What Gingerful’s latest award says about red hair care
This week, Gingerful was recognised as Best Colour Care for Redheads at the Marie Claire Hair Awards 2026 for its Shine-Boosting Leave-In Spray for redheads.
Receiving an award like this is major for Gingerful, of course. But perhaps more interesting is what moments like this quietly signal about the wider hair industry.
For a long time, red hair has largely sat between existing categories, and essneitally expected to ‘fit in’ amongst other haircare. This is despite red hair behaving quite different to brunette or blonde hair. In reality, natural (and dyed) red pigments tend to fade more easily, react differently to light, and show variation in tone more visibly than other shades.
The growing interest in softer copper tones this spring, alongside wider conversations around red hair care and pigmentation, all point towards something exciting: red hair is increasingly being treated less as a novelty or a sideline hair colour, and more as a distinct area of expertise. And we are so here for that.
Seen in that context, this Marie Claire Hair Award feels less about a single product helping to care for and boost red hair and more about broader recognition. Put simply, it acknowledges that red hair benefits from a more specialised approach than the industry once assumed.
And for redheads, that shift has been overdue for quite some time.
Here’s to finally feeling comfortable and confident in standing out – both in a crowded room and also in the haircare industry.