Sub-health problems such as hair loss and premature graying are troubling more and more young people in China, and a number of hair-care related industries in the blue ocean market, worth hundreds of billions of yuan, are expected to pop up in the near future, Worker’s Daily reported on September 19, 2018.

Statistics from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that more young people in China are now suffering from hair loss problems. The data indicated that one in every six Chinese people are troubled with this issue.

In every four adult males, one is troubled by hair loss; and while the majority of them are men aged from 20 to 40, those aged around 30 are faced with the most severe hair loss. This is around 20 years younger than the previous generation, according to an investigation conducted by China Association of Health Promotion and Education.

Even workplace freshmen are talking about their hair loss problems during class reunions.

36.1 percent of China’s post-90s generation are suffering from hair loss, the proportion almost equal to that of the post-80s generation, as shown in a report on hair loss released last year by AliHealth, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba’s flagship platform for medical services and health management.

Experts said that although hair loss is predominantly heredity, modern lifestyle is partly to blame for hair loss among young people, as they are now under great mental pressure, often staying up late to work or study.

The industries of hair care, hair transplant, and hair growth, though previously nascent industries, are growing rapidly into larger businesses, after all there are near 200 million people across the country suffering hair loss, while 420 million are going prematurely gray.

Big data from JD.com, China’s major e-commerce company, shows that during the first quarter of 2018, purchases of shampoos that help prevent and reduce hair loss grew by 136 percent when compared with the same period last year.

According to statistics released by China’s National Health Commission, Chinese urban residents’ consumption of hair care products is currently increasing by a rapid 30 percent annually, and China’s hair health industry is expected to grow by 260 percent annually in the next 10 years.

Experts estimate that the years between 2015 and 2025 will be the “golden decade” of the Chinese market for hair care and hair transplant, the industry potentially booming to create a blue ocean market worth hundreds of billions.