Dry shampoo category drives growth in haircare

Leading shopper-centric brand-custodian distributor, ACDOCO South Africa (ACDOCOSA), is experiencing rapid growth in its dry shampoo category range after launching Batiste Dry Shampoo to the South African market almost three years ago. Batiste offers a 'no water needed' range of products that helps eliminate oily roots and boosts body, giving hair the makeover it needs between washes, without needing water or damaging hot styling appliances.

"Dry shampoos are growing quickly in popularity because they offer a quick fix to prolong style between washes, whether it allows the user to look glamorous after work, the gym or come to the rescue after pressing the 'snooze' button too many times," says Sarah Edwards, Principal Account Manager and Market Development Manager for ACDOCOSA. "Our research has shown that one in five women in the UK use dry shampoos, while launches of new dry shampoo products have doubled in the past two years in response to demand for effective products in this category."

Edwards points out that dry shampoo products are also chosen by consumers who are looking to reduce the frequency of use of conventional shampoos, allowing their hair's natural oils to moisturise their tresses, whilst maintaining style and a clean feeling.

"Using a dry shampoo to refresh a blow-dry, rather than washing it out and having to start again, is also a popular choice, while women with long hair who train at gyms frequently depend on the product to keep their locks lovely, without having to wash and blow-dry after every session," Edwards adds. "Women are not only choosing dry shampoos for their convenience - they also want to keep exposure to damaging heat from hair dryers and styling irons to a minimum."

This is not unique to the UK. According to a recent article on Bloomberg, a growing number of people in the United States are cutting daily washes from their haircare routines. As women extend the time between washes, major haircare companies are rolling out more dry shampoos. According to Tim Barrett, an analyst at Euromonitor International - which houses the world's most comprehensive research on the hair care category within the beauty and personal care industry - the dry shampoo rage is part of a growing emphasis on hair health. Younger consumers want to avoid chemicals that can damage hair over time. Others want to preserve colouring or hair's natural oils, which protect individual strands, keeping them shiny and smooth.

Hair care analyst Anais Mirval states that convenience is an underlying trend in most beauty and personal care categories. "In hair care, consumers are looking for products that are easy to use and can help them save time. The success of dry shampoos is proof of the enduring popularity of the convenience trend in hair care." Mirval adds that the recent success of dry shampoos can be explained by a change in their positioning. They are not marketed merely as cleaning products any more, but as refreshers, allowing customers to save time while perfuming and styling their hair.

Amy Ziegler, Mintel Beauty & Personal Care Analyst, has a different view. She states that dry shampoo initially made a serious case for convenient cleansing as it tied into consumers' ease of use expectations. Therefore, convenience was the number one selling point since the launch of dry shampoos in 2008. However, the convenience factor has dropped to just 17% of purchases in recent times. Increasingly important characteristics when purchasing dry shampoos are now cited as being shine, brightening and illuminating benefits (which has grown 220%), and fragrance (making up 53% of purchases).

Whatever your reason for purchasing dry shampoos is, the Batiste range of dry shampoos is the product that busy South African women and teens have been waiting for. The aerosol products are easy to carry in a handbag, giving users the power to refresh their look on the go. The range includes trend-led variants where the packaging and fragrance has specifically been designed to mimic the hottest global catwalk trends. In addition to the variety of fragrances available the speciality range are two variants for coloured hair, available in Medium and Deep Dark Brown. Volume XXL, also part of the speciality range offers users the chance to combine the benefits of Batiste dry shampoo with an extra hold to ensure that style is volumised, making light work of Up-Do's. The core range is available in a variety of fragrances; Clean and Classic Original, Floral and Flirty Blush, Coconut and Exotic Tropical Cool and Crisp Fresh, Fruity and Cheeky Cherry and Sassy and Daring Wild.

The dry craze is now extending to conditioners. According to hair care analysts, manufacturers are taking advantage of the recent success of dry shampoos by expanding product ranges even further, to dry conditioners. To counteract the potential dulling action of the starch contained in dry shampoos, dry conditioners will provide shining and conditioning through oils. Watch this space for Batiste's range of dry conditioners...

For more information visit http://www.batistehair.com