EDITOR’S NOTE: K-Everything: A NCS Original Series is hosted by Daniel Dae Kim and explores the worldwide impression of South Korean tradition. You can now watch the collection on NCS International, NCS All Access and HBO Max.
Long, shiny locks shimmer in video after video on TikTok and Instagram. This isn’t simply shiny hair — it’s “glass” hair, so completely polished its sheen is mirror-like.
The Okay-beauty craze is an evolution of the “glass skin” pattern that sees radiance and luminosity as a signifier of general well being, says Rena Kim, world communications lead at CJ Olive Young, South Korea’s greatest magnificence retailer.
“The Korean haircare market has traditionally placed strong emphasis on consistent cleansing routines and maintaining smooth, glossy, well-groomed hair,” says Kim.
Glass hair is an extension of that, with a variety of merchandise and practices to assist tresses lie flat by way of conditioning, strengthening and defending, fairly than high-heat straightening or weighing down with merchandise, she provides.
Achieving glass hair comes from cuticle alignment, says Anabel Kingsley, marketing consultant trichologist at hair and scalp-care model Philip Kingsley.
Hair cuticles are the protecting outer layer on every strand of hair, made up of overlapping cells, “like tiles on a roof,” explains Kingsley. “It defends the inner part of your hair from damage, and also a healthy, flat, closed cuticle, reflects light better, so it shines better, so it is really important.”
Damage to the hair from harsh chemical compounds in dyes and perms, or heavy-handed brushing and warmth styling, may cause the cuticle to open, resulting in frizziness or break up ends.
Many glass hair merchandise promote shine by “sealing the hair cuticle,” serving to to strengthen and clean hair, says Kim. Pioneering manufacturers like Mise-en-Scène and UNOVE — the latter of which launched earlier this year in Sephora’s US stores — make the most of low-pH formulas to assist hair cuticles lie flat, and protein treatments to fill in gaps on broken strands.
“Alongside these treatments, styling devices and specialized hairbrushes designed to produce a sleek finish are also gathering market attention,” Kim provides.
The pattern for a flawless, polished aesthetic is a mirrored image of South Korea’s excessive — and sometimes unrealistic — beauty standards. Both women and men face huge pressures to look a sure manner, and the nation has the highest rates of beauty surgical procedure and biggest per-capita spend on magnificence merchandise globally.
High-shine hair might be the end result of wholesome tresses, however until you have got naturally straight locks, “what most people have to do to get it is going to damage their hair,” says Kingsley.
For many hair varieties, attaining the “flat” end wanted for that glassy look often requires excessive warmth styling and powerful rigidity, like brushing and pulling hair taut. Once hair is broken, it will possibly’t be repaired, solely protected says Kingsley, and she or he warns in opposition to taking the pattern too significantly as “everyone’s hair is different.”
Gentle styling with decrease warmth and a superb protectant, together with deep conditioning therapies and weekly bond restore therapies, are the very best methods to take care of good hair situation, “which has a huge impact on shine,” says Kingsley.
While glass hair might be achieved by way of probably damaging strategies, Kim notes that buyers are typically shifting away from “rigid, heavy-hold styles” towards extra pure styling, with a surge of curiosity in damage-prevention merchandise like UV and warmth protectants, and nourishing rinse-off or leave-in hair masks, indicating a extra holistic method to haircare.
“There has been growing focus on scalp care as the foundation of healthy hair, with consumers increasingly viewing scalp care, hair conditioning, and styling as part of a connected routine,” says Kim.
Okay-beauty’s world push into haircare comes at a time when hair loss issues are rising.
Hair thinning is extra frequent as individuals age, and by 2030 — when 1 in 6 people might be over the age of 60 — the worth of the worldwide hair‑thinning market is projected to increase 82% from 2024, in response to evaluation from Grand View Research.
International vacationers are already flocking to South Korea for scalp massages and head spas, with one tourism expertise platform seeing a 219% rise in scalp care bookings within the first 11 months of 2025 in comparison with the identical interval the earlier yr. In December, South Korean President Lee Jae Myung put Korean haircare within the highlight once more when he publicly called for hair loss treatments to be coated by medical health insurance.
The scalp-first method is deeply embedded in Korean self-care tradition, says Kim, which is resulting in the rise of “scalp skinification” — making use of the approaches frequent in facial skincare to the scalp.
“A popular saying in Korea, ‘if the scalp sags by one centimeter, the face sags by three centimeters,’ has fueled consumer attention around scalp massage and fascia-release routines as part of broader self-care and beauty rituals,” says Kim.
More high-tech approaches are additionally rising, like Refilled’s AI‑powered scalp evaluation system, on show at CES 2026.
Scalp scanners, like Kérastase’s K-Scan, are nothing new. But whereas these are usually utilized by professionals in salons, Refilled’s system is designed for shoppers to make use of at house, says Geunsik Jung, founder and CEO of Constant, Refilled’s father or mother firm, which raised $7.46 million in funding earlier this yr.
The system makes use of a tiny digicam to take close-up footage of the consumer’s scalp, which it then feeds into an AI mannequin skilled on over one million user data points. Users get the outcomes on an app, which supplies “a very detailed and personalized diagnosis on your scalp and your health” and provides suggestions for food regimen, life-style and merchandise to enhance scalp well being, Jung tells NCS by way of a translator.
“The biggest pain points in this whole process is that, when you’re using a specific product, you don’t know whether that product is working or not,” says Jung. But utilizing the scanner can provide customers a transparent “before and after” to allow them to see whether or not there’s any progress.
Scalp therapies aren’t going to impression your current hair, however they are going to enhance hair development and high quality in the long term, says Kingsley: “It’s been shown in studies that when you have something like dandruff, it impacts the health of the cuticle as it’s growing from the scalp, so by keeping your scalp healthy and clear, you’re helping your hair cuticle.”
People have at all times pursued shiny hair, says Kim, however she believes that the emphasis on scalp well being provides this pattern endurance.
“Achieving “glass hair” goes past merely utilizing hair oils or shiny coating merchandise. Healthy-looking shine in the end comes from constant scalp and hair care,” says Kim.