j. Soc. Cosmet. Chem., 37, 489-499 (November/December 1986) Hair manageability C. R. ROBBINS, C. REICH, and J. CLARKE, Colgate Palmolive Research Center, Piscataway, NJ 08854. Received May 23, 1986. Synopsis Hair manageability is defined as the "ease of arranging hair in place and its temporary ability to stay in place" (1) during styling, i.e., ease of styling hair. Survey data from consumers indicate that three hair assembly properties are relevant to manageability: combing/brushing of hair, style retention while styling hair, and static flyaway. Results further show that many consumers consider two or only one of these components as relevant to manageability. Therefore, we recommend that manageability be considered in terms of these three components which we call three types of manageability: style arrangement manage- ability (essentially combing/brushing of hair), style retention manageability (style retention during styling), and flyaway manageability (static flyaway). This approach to understanding manageability permits it to be measured or evaluated in terms of its component hair assembly properties, each of which may be considered in terms of fundamental fiber properties. INTRODUCTION Manageability, a very important term in hair cosmetics, has not been adequately de- scribed in the scientific literature. Recent surveys (summarized in the Discussion sec- tion) show that manageability offers different benefits to different people. These survey data help to explain why a working definition that permits measurement of this impor- tant cosmetic term has never been fully described. We believe that this important term as it is currently defined (1) is so inclusive that it cannot be measured by a single procedure. The objective of this paper, therefore, is to offer a working definition for hair manageability that permits this property to be measured in terms of its constituent hair assembly properties. This approach, to consider an inclusive property in terms of its components, may also be used with other difficult-to-define cosmetic terms and could ultimately permit them to be better understood, to be evaluated scientifically, and to be considered in terms of fundamental fiber properties. DISCUSSION DEFINITION Manageability has been defined as "the ease of arranging hair in place and its temporary ability to stay in place" (1). It is observed during styling and reshaping of hair, but is not generally concerned with longer term effects as is the case for style retention. Hair 489

490 JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY OF COSMETIC CHEMISTS assembly properties such as combing/brushing of hair, lack of style retention (during styling and reshaping), and the phenomenon of flyaway hair are all components of hair manageability. We have recently conducted a consumer survey that confirms that these three assembly properties are strongly associated with manageability (Table I). Ninety-nine percent of the panelists of this survey indicated that one or more of the above hair assembly properties are relevant to manageability. Fifty-two percent indi- cated that all three of the hair assembly properties are relevant to manageability, 37 percent indicated that only two are relevant, while 10 percent believed that only one of these properties is relevant to the manageability of hair. This survey shows that these three different hair assembly properties are all relevant to manageability, but that manageability is perceived differently by different persons. Therefore, we conclude that manageability is too complex to measure by any single procedure, and we recommend defining three types of manageability based on the above component hair assembly properties: style arrangement manageability (essentially combing/brushing ease), style retention manageability (retention of a style during styling), and flyaway hair manageability (static flyaway). We selected this terminology for the following reasons. Style arrangement manage- ability is used instead of combing ease because it includes other hair arrangement oper- ations such as brushing, picking, etc. Style retention manageability is used instead of style or set retention to clearly indicate that our concern is with the retention of style during the styling or managing process. The term "flyaway hair manageability" was considered as a separate category because a large number of consumers (in our survey) considered static flyaway to be important to managing their hair. Therefore, for any Table I Results of Manageability Survey on Women (N = 100 women) Question More Less Not Manageable Manageable Relevant X 2' 1. If you apply a treatment to your hair that produces less static flyaway, does it make your hair ................ 71 2. If you apply a treatment to your hair that helps your hair to stay in place better, does it make your hair ............ 71 3. If you apply a treatment to your hair and it makes your hair comb easier, does it make your hair ................ 70 Conclusions: 12 17 64.2 16 13 64.0 9 21 62.7 © These three properties are all strongly associated with manageability. © Easier combing, less flyaway, and keeping hair in place are all related to improving manageability. * Responses all significantly different from that expected by random chance.