Men loyal to hair care brand, skeptical of ad claims

Drug Store News, June 11, 1990

Men loyal to hair care brand, skeptical of ad claims

Men are not what one might call daring or experimental when it comes to hair care. They are somewhat skeptical about product benefit claims, and they tend to stay loyal to the brands they have used in the past.

That's probably the main reason why Gallup found that just 6 percent of the males in the grooming aids survey used hair-thickening products.

Men seem to be waiting for manufacturers to do more to prove to them that these products work. They are less susceptible to fantasy advertising than women, one buyer said.

Some men also seem to think they should live with what nature has given them, and that it's "feminine" to try to rearrange their appearance.

That may also explain why 67 percent of the respondents also said they aren't using hair styling products like sprays, mousses, or gels. Percentage of men who have used hair styling aids

Hair spray                   19%
Mousse                        9
Gel                           9
Never use                    67

* Responses also reflect multiple use of styling products Source: The Gallup Organization

It may also explain why 95 percent of all men say they don't use hair coloring products. Surprisingly, age had no impact on men's willingness to say they used hair coloring products. There were no significant differences in usage between the younger men in the survey and men 50 and over.

There were some age differences, however, among men who used styling products. More older men than younger men said they used hair sprays, while younger men were more likely to be using mousses, gels, or spritzes.

However, hair sprays still remain the most popular choice of men who use styling aids; 19 percent said they did use a hair spray compared to 9 percent who said they used a mousse and 9 percent who said they used a gel.

The most frequently preferred and most-often-mentioned brand of hair spray was Alberto Culver's Consort, chosen by 13 percent of hair spray users as their favorite brand. Another 7 percent named Aqua Net; 5 percent singled out Command and Gillette's Dry Look, respectively; and 4 percent opted for Vitalis. After that, the brand loyalties became very fragmented. Favorite hair sprays

Consort                      13%
Aqua Net                      7
Command                       5
Gillette Dry Look             5
Vitalis Spray                 4
Breck                         2
Suave For Men                 2
Protein 29                    2
Vidal Sassoon                 2
Alberto VO5                   2

Other or no

preferences 56

Based on men who have used a hair spray in the last four weeks. Source: The Gallup Organization

In the shampoo category, men seem to be very practical. The most preferred brand, Head & Shoulders, also does double duty as an anti-dandruff shampoo, and it was the favorite brand of 13 percent of the respondents.

Pert Plus, which is a time saver since it combines a shampoo and a conditioner into one formula, was chosen by 5 percent. Other strong favorites were Prell, 6 percent; Suave, 5 percent; and Johnson's Baby Shampoo, 4 percent. Favorite shampoos

Head & Shoulders             13%
Prell                         6
Pert Plus                     5
Suave                         5

Johnson's Baby

  Shampoo                     4
Selsun Blue                   3
Flex                          3
White Rain                    2
Ivory                         2
Nexxus                        2
Vidal Sassoon                 2
Bar soap                      1
Other                        24
No response                  28

Source: The Gallup Organization

PHOTO : Many men expect to find hair color lines like Option and Just For Men in the mass hair color department, not in the men's grooming aids department next to aftershaves, colognes, or shaving creams.