Zhou Wei

Guangzhou Colornow Cosmetics Co., Ltd., China

Current situation of China’s professional hair cosmetics market

Generally, "Professional Cosmetics" refers cosmetics whose sales channels, application range and use methods are different from those of ordinary cosmetics. Professional cosmetics are usually sold in beauty parlors concomitant with professional services by beauticians or hairdressers.In many cases, beauty apparatus are also used to take advantage of the cosmetic products at a utmost level.

Professional hair cosmetics include the following types of non-special use cosmetics: shampoo, hair conditioner,hairdressing gel (hair mask), styling products, and special use cosmetics such as perm agents, hair dyes. With the increasing competition and reduced profit of ordinary cosmetics, professional cosmetics have attracted more and more enterprises for their high profit, high added value and low barriers to entry. As an individual cosmetic segment in market, professional hair care products have the following characteristics compared with ordinary cosmetics.

Enterprise scale and sales amount

Except a few of well-known ordinary cosmetics production enterprises, China’s professional hair care production enterprises are generally small in scale. Since 2010, the total number of China registered cosmetics production enterprises have maintained 4,000 ～ 5,000,among which those engaged in professional hair care production account for about 20%～25%. Take hair dyes for example, in 2013, the total sales amount in China was about RMB 2 billion, among which foreign enterprises accounted for about 60% of the whole sales amount. In China, local enterprises with RMB tens of millions or even more than RMB 100 million in annual revenues including the following ones: Guangdong Youngrace Cosmetics Co., Ltd.,Zhejiang Zhanghua (Savol) Co., Ltd., Zhongshan Jiali Fine Chemical Co. Ltd., Shanghai Schobrunn Fine Chemical Co., Ltd., and Guangzhou Dcolor Cosmetics Co. Ltd..

Brand popularity and market competitiveness

In recent years, China's hair care market has kept steady and fast growth. Increases in market size leads to increases in competition and declines in concentration.Meanwhile, a stable brand pattern is formed, and superior brands still maintain their development tendency. Nearly all of the high-end brands are foreign-owned, such as L’Oreal (France), Schwarzkopf (Germany), Wella(Germany), Goldwelle (Germany), and Shiseido (Japan).These brands rely on high technology, fashion design and accurate market positioning to occupy the leading places in the field with a considerable market share. While Chinese local brands are restricted by many factors except for a few brands such as Youngrace, Savol and Decolor,who have a comparatively high popularity via their sales channels like large supermarkets, shopping malls, etc.

Other brands that sell through hair salons and exclusive stores are hardly known by customers. Due to lack of popularity, low market penetration and spotty quality, local brands have to compete in the middle and low-end market.

Fast upgrade and shorter life cycle of products

Due to small scale production, it is difficult for the domestic professional hair care production enterprises to develop product deeply. This leads to Chinese companies copy foreign achievements, in the professional product market with the products fast upgrading. Once new concepts and demands appear on the market, the enterprises will immediately launch similar products simultaneously. Products homogeneity in the industry is seriously, and competitive pricing is used more often by businesses selling similar products, resulting in a shorter life cycle of products. At the core of problem is that those enterprises lack of competitiveness, scientific management,market planning and long-term product planning.

Supervision and management of cosmetics industry in China

With the development of international economy and economics integration, as well as in order to eliminate the technical barriers caused by cosmetic regulations of different countries and regions, a new trend of unified international management on cosmetic regulations[1]has been emerging in recently years. As for complying with the rules, in order to synchronize with international supervision and regulation for the scientific management, China has formulated a series of cosmetic laws and regulations. For example, since 30 Jun 2014, CFDA has implemented filing system for non-special use cosmetics and Technical Safety Standards for Cosmetics (2015) (since 1 Dec, 2016). In 2016, CFDA organized to examine cosmetics production enterprises and issued Cosmetics Production License to qualified enterprises. Meanwhile, the original National Industrial Production License and Hygiene License for Cosmetics Manufacturers were invalidated.

Current situation of China’s professional hair care products technology

Combined with the above analysis, it can be seen that there is an obvious gap between Chinese and foreign enterprises. Current situation of China’s professional hair cosmetics technology is summarized as follows:

1) lack of strong R&D capabilities and capital support brings about difficulty in technological innovation;

2) facing more professional and stringent regulatory supervision, and increasing more attention and in R&D;

3) lack of in-depth basic research, mostly relying on foreign brands to carry out applied technology research;

4) developing products with technical features in order to achieve a breakthrough.

Low ammonia and odor-free hair dye and perm products

The permanent hair dye agents have pH value of 9.5 ～11 while 8.5～10 for perm agents. Ammonia in these products can not only regulate the pH value, but also help to open the hair cuticle.[2]But the products containing ammonia will release a pungent ammonia odor. In order to reduce the unpleasant smell, more formulations replaced ammonia. Other organic bases (ammonium ethanol, triethanolamine, aminomethyl propanol,aminomethyl propanediol), basic salts (ammonium carbonate, ammonium bicarbonate), and alkaline reducers (arginine, lysine) can be used partially or wholly in place of ammonia, to reduce the content of ammonia in the products for improving the smell. Therefore, more and more products claimed as “ammonia-free dye”,“ammonia-free perm agent”, “amino acid perm agent”appear on the market. Based on the market analysis and theoretic literature,[3]seeking more effective alkali agents to replace ammonia will be the trend of low-ammonia odor-free products in the near future.

