Hair Care Product Claims 492 Introduction Many individuals develop strong relationships with their hair. When our hair looks good, we tend to feel good we have an extra spring in our step, a heightened level of confidence. On the other hand, if we are unhappy with our hair, we may feel somewhat self-conscious and possibly be more introverted. For this reason, “bad hair days” extend far beyond simple physical appearance and can often dictate emotional status. Not surprisingly, a hair care lexicon has developed, which constitutes terminology used by consumers as they describe various states, conditions, and issues associated with daily habits and practices. This vocabulary represents the language of the industry, with efficacy and benefits of products being communicated in these terms. On the other hand, it must be remembered that this is “consumer language,” which does not necessarily match technical understanding. Indeed, it is possible to identify a number of instances where consumer self-prognosis wrongly identifies the root cause of an issue and consequently suggests an incorrect treatment approach. By means of illustration, consumers ascribe a rough, course hair feel as being related to “dryness” and subsequently request “moisturizing” treatments. However, as described in Chapter 10, hair damage is often accompanied by increased moisture content—so the common consumer descriptor “dry, damaged hair” is actually an oxymoron. Instead the cause of this undesirable issue relates to increased surface roughness arising from cuticle degradation, and can be alleviated to an extent by the lubricity imparted by conditioners. Consequently, consumers may proclaim admiration for the “moisturizing” ability of such products, as the misdiagnosed symptom has been removed, even though no technical mediation of the water content occurs. Surface lubrication is the primary technical function of conditioning treatments, but, obviously, this is not a term that consumers use. Instead the result of this benefit is often noted in terms of “smoothness” and “softness,” while also being secondary other attributes, such as improved manageability (due to easier