, ask them to quote the same spec and lay the quotes side by side, including what each one leaves out. Then we coordinate samples, packaging, testing and production with you and every partner. You see every manufacturer by name and work with them directly. Read more about making cosmetics in Korea, or tell us what you’re making and we’ll send a free feasibility check within 48 hours.