Perm products containing new reducing agents

In theory, all the compounds which can make partial loosing of three-level structure of hair keratin, especially,reducing the disulfide bond of cystine linkage in hair,are suitable for using as curly hair agents or straight hair agents.[4]Unlike the hair perm containing mercapto acetic acid, the reducing agents contained in new perm agents are relatively simple to use. The perm agent is designed according to the principle that reducing agent containing aldehyde group (such as glyoxylic acid and glutaraldehyde) can cause the protein in hair to be denatured at high temperature, such as GOLDWELLE Keratin treatment agents developed by German Kao Co., Ltd. A product with the synergistic use of alkali metal with guanidine hydroxide released by American Revlon Inc., can rapidly straighten the hair.[5]These hair straightening products are also followed by many Chinese manufacturers. It is worthy to note that China’s National Standard GB/T 29678-2013 (Permanent Wave),is specially prepared for thiol reducing agents. In the future, how to supervise and regulate these new products with perm function should be considered by the related administrative departments.

Hair color bleaching and dyeing technologies

First, in addition to some permanent hair dyes containing single oxidizing dyes, other permanent hair dye agents containing both direct dye (non-oxidizing dye)and oxidizing dye (dye intermediate and coupling agents or improving agents) are also launched on the market.When using these two kinds of hair dyes simultaneously,more hair color categories are added; meanwhile some direct dyes can also enhance hair brightness and saturation after dyeing.[6]For example, golden hair dyed by using p-aminophenol, hydroxyphenol, 2- methylresorcinol and other oxidizing dyes in combination with HC Yellow NO.2 or 2-amino-6-chloro-4-nitrophenol and other nonoxidizing dyes is more saturated than the hair dyed by using a single oxidizing dye. Secondly, hair bleaching agents have been further developed and applied. Compared with oxidizing dye in hair dyes, hair bleaching agent has a strong capacity to bleach hair, which can be used to bleach the melanin in hair, and then get very light hair.[7]In addition, hair bleaching agent can also be used together with semi-permanent hair dyes to provide the consumers more choices for hair dyeing. With the acceleration of population ageing in China, much attention has focused on ageing population. Meanwhile, black hair dye has gained the market attention. In addition to some traditional double-piece hair dye creams, there are also other single-piece black dye creams, black dye foams and other dosage forms, such as Elumen hair dye cream(GOLDWELLE), and hair dye foam (Kao, Schwarzkopf).These products are more simple and easy to use, and are very convenient for consumers, without any need for professional hair salons, which can meet the market demand from the aging population.

Development of protective hair products

When perming and dyeing hair, reducing agent,oxidizing agent will enter into the hair fiber, and break the hair cuticle, salt bridge and disulfide bonds; the recombination of chemical bonds may damage the hair fiber, maximally, even lead to hair breakage. In the past, hair conditioners were added in the products, such as cationic surfactant and/or cationic polymers, siloxane and/or siloxane modified polymers, peptides and/or amino acids, etc.[8～10]At present, some products are launched on the market, which can be mixed with perm agent, hair dye and bleaching agent.The products often contain active ingredients (e.g. protease)which are more sensitive to thiol, hydrogen peroxide and other reducing agents, as well as oxidants or pH value.[11,12]These ingredients can be individually formulated as one dosage form, which can be used alone or mixed with perm agent and hair dye in a certain proportion before use. For example, an imported high-end hair protection product for perms and dyes, Olaplex, which claims to contain some components that can re-link the broken disulfide bond to protect the hair.

The above listed products cover professional line hair dye, perm and care products, which rely on breakthroughs in technology, efficacy and market demand, have entered into market segments, bring about a new growth for China’s professional hair care production enterprises.

Conclusion

China’s cosmetic market has been growing at a fast pace, driven by upgraded purchasing. With the strengthening of national supervision and regulation,and the growth of consumers’ quality consciousness and industrial qualifications, some small-sized enterprises with low productivity, bad working production conditions and poor management will gradually be eliminated from the cosmetics industry. Domestic private enterprises specializing in professional hair care products will experience industrial aggregation and upgrading, and face a series of industry developments and reforms including the development of industrial structure, talents, technology,brand and distribution channels.

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[2] Qiu Bingyi. Perm products. Cosmetic Chemistry and Technology 2011, 4(4), 1322-1342.

[3] Otte Goettel; Johann Aeby; Alberto Finazzi. Ammonium Hydroxide-free Hair Dye Compositions Containing A Buffer System, 2014.

[4] P. Hoffseiler; R. Dien. Hairdressing Agent, 2003.

[5] Mario De La Guardia; Donald R Cowsar. Method and Composition for Hair Treatment, 1982.

[6] Manuela Cavit; Otto Goettl; Christel Dawsey; et al. Hair Brightening Colorant Containing Direct Dyes, 2004.

[7] Annemarie Lunjibran; Geely; Marie Larkin; Stephen Casperson.Hair Bleaching Products, 2005.

[8] Heard Charles M; Brain Keith R; Walters Kenneth Andrew.Stereo Selective Delivery of Chiral Compounds, 1997.

[9] Schick Laura A; Sanchez Claudia P. Heat Safe Hair Care Composition and Method of Protecting Hair from Heat Treatment, 2000.

[10] Hirata Yoshihiro. Method of Repairing or Restoring Damaged or Defective Hair, 2002.

[11] C J Opre; D L Nicholas; W J Darby. Cosmetic Method for Treating Skin and / or Hair, 2004.

[12] H Samaien. Process for Permanent Reshaping of Keratinous Material, 1996.