How to Create a Haircare Line (2024)

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Co-authored bywikiHow Staff

Last Updated: July 17, 2020References

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   Identify the basic purpose of your hair care line. Before you begin mocking up package designs or submitting orders for prototypes, it’s important to have a clear idea of what you hope to accomplish. Spend some time thinking about the kind of products you want to put out there and how you want people to benefit from them.^[1]

   • It could be that you’ve discovered a three-ingredient moisturizing mask that works wonders on dyed hair, or you have an idea for a special kind of curler or straightener designed to minimize heat damage.
   • Don’t be afraid to think big and explore different sections of the market. Hair care is a lot more than just shampoo and conditioner.
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   Narrow down your target demographic. Once you’ve figured out the “what” of your business, ask yourself who stands to get the most out of it. Having some idea of what kind of people will be using your products will give you a decided advantage when it comes time to begin testing and marketing. It will also help you address more of their particular needs, which is crucial for gaining a following.^[2]

   • A volumizing serum, for example, is most likely to appeal to people who are self-conscious about their fine, straight, limp, or thinning hair.

   Tip: Start talking to lots of people who fall within your hypothetical user base to find out what kind of things they’re looking for when buying hair care products.

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   Try to meet a unique need or provide a superior alternative. There’s already a staggering variety of hair care products flooding the market. For your line to have a chance at success, it needs to offer users something that they don’t have access to already, or else treat them to a better experience than they’re currently getting with existing products.^[3]

   • Think about similar products you’ve used in the past and any issues you had with them, then ponder ways that you could make them better.^[4]
   • While there are hair care startups that peddle wide ranges of products, they tend to have a hard time competing with the established big-name companies. By focusing on doing one or two things exceptionally well, your brand will have a better chance of standing out.
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   Pin down a brand name that suits your product line. Try to come up with a name that will hook prospective users while also accurately representing the purpose of your products. This is the fun part for most business owners, as it allows them to really spread their creative wings and take flight. It also gives you the chance to express yourself or some part of your personal hair care philosophy.^[5]

   • For instance, you might call a line of styling products formulated for curly hair, “Bounce.” ^[6]
   • The best brand names tend to be simple, appropriate, and easy to remember.
5. See Also

   We Tried Cécred, Beyoncé’s New Hair Care LineHow To Start A Hair Care LineBeyonce’s Hair Care Line: All You Need to Know About Cécred7 Women Test Tracee Ellis Ross’s New Curly Hair Line

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   Draft up a business plan. A business plan is kind of like a recipe for the creation of a business. While you’re working on your business plan, be sure to spell out in clear terms what you’ll be selling, who you’ll be selling it to, and the specific needs or demands your product will be meeting in the market. This is a chance to get all of your goals and ideas down on paper.^[7]

   • If you have a knack for finance, it will also be helpful to include a projection of what your venture will cost, along a rough breakdown of where exactly you expect the money to go.
   • In addition to keeping your focused and on track, a thorough, well-crafted business plan can come in handy if you think you might want to pitch your product ideas to potential investors at some point.^[8]

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   Put together your first test batches yourself if you have the means to do so. If the product you’ve been planning is something you can realistically make yourself, like an all-organic leave-in conditioner, get on it as soon as possible. Running through a few rounds of independent R&D will give you a chance to work out kinks and perfect your formula before you enter production.^[9]

   • Having a working prototype of your product or products can give you a huge boost when it comes to attracting attention from investors or helping wholesale manufacturers capture the essence of your vision.^[10]
   • If you wait until you start working with a manufacturer to start refining your product, it will take you a lot longer to get it right and therefore end up costing you a lot more.
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   Commission a prototype from a wholesale manufacturer. Research manufacturing and producing partners in your area to find one that you think might match . When you find one, get in touch with a representative and ask about enlisting their services. They’ll work side-by-side with you to develop products based on your ideas and specifications.^[11]

   • You’ll find plenty of great resources on locating, selecting, and working with wholesale manufacturers online.^[12]
   • The manufacturer will mainly be there to oversee the actual fabrication of the product. You’ll still have full control over the particulars, including the types of ingredients or materials used, colors, scents, and packaging and design elements.
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   Test your prototype on members of your target demographic. Look for volunteers who fit the profile of the particular type of user your product is aimed at. Have them try out the early versions of your product, then ask them specific questions to solicit feedback that will give you a sense of what works and what still needs improvement. Be sure to take detailed notes so you can implement the most useful suggestions during the next phase of development.^[13]

   • Most entrepreneurs’ initial focus groups are made up of friends and family, but you may also be able to find willing participants online or even on the street, especially if you offer to compensate them for their time.^[14]
   • The various social media platforms can be good places to hunt for volunteers when you’re ready to begin testing, along with websites like Craigslist.

