UK haircare is virtually a £1 billion market and has been relatively buoyant for a decade. In 2005, however, market value dropped back, a result of permanent deep discounting and intense price competition between retailers. Whilst this trend was evident in all sectors except hair colourants, it was sharpest in shampoo and styling products. Shampoo is the largest sector and its problems are those shared by the market as a whole. Haircare is fundamentally a commodity market, where price prevails above brand loyalty, but manufacturers are attempting to add value through more intense segmentation producing more individually-tailored product ranges and through the application of 'accessible science', very much in the manner of trends which have been successful in the skincare market, the recent performance of which is the envy of players in other C&T sectors. The problem is how to preserve brand equity in a commodity environment and to persuade haircare users to pay premium prices in a market where permanent promotions have become the expected norm.

The haircare market is not as homogeneous as might be thought. Whilst shampoo and conditioners are fundamentally commodity toiletries, colourants and styling products are linked closely to trend in fashion and have a young constituency. Marketing imperatives in these sectors are thus much closer to those operating in colour cosmetics. Men constitute an important target group for styling products as well as for grooming aids in general. Part of the industry's strategy is to encourage more men, as well as women, to adopt a 'haircare regime', using a shampoo and complementary conditioner in tandem. Usage levels for conditioner, though relatively high, remain much lower than those for shampoo, the penetration of which is effectively universal in Britain amongst both women and men.