Versatile color, natural style is cutting edge in ethnic hair

Drug Store News, March 5, 2001 by Barbara White-Sax

The popularity of natural styles and a desire for versatility in styling options are driving consumers' choices across styling aids segments in the ethnic hair care category.

"Consumers want change. They don't want to wear the same style every day," said Pat Grant Williams, artistic director at Colomer and owner of the Hair and Beyond salon in Silver Spring, Md. "There is a lot of variety of styles now and women are wearing their hair either very short or very long. There is no single look that defines style now."

Tern Gardner, president of L'Oreal's Soft Sheen/Carson division agrees. "Trends in ethnic hair care are coming from the street and also from entertainers and there is an eclectic nature to styles," she said. "There is such a broad palette of hair textures and consumers are looking for more natural looks with more texture and curl pattern. People are still relaxing their hair, but it's no longer really straight. There's some bounce to the hair now."

Perms, twisting and braiding are still popular, but consumers are putting a new spin on those looks--adding color to extensions or opting for more healthy looks, according to Stephanie Scott, assistant beauty editor at Essence magazine. "Thin twists or two stranded twists are replacing earlier looks," she said. "Layered looks are hot and bangs are definitely back."

Men are opting for more natural hair as well. "Younger men don't want the short looks their fathers are wearing and we are seeing hair getting longer and longer. It's a return to "'Dr. J' hair, Afro looks," said Gardner.

These new styles are driving product sales. What was once hot may no longer be in vogue with changing consumer tastes. The new men's styles, for example, are driving sales of products that detangle and add shine. Finishing sprays, such as Soft Sheen's Wave Nouveau Finishing Mist that softens and detangles, are becoming popular. "We've also seen a resurgence of the Sta.Sof.Fro line, which was very popular in the '70s," said Gardner. "Young men are shopping drug stores themselves since it's a product only they use and it's not already in the house. They'll come in and grab chips, juice and detangler."

Consumers are also looking for alcohol-free maintenance products that contain natural oils to provide moisture. "The trend toward natural hairstyles also means consumers are looking for natural ingredients," said Jim Marino, group vice president of marketing, North American brands at Alberto Culver's Pro-Line International. "Consumers want natural ingredients in relaxers as well as in maintenance products. Packaging in the category is doing a better job communicating those benefits to consumers. Not enough attention has been paid to packaging in the category before."

Pro-Line recently introduced Soft and Beautiful Botanicals Texturizer, which includes natural ingredients and is used to bring out natural wave and curl patterns. Moisturizers and botanicals in Clairol's Textures & Tones color line allow consumers to color Their hair then perm or relax after one wash.

"Condition and quality of hair is key to the market," said John Perry, director of sales, education and customer marketing for professional products at Clairol's Synergy Division. "Dual use products that provide moisture as well as shine are popular. In fact, gels are doing very well, But products are lighter. Consumers don't want products that are heavy on the hair."

Color is booming in the ethnic hair care category and has grown at least 20 percent for the past three years, according to Gardner. Last year, Carson repackaged its Dark & Lovely line, which now features Nia Long and Mary J. Blige on the product. The two shades the company has named for Blige, Red Hot Mary and Electric Mary, have been very successful. Under its Karizma Creme Colour line, the company recently introduced four new blonde shades to give consumers additional choices in the blond color family.

Blonds are strong but reds seem to be the biggest sellers in the category. "We're seeing copper, mahogany and brunette as very popular colors," said Colomer's GrantWilliams. "Younger consumers are looking to change their hair color very frequently and they like the flexibility semi-permanent color gives them."

Manufacturers agree that color is a segment of the category that particularly merits increased attention. Clairol has added four new shades to its Textures & Tones line this year as well. "Hair color is becoming very big in the ethnic category. With the ethnic consumer spending three times the amount the general market consumer spends, it's important that retailers manage this category well," said Clairol's Perry.

"We continue to see the need for better category management within the category," said Gardner. "We need to look at the SKUs that aren't efficient and replace them with new products that consumers want."

Manufacturers say that keeping product in stock is also a key concern in this category. "Better partnering within the category would lead to better consumer choices," said Dan Villarroel, director of marketing at Colomer USA. "We all need better discipline in the category to better manage our inventory."