   Tip: While deciding what questions to pose to your test subjects, consider a simple yet open-ended format like “I like/I wish/what if.” These sorts of prompts allow users to give more nuanced responses than simply what they like and don’t like, while also inviting them to share their own ingenuity.^[15]

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   Refine your product with multiple rounds of testing. Keep the feedback you received from your test users in mind as you move forward with future iterations of your product. With each subsequent phase, you should seek to add to your products’ strengths and whittle away their flaws and weaknesses until you’re left with something you’re proud to put on the market.^[16]

   • You won’t be able to put every suggestion you get into practice, of course, but make it a point to listen to and address the pieces of praise and criticism that come up repeatedly throughout testing.
   • While there’s no “right” amount of testing you should carry out, it will most likely take somewhere between 3 and 5 rounds of feedback and refinement to get a product that’s strong enough to compete with other, similar items on the market.
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   Finalize your formula or design to get it ready for release. When you’re satisfied with your product, your next step will be to compile a master ingredient list or blueprint. It’s not necessary to memorize the chemical composition of every last ingredient in your new leave-in conditioner, but you will need to know what each one does and how much of it there is in a given sample size of your product.^[17]

   • Having a record of everything your product contains, as well as the exact proportions, will make it possible for you to replicate your formula and crank out your product in different quantities and sizes, even if you’re making it yourself at home.^[18]
   • If you’re developing a styling tool, like an at-home perm cap or a pair of split end scissors, the manufacturer in charge of making it should be able to provide you with the technical specs.
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   Put some thought into what your packaging will look like. First impressions are important. Just like when you were picking out a name for your business, it’s important to select packaging elements that will lure prospective users in while also being clear about what they’ll be getting. As the business owner, you’ll have the final say over things like colors, fonts, sizing, and any images you want to use.^[19]

   • Consider collaborating with a graphic designer to handle the nitty gritty work of sketching out artwork, logos, and layouts.
   • Don’t forget to leave room for a label listing all of your proprietary ingredients somewhere on your product package.^[20]

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   Hire a business consultant or attorney to lend you a hand with the red tape. Owning your own business is a lot of work, even if it’s a one-person operation. A qualified legal expert will be able to walk you through the process of registering your company, networking with stores and suppliers, and educating yourself on tax regulations, insurance and liability, and other important concerns.^[21]

   • Lawyers and consultants aren’t cheap, but remember the old adage, “You’ve got to spend money to make money.” If you don’t know how to navigate the labyrinth of business laws that lies before you, you could be setting yourself up to make even more costly mistakes down the line.
   • If you’d rather go it alone, your primary duties will be to form an official business entity and obtain some type of business insurance to protect you from financial damage in the event of a lawsuit or dispute.^[22]
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   Price your products competitively. Research the going rates of similar items and choose retail values that you think are reasonable. Remember, you won’t have the benefit of name recognition right out of the gate, so it may be wise to keep your prices somewhat low at first to entice new buyers. You can always scale them as you see fit later on once you have some momentum going.^[23]

   See Also

   Testing Out Issa Rae’s New Hair-Care Line

   • Be cautious about pricing your product too low in an effort to beat out the competition. Not only will this make it tougher to recoup the funds you spent on R&D and manufacturing, it could also inadvertently cause consumers to perceive your product as cheap.
   • Another possible strategy is to set an initial price point for your product or products, then offer introductory deals allowing your first few customers to pick them up for special discounted rates.
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   Start a website for your business. Don’t sweat it if you don’t have any web design experience. You can hire a qualified web designer to build you a polished, professional site for a one-time cost of around $6,000 (and around $1,000 a year after that for ongoing maintenance and updates). This will include all the same sorts of bells and whistles that you would expect to see on the website of a big-name business.^[24]

   • There’s also the option of using a free or cheap service like GoDaddy, Wix, or Squarespace to design a simple yet powerful online headquarters for your company.^[25]
   • If you really want to go the extra mile, attach a blog to your website that you can update yourself and use it to feature news, profiles of various ingredients, and suggestions for how to incorporate your products into a holistic beauty and wellness routine.
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   Use social media to get your name out there and promote your products. If you haven’t done so already, create a dedicated Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter account for your new company. There, you can post news and info about your products, share user reviews, and begin accumulating a following.^[26]

   • Study the profiles of other brands within the industry to gather ideas and inspiration on how to structure your digital presence.
   • Social media is arguably the single best promotional tool that independent entrepreneurs have at their disposal in today’s world.

   Tip: Devise a custom hashtag for your company or one of your products and encourage your followers to use it in their own content. Not only does this basically amount to free advertising, but it will also give interested parties one convenient place to learn more about you.^[27]

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   Seek out sales relationships with salons and stylists. Get in touch with various hair care professionals in your area and let them know that you recently launched a line of products that you think would be a good fit for their establishments. If they’re interested in what you have to offer, they might be willing to place wholesale orders for your products to display and sell in-house.^[28]

   • Be prepared to send out samples of your products so that shop owners can look them over and determine whether or not they want to promote them.^[29]
   • The more stores you can get your products into, the better their chances of reaching a wider market base.

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