Celebrity Hair Care Brands Face the Repeat-Purchase Test

Amara Osei

Beyoncé, Cardi B and Rihanna have each launched a celebrity-owned hair care brand in the past two years, setting a crowded market test for Jennifer Lawrence’s new biodesigned label, mes°.

The latest entrant joins three brands launched during that two-year surge:

• Beyoncé launched Cécred.
• Cardi B unveiled Grow-Good Beauty.
• Rihanna debuted Fenty Hair.
• Jennifer Lawrence entered with mes°, described as a biodesigned hair care brand.

Celebrity beauty brands are not new, but this concentration of launches raises a sharper commercial question: can another name build a lasting business rather than generate a short launch?

What is driving celebrity hair care launches?

“Hair care is one of beauty’s strongest growth categories,” says Beauty and Retail Expert Wizz Selvey. His explanation for the surge is straightforward: celebrities and investors both want a share of that growing market.

The opportunity comes with intense competition, particularly as consumers become more knowledgeable and more demanding about product performance. That shift explains why a famous founder can draw attention quickly without automatically securing customers for the next purchase.

Selvey has spent years buying beauty brands at Selfridges, so he has seen how a high-profile name generates enormous excitement around a launch. His distinction is plain: creating a successful launch is not the same as building a successful business.

Celebrity ownership brings immediate awareness and can reduce the cost of acquiring customers. It does not guarantee repeat purchase. Hair care’s growth draws entrants in; repeat purchase determines whether they stay.

Can a famous face create loyalty?

Robin Dimond, founder and CEO of marketing and innovation agency Fifth & Cor, says shoppers need more than a familiar face. “[Celebrity-founded hair care brands] need a compelling brand identity, a product that delivers and a reason to believe in the company behind it,” she said.

Her test separates three elements that a launch can obscure: a distinct identity, a product that performs and confidence in the organisation behind it. A celebrity supplies visibility, but each element still has to stand on its own.

Dimond calls differentiation the real challenge for celebrity hair care brands. When several celebrities enter the same category with similar product offerings, marketing campaigns and promises, the novelty attached to celebrity ownership loses impact.

That mechanism is straightforward. Familiar names can bring shoppers to a first purchase, but shoppers still compare what a product does, how a brand presents itself and whether they trust the company. Once competing labels look alike, the founder’s name carries less weight in the decision.

Fame helps with the first purchase; it does not secure the next.

What mes° has to prove

For mes°, Lawrence’s profile provides immediate awareness as the brand enters this crowded field. The harder task is converting that attention into repeat purchase, the measure that separates a launch from a business.

A compelling identity and a product that delivers would give customers reasons to return; celebrity involvement alone would not. With three celebrity-owned rivals already in the market, mes° faces the risk of similar product offerings, campaigns and promises. It needs a distinct proposition rather than another familiar name attached to the same message.

Hair care’s growth does not guarantee mes° a place in the market. The category can support more brands, but only if mes° stands apart once consumers compare the product and proposition rather than the founder.

For mes° to turn Lawrence’s name into repeat purchase, it will need a credible identity, a product that delivers and a reason to trust the company behind it.