Amorepacific Introduces New Hair Care Paradigm Focused on Healthy Hair Formation

Amorepacific has proposed a new hair care paradigm that focuses on nurturing hair from its initial formation stage, moving beyond traditional post-damage care methods.
 
The company announced on June 1 that it participated in the World Congress of Hair Research (WCHR 2026) held at COEX in Seoul from May 28 to 31, where it presented its latest research findings on the mechanisms determining hair quality and advancements related to 'hair longevity.'
 
As people age, hair tends to become thinner, more prone to breakage, and loses elasticity. Historically, solutions in the hair care market have primarily focused on improving already damaged hair or coating its surface.
 
However, the Amorepacific R&I Center emphasized that visible hair is not merely an external result but a structure that begins forming within the scalp's hair follicles.
 
According to the R&I Center, even hair that appears similar externally shows significant differences in the levels of key factors that influence internal structure and strength based on age.
 
The research revealed that the thinning of hair and loss of elasticity are not merely the accumulation of external damage but stem from structural characteristics at the initial formation stage and differences in 'hair quality.' This suggests a 'prevention-focused' approach to hair care that can help maintain strength, shine, and volume over time.
 
The research was completed through a collaboration within an industry-academia-research network. The Amorepacific R&I Center worked with a research team led by Professor Seong Young-kwan from Kyungpook National University to identify key factors influencing hair structure formation.
 
The team confirmed that manipulating these factors leads to changes in hair structure formation, demonstrating that they play a significant role in actual hair quality formation beyond mere aging indicators.
 
They also developed raw materials in parallel, collaborating with Croda, a leading global active peptide research company, to create an optimal peptide ingredient called 'GROW-PEP™' that can influence these key factors based on designs inspired by scalp structure.
 
This ingredient supports the creation of a healthy structure from the hair formation stage by influencing key factors. Amorepacific plans to apply the new raw materials and technologies secured through this research to its hair care brand 'Ryo' under the 'Rootgen' line.
 
Seo Byeong-hwi, CTO of Amorepacific's R&I Center, stated, "We will continue our hair longevity research to maintain healthy hair over time by advancing biological research at the follicle level."
 
Meanwhile, Amorepacific is making significant efforts in research and development (R&D) to integrate advanced science into beauty. Recently, it showcased next-generation nanotechnology developed in collaboration with researchers from the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) that safely delivers effective cosmetic ingredients deep into the skin.
 
The results of this research, conducted in partnership with Professor Choi Si-young's team at KAIST, were selected as the cover paper in the May issue of the international journal ACS Nano in the field of nanoscience.
 
Additionally, in January, Amorepacific collaborated with Professor Won Byeong-mook's team at Sungkyunkwan University to become the first in the world to apply X-ray micro-CT imaging technology to the cosmetics field, developing a non-destructive method for precise analysis of the three-dimensional microstructure of cosmetic films (INNERLAY™).

This research overcomes the limitations of relying on visual and experiential assessments of key usability factors in makeup products, such as spreadability, coverage, and longevity, with scientific data, and was selected as a back cover paper in the journal 'Small Methods' in the materials and analysis field.