Minoxidil demand outpaces dandruff search as UK hair-loss market booms

Analysis

Search behaviour continues to skew heavily towards hair loss over flaking. UK Google Trends put 'minoxidil' at an average of 64/100 over the past three months, reading 56/100 in the week of 7 September ^[1], while 'dandruff shampoo' averaged just 12/100 (11/100 that week) ^[2] and 'hair loss treatment' averaged 9/100 (8/100) ^[3]. Editorial supply is following demand: Good Housekeeping ran trichologist Anabel Kingsley's guidance on the best way to treat thinning hair with minoxidil ^[4], ELLE published a trichologist-vetted round-up of six hair-growth vitamins with caveats for shoppers before they invest ^[5], and Vogue examined what it calls the booming business of hair loss ^[6]. Harper's Bazaar added a first-person account of a new serum reversing stress-related hair loss ^[7].

Scalp-health flaking coverage is smaller but socially charged. The Guardian set out how to manage dandruff at home and when to seek professional help ^[8], while the Hillingdon Times reported teenagers admitting that embarrassment about dandruff has kept them off school ^[9] — a reminder that low search volume does not equal low need.

Two clinical threads are worth watching for autumn ranging and consultation scripts: research suggesting Ozempic and Wegovy may raise hair loss risk in some men ^[10], and dose-optimisation work on deuruxolitinib for alopecia areata ^[11]. Cure Today reframed treatment-related hair loss in cancer as an identity issue rather than vanity ^[12]. On social, rosemary oil still leads: 1,160,675 views across two videos in a fortnight ^[13], versus 482,854 for hair loss treatment ^[14] and 16,170 for scalp massager tutorials ^[15]. Glamour UK, meanwhile, pushed the Japanese hair wash method ^[16].