Fastest-Climbing Haircare Brands Q3 2026: Ulta & Sephora

If you’re not climbing the ranks, you’re losing favour with retail buyers. These are the fastest-climbing haircare brands Q3 2026 at Ulta and Sephora.

Five quarters of best-seller data, Q1’25 to Q3’26
5,624 products ranked at Ulta and 2,335 at Sephora this quarter
Two separate boards, because each retailer runs its own shelf

Summary: Q3 2026 at a glance

24 climbers: 16 at Ulta, 8 at Sephora.
0 at both retailers. No brand climbs Ulta and Sephora at the same time.
Biggest climb: Bounce Curl at Sephora, +36 places since Q1’26.
Biggest Q3 jump: Design Essentials at Ulta, #60 to #40.
Price is the lever at Ulta: every top-10 climber has a median price under $25.
Two doors, two directions: L’Oréal Professionnel climbs Sephora and exited Ulta in the same window.

The full climber roster, every category board and the brand-by-brand paths are in the Haircare Q3 2026 Ulta + Sephora report.

How we rank a climber

3+ ranked quarters, and the last step is up. A one-quarter spike does not count.
Places gained = net move in league rank across the window.
League = the retailer’s overall haircare board, brands with 2+ ranked products: 252 brands at Ulta, 75 at Sephora.

Ulta: top 5 fastest-climbing haircare brands

The read:

Design Essentials leads on a textured-hair regimen: +34 places, and +20 in Q3 alone.
Mass and masstige took the places. Medians run from $11.99 (California Naturals) to $23 (CHI).
Inside the top 20: CHI, now #18 on 49 ranked products.
Design Essentials is the only one of the five that rose every quarter.
Ulta has 16 climbers in total. The other 11 are in the report.

Sephora: top 5 fastest-climbing haircare brands

The read:

Bounce Curl rose every quarter since its first rank: #62, #41, #26.
L’Oréal Professionnel is at its best-ever Sephora rank, #15, on 45 ranked products.
Gisou holds the top 5, #4, on 24 ranked products.
Sephora has 8 climbers in total. The other three are in the report.

Where they climbed

The category boards behind the gains.

Ulta

Treatments: Design Essentials +42 and California Naturals +26. L’Oréal Paris is now #16.
Shampoo & Conditioner: Design Essentials +35 (now #18) and L’Oréal Paris +23 (now #21).
Styling Products: American Crew +14.

Sephora

Curly Haircare: Bounce Curl is #1, +36. Living Proof +10.
Styling Products: Bounce Curl +37.
Shampoo & Conditioner: Gisou +12, now #4. Gisou is also #1 on Clean Hair.

What’s driving it

The hero product behind each lead climber:

Design Essentials: Honey Crème Moisture Retention Shampoo
The Hair Edit: Polka Dot Claw Clip
California Naturals: Re:GRO Anti-Thinning Scalp Serum
CHI: Lava AirGlide
L’Oréal Paris: EverPure Sulfate-Free Bond Repair Shampoo
Bounce Curl: Edgelift Brush
L’Oréal Professionnel: Pro Longer Thickening Shampoo
Living Proof: PhD Style Refresh Hair Mist
Nécessaire: Rosemary Shampoo for Thinning Hair

The pattern: density and repair claims, plus tools and accessories. Three of these heroes sell thicker or longer hair. Three are not a formula at all.

Fastest-climbing haircare brands Q3 2026: durable or a spike?

Durable: all 24 hold 3+ ranked quarters.
Up every quarter: Design Essentials and got2b at Ulta, Bounce Curl at Sephora.
The surges we did not count: Hairmax (+131), Christophe Robin (+118) and Mello (+104) entered Ulta’s league at Q2’26. One step is not a climb. Their next quarter decides.

Retailer split

No brand is on both climbing lists.
All 5 Ulta climbers on the board are absent from Sephora’s overall haircare league.
Living Proof climbs at Sephora and sits at #9 at Ulta, where it is recovering.
L’Oréal Professionnel climbs at Sephora and exited Ulta in Q3’26.

For founders: a win at one retailer does not transfer. Build the playbook per shelf.

Recovering: a separate state

Fell, then came back. Not on the climbing list.

Ulta: Soapbox +66 and RevAir +65.
Sephora: Mizani, back to #30 from #55.

What this means for your brand

Win the shelf one retailer at a time. Ulta and Sephora are not moving together.
Price for Ulta’s climb. Under $25 is where the places went.
Name the job. Density, repair, curl definition. The heroes say what they fix.
Track the path, not the snapshot. A single quarter can’t tell a breakout from a spike.