The attachment we have to our hairstylist lent itself to increased salon visits in 2011, along with our penchant for do-it-yourself professional products and frizz-fighting treatments. Last year, total revenues for all categories of the products used in the professional salon industry (including hair, skin and nail services) grew 6.0% to $4.24 billion, according to the 2011 Professional Salon Industry Haircare Study from Professional Consultants & Resources. Here, Cyrus Busara, president of PCR, lists how else our beauty behavior contributed to the increases, which were the largest since 2008 for the nearly 280,000 salons and barbershops in the U.S.:

• Clients sought personalized, private services and moved away from the big, older chain salons, such as Regis, which has posted 14 quarters of declines at most of its stores.

• Home hairstyling also continued to grow. New genres and types of styling tools saw nearly 8% growth.

• Manufacturer/brand sales of styling products grew at a robust 6%. Specialty products grew 5%. Shampoos and conditioners were in a low single-digit growth mode, primarily from back-bar use after hair color/straightening/smoothing services, plus color protection products and oils for home use.

• Redken and John Paul Mitchell Systems were the only major companies growing robustly. Matrix, Farouk Systems and TIGI saw mid-to-low single-digit growth.

• Nail care rose a phenomenal 24.5%, the highest on record.

For full study results, please visit www.proconsultants.us.