Korean Shampoo Exports Rose 46.6% in Q3, Across Many Markets
Korean shampoo exports reached US$70.1 million in the third quarter of 2026, up 46.6% from US$47.8 million a year earlier, and the trade surplus on the product rose 72%, to US$46.6 million. Shampoo grew faster than any of the eight export categories in the customs-based series that reported the figures. September's destination list adds the less expected fact: the United States took 23% of shipments, and the top ten markets together took about 70%. Korean shampoo is not a one-market business.
What did Korea's customs data actually record?
The figures come from Korea Customs Service trade statistics for harmonized system code 330510. The Harmonized System is the global product-classification code customs agencies use to tag every traded good, and subheading 330510 covers shampoos. A Korean trade publication, Beauty Economy, compiled the data in a K-beauty export series published on October 27, 2026. The numbers here are that series' figures, not a fresh pull from the customs file.
In the third quarter, July through September, shampoo exports were US$70.1 million against US$47.8 million in the third quarter of 2025. The trade balance, which nets imports out of exports, was US$46.6 million against US$27.1 million. All amounts in this article are in US dollars, as the customs data reports them.
September alone came to US$24.5 million, up 43% from US$17.0 million, with a balance of US$16.6 million, up 69%. The monthly growth rate sits close to the quarter's, so the quarter was not a single-month spike.
How does shampoo compare with the rest of the export basket?
Shampoo's 46.6% was the fastest growth among the eight categories in the series. Basic skin care, the core of the export business, grew 35.4% to US$1,651.1 million. Kids' cosmetics rose 22.2%, mask packs 12.7% to US$192.5 million, and eye makeup 11.7%. Lip makeup fell 6.1% to US$145.3 million and face powder fell 13.5% to US$11.8 million. Makeup as a whole rose 2.1%.
Scale matters. Shampoo's US$70.1 million is about 4% of basic skin care's quarterly total. A 46.6% rise on that base adds US$22.3 million, while skin care's 35.4% adds more than US$400 million. Shampoo leads on growth rate, not on dollars.
The basket also splits by function. The cleansing line grew fast while color products for the lips and face shrank.
Who bought Korean shampoo in September?
The United States ranked first at US$5.74 million, followed by China at US$3.51 million, Russia at US$1.77 million, Taiwan at US$1.57 million and Hong Kong at US$1.08 million. Brazil (US$0.89 million), Uzbekistan (US$0.84 million), Poland (US$0.67 million), and Singapore and Malaysia (US$0.64 million each) complete the top ten.
The United States took 23% of the month's US$24.5 million. The United States and China together took about 38%, which the series rounds to 37%. The top ten destinations together took US$17.4 million, about 70%. The series states that this top-ten share is lower than for basic skin care, lip makeup or face powder, though it does not publish those categories' shares.
The series describes demand across North America, East Asia, Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, Central Asia and Latin America. That is a qualitative description assembled from the country list, where the United States, China, Russia, Poland, Uzbekistan and Brazil each hold a top-ten place. Russia's US$1.77 million carried no offsetting imports, so all of it counted toward the balance.
Why did the trade surplus grow faster than exports?
Exports rose US$22.3 million in the quarter and the balance rose US$19.5 million. The balance grew 72% against exports' 46.6% because the product moves in both directions. Subtracting the balance from exports gives implied shampoo imports of US$20.7 million in the third quarter of 2025 and US$23.5 million in the third quarter of 2026, a rise of about 13%. That implied figure is this article's arithmetic on the series' numbers, not a published line.
Korea imports about a third as much shampoo as it exports. Because imports barely moved against exports, nearly 90 cents of every added export dollar dropped into the surplus.
What does a destination list leave out?
Customs records where a shipment lands. It does not record who buys it afterward. Hong Kong and Singapore are trading hubs, and the series does not say how much of their volume stays there.
The series publishes country figures for September only, not for the full quarter, so the regional description cannot be rebuilt for July through September. The reviewed article also lists no prior-year values by country, so which markets drove the 43% September growth is not in the data.
The code adds a second limit. At the six-digit level the series uses, subheading 330510 tags a product as a shampoo. It does not separate a cleansing shampoo from one sold for hair loss or scalp care, so the line cannot show whether buyers pay for cleansing or for treatment.
Is this a shampoo story or a hair care story?
Two earlier customs-based reports put the wider hair care category on a similar path. Hair care exports reached a record US$478 million in 2025, up 15.7% from 2024, in Korea Customs Service data reported on March 14, 2026. From January through May 2026 they reached US$232.6 million, up 30.6% from US$178.2 million, in customs data reported on June 19, 2026. Industry insiders quoted in that report predict the full year will pass US$500 million for the first time.
The growth rates of 15.7%, 30.6% and 46.6% cover different periods and, because the reports do not define hair care by code, different scopes. Read together they show acceleration, not one measured trend.
The June report also describes a market shifting from shampoo and conditioner centered on cleansing toward functional scalp and hair loss products. Dr.Forhair, a Korean scalp care brand, has entered Sephora in the United States with Folligen Thickening Shampoo as its lead product, according to an August 26, 2026 report, and the brand's director says Sephora has increased its investment in scalp care. Those are company statements. The brand's first US store launch, per its own release, was 50 Costco branches in October 2023. The Sephora entry came almost three years later.
What does a spread-out customer base change for the industry?
For manufacturers, an order book tied to one country carries that country's tariff, rule and inventory shocks. A top-ten share of about 70%, with the largest market at 23%, spreads that exposure across more regulators and retailers.
For brands and buyers, the largest single market bought US$5.74 million of Korean shampoo in a month. Scale in this category comes from the number of markets, and each market's buyer sees a thin slice of Korea's total.
For regulators and investors, the data line is the weak point. A 46.6% rise in a code that does not separate cleansing from treatment shows that the category is growing and says nothing about which product type is driving it.
The category is growing. The customs line cannot say what it is made of.
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