Suave’s big American hair-care comeback includes under-$6 dupes and a foray into men’s marketing

“I’m starting to think I need to switch back,” Earle said in the video. “So was it a myth that [value shampoo] was bad for you or what?” 

As Allure writer Kara Nesvig explained, Earle is referencing ingredients common in mass hair care like sulfates and silicones, which deep clean hair and coat strands for shine and protection. Ingredients like these were scrutinized during the clean beauty movement of the aughts for being harsh or drying despite having top-rated safety data by the Environmental Working Group. Still, they fell out of vogue in many circles in favor of the sulfate- and silicone-free formulas found in salons or specialty stores, often at five to 10 times the cost. 

The cultural sea change encapsulated in Earle’s TikTok isn’t about Pantene, per se — instead, it’s about the rediscovery of the mass hair-care category. According to Mintel Market research, 53% of U.S. adults who use shampoo or conditioner products have purchased cheaper types of hair-care products to save money in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, 41% of U.S. adults who use shampoo or conditioner have used a ‘dupe’ version of a more expensive hair-care product in the past year. 

“The appetite for premium shampoos and conditioners is present, but value and mass brands are stepping up with innovations at a lower price point,” said Jennifer White Boehm, director of U.S. personal care, household, and health and wellness reports at Mintel. 

Here’s where Suave’s big relaunch comes in. “We saw the early seeds of [the drugstore hair-care shopping trend], but honestly, it’s just a bit of luck,” Rachel Behm, svp of marketing for Suave Brands, told Glossy. “It’s been a nice surprise that we’re so happy to be a part of.”

Suave is one of the oldest American hair-care brands in business today. It launched its first “hair tonic” in 1937 and was purchased by Unilever in 1996 for $770 million as part of the sale of conglomerate Helene Curtis Industries, which also included value brands like Finesse and Salon Selectives.

Unilever ran Suave worldwide for nearly three decades before selling the U.S. business, which includes Canada, to private equity group Yellow Wood Partners in 2023 for an undisclosed amount. The group hired a new executive team, built a company of 75 people and relaunched the brand as a standalone business called Suave Brands. Unilever still owns and operates Suave internationally. 

While the brand never disappeared from shelves, its unofficial U.S. relaunch happened on February 18 with the release of 34 new products, its largest NPD release in decades. 

Its new team includes Behm as well as CEO Daniel Alter, who spent 19 years at Unilever, and Rafael Lopes, vp of innovation and brand equity, whose CV includes Beautycounter, L’Oréal and Unilever. 

Behm’s background includes eight years at Johnson & Johnson where she worked on Aveeno and led the conglomerate’s beauty incubator. She’s also held executive roles on indie beauty brands like Layers probiotic skin care, where she was also a founder, and Beauty Bakerie mass color cosmetics, which sells at CVS. 

According to Suave, the brand’s annual retail sales are around $700 million. The brand sells around 250 million products per year through retail partners like Walmart, Target, CVS, Dollar General and Walgreens, and across grocery stores. Walmart is its largest sales channel. The company operates a product-education-focused website that directs shoppers to its digital retail partners or a retail store locator. 

According to alternative data provider Yipit, Suave has market share in the top 10 shampoo brands across top retailers, excluding Amazon, alongside Head & Shoulders and Pantene. The company had lost a few points of share over the past year, according to data from Yipit, while Native and Head & Shoulders were the key share gainers during this time. 

Yipit told Glossy that top shampoo SKUs in Walgreens include offerings from Dove and Garnier, while products from Aussie, Dove and Tresemme make up the top three sellers at Dollar General. Scalp-focused shampoo SKUs from Nizoral, Head & Shoulders and Mielle Organics led Target sales.

The new Suave release includes a bonding collection it compares to Olaplex; aerosol dry shampoos; heat protectant; and a variety of shampoos and conditioners. The brand also added women’s deodorant and body wash. 

Suave is expanding its men’s line, as well. It’s launched its first advertising campaign targeted to men, which is live on social now and features lifestyle videos, narrated commercials and influencer day-in-the-life formats.

They center around three new antiperspirant deodorants, a multipurpose Stress Relief scented line with 2-in-1 shampoo and conditioner, a face-and-body wash, a deodorant, and basic grooming essentials like pomade, styling cream and gel. 

Price is a large draw: Men’s Dove and Degree deodorants ring in around $7 at Walmart, while Suave sells for under $3.  

Everything in the line is priced under $6, or about half the cost of its newest competition. For example, brands like Odele, Saltair, Being Frenshe, Laura Polko, Function of Beauty and Cloud Haircare have all sprung up to gain mass hair-care market share and are all priced around $11.99 per SKU. 

Behm told Glossy the team only cut a few existing products from its range. Walmart, for example, has been asking for this refresh and expanded Suave’s shelf space to accommodate the new products, she said. 

The team estimates that at least 90% of Americans know the Suave brand well. The goal, however, is to get the new formulas into their showers through modernized packaging, buzzy new ingredients, dynamic claims and competitive pricing. 

“The goal is to bring back what we do best, which is making ingredients, benefits and fragrances that are available at a higher price point, available to everybody,” said Suave’s Behm. “Dupe culture has been big in beauty, but it’s coming to hair care now as part of the drugstore brand revolution.” 

Behm’s team has been quietly working on its new Bonding Infusion Collection, which it plans to market as “working as well as Olaplex.” To do so, Suave completed clinical studies earlier this year, analyzed by Glossy, that compared Olaplex No. 4 Bond Maintenance Shampoo and No. 4 Bond Maintenance Conditioner to Suave’s Rose Gold Bonding Infusion Shampoo and Mask. 

“We have claims that are substantiated [showing] that they work as well as Olaplex,” Behm said. “So for somebody to be able to buy Suave’s Bonding collection — we have a purple shampoo and a mask, too — at our Suave opening price point is truly bringing a new kind of benefit to consumers that didn’t have access to them before.” 

For Suave, the timing couldn’t be better. According to Mintel’s Boehm, “Thirty percent of hair-care users are shopping in drug stores and almost one in five at discount stores, a trend Mintel expects to grow as retailers expand their offerings to include products with comparable ingredients and claims to those within the masstige and prestige market.” 

Looking ahead, Suave’s Behm told Glossy the company is planning for more innovation in the coming year, including products created for specific hair types and concerns. Until then, it will continue to lean deeply into its clinical results and price competitiveness while putting steam behind consumer UGC, which it encourages through seeding and sampling.  

“We welcome anybody to do a side-by-side with our products versus what they were using at a more expensive price,” Behm said. “We know that consumers think Suave is unexpectedly good, so it’s really about getting the product in the hands of consumers and seeing them say, ‘Wow, I wouldn’t have expected this from Suave.”