P&G research looks at hair-styling expectations  ( August '21,2001, FE)

IN a bid to address the misconceptions women have regarding their hair type, Procter & Gamble (P&G) Worldwide’s research and development laboratories are analysing the reasons why women seem to be failing to get the look they want for their hair. The move is aimed at enabling shampoo users to understand how best to choose and use hair-styling products.

As part of the analysis, P&G Worldwide has conducted a global ‘Pantene Hair Diagnosis Research (PHDR)’ whereby over the past six months, P&G’s worldwide team spent more than 4,000 hours in qualitative and quantitative research across three Asean countries; Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines and India, to understand how a simple problem like misdiagnosis of one’s own hair condition could lead to dissatisfying looks.

The Pantene research highlights the fact that 80 per cent of women are dissatisfied with the way their hair looks and feels, at least once a week, and almost 55 per cent of women in India misjudge the hair type (oily/dry/normal/damaged) they have, by buying the wrong version of shampoo or conditioner.

According to P&G, women buy shampoo for normal hair because they have a feeling that the product they have bought from the market is safe and comfortable as against the other “confusing” names.

This results in inaccurate hair results. Similarly, in order to have more voluminous hair, women buy shampoo intended for damaged hair because they feel it will do them good. In this case, the result is that the hair becomes weighed down and unlively.

The research concludes that this results in loss of potential volume, oil residuals, lack of shine, unmanageable hair, contrary to the consumer’s expectation from the shampoo.