Hair Color is New Toilet Paper, Hand Sanitizer

PALM SPRINGS — Seems hair color has become the new must-have item, the way toilet paper, hand sanitizer and disinfecting wipes had been during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic.

Know from firsthand experience.

Had to make a mad dash to the neighborhood Rite Aid for, I promise, an essential item. While there, simply could not resist the allure of junk food to soothe an anxious mind. Piling popcorn, White Castle Cheeseburgers, and an Almond Joy in front of the clerk, I sheepishly said, “I consider junk food essential.”

The cashier continued to scan the items and said, “I don’t judge. Some people think hair color and makeup are essential.”

Oh, how right she was.

“You can definitely see that as people have stayed home, their focus shifted,” Walmart CEO Doug McMillon said on the Today Show, Friday.

Hair Color is New Toilet Paper, Hand Sanitizer

Trying for that salon look at home.

With stay-at-home orders still in effect and hair salons and barber shops closed, hair styles are losing their shapes as appointments fall by the wayside. Tell-tale roots of a long-ago hair color are beginning to show.

Now, sales are showing that — without the ability to venture to a hair salon — folks are getting shaggy.

“People are starting to need a haircut,” McMillon said. “You see more beard trimmers and hair color and things like that. It’s interesting to watch the dynamic play out.”

Some are reaching for boxes of color out of necessity while others are using it as a tool to fight boredom or experiment with a new look.

Research firm Nielsen says sales of hair color products are up 23% from the same time last year. Other hair care items are also big sellers. Nielsen says hair clipper sales have increased by more than 160%.

The first shopping wave happened during the week ending March 7. That’s when Nielsen data showed hand sanitizer sales going up 470% from the year before, while aerosol disinfectant sales soared 385%.

Image Sources