Chapter 13 445 conditioners, and styling products. Advancement in product science and materials science has led to an explosion of new products. The commercial success and popularity of hair care products have increased multifold in the last three decades leading to scores of products in the market. Shampoo is the most basic hair product being used by consumers in developed countries followed by hair conditioners. Styling products like gel, mousse, and hair spray are being used to create and maintain hair style. Since the late 1990s a significant number of new product formats and hair care tools have been introduced in the global market. Products are categorized with respect to: • Target hair type, e.g. fine hair, damaged hair, colored hair, straight hair, wavy hair, curly hair. • Benefit, e.g. soft hair, volume (high and low), shine, frizz control, color protection, hair repair, to name a few • Ingredients/technology, e.g. 2-in-1 shampoo, shampoo/ conditioner with and without silicone or conditioning polymers or specialty polymers/ingredients Hair styling products, in addition to the above, bring one more dimension and that is product textures. Product sensory, i.e. look and feel of the product, is becoming one of the new trends to bring a unique experience to the consumer, and these changes are mainly driven by: • Shift in the market trend from care to beauty to health • Novel textures: Cross-fertilization of ideas from skin care and the food industry, e.g. emulsion wax, gum, stick, soufflé • Globalization: products for hair from different ethnicities Consumer trends: How to predict consumer trends is a million- dollar question. Every year significant research is being carried out by futurologists, fashion houses, and brand managers to predict trends that motivate consumers to buy products/services.