Brandwave

K18 vs Wella Professionals:Which is more popular?

In September 2026, K18 had more branded searches than Wella Professionals among professional haircare and styling brands in New Zealand. K18 had about 1,880 branded searches, while Wella Professionals had 890. K18 made up 3.9% of all professional haircare and styling brand searches we track, and Wella Professionals accounted for 1.9%. When we asked ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews about professional haircare and styling brands, Wella Professionals appeared in three of the five answers and K18 in one. Wella Professionals was mentioned before K18 in two out of three answers that named either.

Among professional haircare and styling brands in New Zealand in September 2026

Who do people search for more?

K18, about 2 searches for every 1 for Wella Professionals

K18 1.9K searchesWella Professionals 890 searches

Who does AI mention more?

Wella Professionals, mentioned in 3 of 5 answers, K18 in 1

Wella Professionals in 3 of 5K18 in 1 of 5

Who does AI recommend more?

Wella Professionals, named ahead of K18 in 2 of 3 answers

Wella Professionals first in 2K18 first in 1

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Top professional haircare and styling brands in ChatGPT and Google AI Overviews

In three ChatGPT questions and two Google AI Overviews, Wella Professionals was mentioned in three out of five: in two of the three ChatGPT answers and in one of the two Google AI Overviews. K18 was mentioned in one out of five: in one of the three ChatGPT answers, but not in either of the two Google AI Overviews. Wella Professionals was listed before K18 in two out of three answers that named either.

Most recommended by AI

Brands get a higher ranking if they are mentioned earlier in the answers.

  1. Kérastase1st
  2. Redken2nd
  3. Wella Professionals3rd
  4. ghd4th
  5. De Lorenzo5th
  6. Olaplex6th
  7. Kevin.Murphy7th
  8. K188th
  9. Pureology9th
  10. Moroccanoil–
  11. +2 more

Mentioned by AI

Each dot is one answer, filled in when that answer mentions the brand.

  • Kérastase4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Redken4 of 5Named in 3 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • Wella Professionals3 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • ghd2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Olaplex2 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 1 of 2 Google answers
  • De Lorenzo2 of 5Named in 2 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Pureology1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • K181 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Kevin.Murphy1 of 5Named in 1 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers
  • Moroccanoil0 of 5Named in 0 of 3 ChatGPT answersNamed in 0 of 2 Google answers

+2 more

See every answer about professional haircare and styling brands

5 answers

Not named in any answer:

Brands are shown in the order each answer named them. The survey took place in New Zealand on October 19, 2026.

Is K18 or Wella Professionals more popular in search?

This chart shows how often people search Google for K18 and Wella Professionals by name. Each line represents a brand's share of searches for all 12 professional haircare and styling brands we track, month by month, from searches in New Zealand.

K18 and Wella Professionals among professional haircare and styling brands in New Zealand, by month

Share of searches by month for K18, Wella Professionals. The figures are in the table below the chart.

View monthly share of searches table
MonthghdKérastaseOlaplexRedkenPureologyMoroccanoilK18EthiqueMonday HaircareWella ProfessionalsKevin.MurphyDe Lorenzo
Oct 202536.1%22.3%9.1%7.8%5.3%4.6%3.6%3.8%2.8%1.8%1.9%0.92%
Nov 202542.3%23.1%7.4%7.2%4.3%4.1%3.6%2.9%1.3%1.6%1.5%0.71%
Dec 202536.9%25.9%9.5%7.3%4.5%4.6%4%2%2%1.2%1.4%0.79%
Jan 202627.3%28.8%9.8%9%6.3%4.7%4.5%3.2%2.4%1.5%1.6%0.8%
Feb 202630%27.8%9.9%7.8%6.4%4.1%4.2%3.3%2.5%1.6%1.6%0.81%
Mar 202631.4%25.7%9.2%9.1%6.1%4.2%3.7%3.6%2.7%1.9%1.7%0.72%
Apr 202631.9%27.7%8.8%9%5.8%4.3%4%2.3%2.2%1.9%1.4%0.72%
May 202631.7%26.1%8.9%8.3%6.3%5.5%3.9%2.9%1.8%2%1.7%0.72%
Jun 202632.3%26.4%9.1%8.9%6.1%5.4%4.1%2.2%1.9%1.6%1.4%0.71%
Jul 202630.6%29.4%8%8.4%6.3%5.5%3.6%2.7%1.7%1.8%1.3%0.66%
Aug 202631.7%29.8%8.4%8.3%5.6%4.5%3.6%2.7%1.8%1.8%1.3%0.54%
Sep 202634.2%25.7%9.9%8.9%5.4%4.2%3.9%2.1%1.9%1.9%1.2%0.67%

How has the K18 and Wella Professionals comparison changed over the last 12 months?

3 findings

How did search popularity change for New Zealand professional haircare and styling brands in September 2026?

2 changes

  1. Estimated monthly branded searches for K18 in New Zealand rose 22.1% over 12 measured months, from 1.5K to 1.9K in September 2026.

  2. Estimated monthly branded searches for Wella Professionals in New Zealand rose 17.1% over 12 measured months, from 760 to 890 in September 2026.

How are branded searches counted?

7 search terms

Brandwave collects information about searches that people make online using K18’s and Wella Professionals’ names. When viewed over time, estimated search volumes for these branded terms can be used to understand whether interest in the brands is growing, holding steady, or fading.

K18

5 branded search terms

  • k18 hair
  • k18 hair mask
  • k18 hair oil
  • k18 hair treatment
  • k18 hair treatments

Wella Professionals

2 branded search terms

  • wella
  • wella professionals

How the Brand Demand Index is measured

Other head-to-heads among professional haircare and styling brands

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