Ref. : ER/HairOil/GH-dG

Hair Oil & Cream
Let Price Decide Your Brand, Except Three

Insight— The Consumer Magazine’s September-October 2004 issue has published its in-house laboratory test findings on 13 brands of hair oil and three brands of hair cream. Three widely sold brands of hair oil did not conform to the specifications of Indian Standards, while all the three brands of hair cream tested complied with all the statutory requirements.

Under Schedule S (Rule 150-A) of the Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, hair oils and hair creams must conform to specifications laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS). The hair oils were tested as per IS 7123: 1993 (IInd revision) and the hair creams as per IS: 7679: 1978.

Brands Tested : The 13 hair oil brands tested were : Clinic Plus Coconut Hair Oil, New Nihar Amla Coconut Oil, Hair & Care, Parachute Jasmine, Bajaj Almond Drops, Shanti Amla, Dey’s Keo Karpin Hair Oil, Dabur Amla Hair Oil, New Nihar Coconut Oil, Cantharidine Hair Oil, Jabakusum Taila, Swastik Perfumed Castor Hair Oil, and Parachute Coconut.

Among all of them, Clinic Plus Coconut Hair Oil and New Nihar Coconut Amla each scored the highest at 91. The next came Parachute Jasmine and Marico’s Hair & Care, each having scored 90.

Our recommendation for the ‘Best Buy’ among the 10 conforming brands of hair oil is, however, Shanti Amla Hair Oil, since its price was less than most brands and its overall performance was good. This brand’s overall score was 86.

INSIGHT has also published the laboratory test findings on three brands of hair cream, namely, Brylcreem Dandruff Control Hair Cream, Brylcreem Protein Plus Styling Hair Cream and Clinic Active Hair Grooming Cream.

Among the three, Brylcreem Dandruff Control Hair Cream scored the highest at 72, Brylcreem Protein Plus came next with 70 and Clinic Active scored 61. Brylcreem Dandruff Control hair cream is our recommendation for the ‘Best Buy’ among the three hair creams tested.

Ayurvedic Hair Oil & De-tanglers : The laboratory also tested four brands of hair oil which made therapeutic claims. The brands tested were Dabur Vatika Premium Coconut Oil, Himani Navratna Oil, Himtaj Oil and Banphool Oil. But since Indian Standards do not cover hair oils which make therapeutic claims, INSIGHT published only the test findings but did not rate or rank them nor did it call them conforming or non-conforming.

The BIS has not formulated Standards also for products like de-tanglers, hair fluids, potions, etc. But, purely from the consumer’s point of view and going by the ORG data, which classifies all of them as hair oils, the laboratory picked them up as finished products applicable to hair. It tested Livon Silky Potion and Hair & Care Silk-n-Shine, which fell under the post-wash hair-conditioner category, for their chemical parameters and sensory performances.

The Test Parameters: The laboratory tested the hair oils for their peroxide value, acid value, microbial content, as well as packing and marking, and labelling information. The hair creams were tested for thermal stability, pH, total fatty substance, water content, rancidity and microbial content.

All of the brands complied with the test for acid value which indirectly gives an idea of the shelf life. Jabakusum Taila (11.50) and Swastik Perfumed Castor Hair Oil (17.12) did not comply with the IS specifications for the peroxide value limit of 0-10 milliequivalents (meq) per 1000 gram. The peroxide value indicates the stability of the oil. Parachute Coconut Oil did not meet the IS requirements for the microbial content limit, though the company said that it markets its product as an edible oil under the PFA guidelines and complies with the PFA specifications. The microbial tests determine the bacterial contamination in oil.

Sensory Test : To correlate between the laboratory findings and the actual consumer usage, we also conducted sensory analyses to assess the performance of all the 22 brands of hair oils, hair creams, ‘de-tanglers’, and ‘ayurvedic proprietary medicated oils’. Altogether 30 panellists participated in this additional test for sensory analyses.

The samples were tested for fragrance, colour, appearance, easiness of spreading, its stickiness and viscosity, after-application effects on hair, and on the overall feeling after use. On a 5-point scale of ‘Excellent’ to ‘Poor’ and for maximum 100 marks, the panellists awarded scores that ranged from 83 to 48. While no brand scored ‘Excellent’ (90+), Dey’s Keo Karpin Hair Oil scored the highest at 83 points.

Price vs Performance : As a consumer organisation, CERS’ main concern is whether consumers get value for money. A comparative analysis showed that the price does not always determines the performance. The laboratory found a wide gap in the prices of the hair oils and the performance score. This led it to conclude : don’t believe the advertisements, don’t get influenced by brand image. Let your budget decide the brand. You will still be able to take care of your tresses a la Rapunzel.

Unjust Enrichment : The standards of Weights and Measures (Packaged Commodities) Rules 1977 specify the maximum permissible error on declared net quantity (volume) by 6.75 ml for 150 ml. While Shanti Amla gave more than the labelled weight and New Nihar Coconut gave the labelled weight, all the other 11 brands gave less than their labelled weight. Jabakusum Taila and Swastik Castor — two of the non-conforming brands — gave you the least when price and quantity were considered. Dabur Vatika Premium Coconut Hair Oil recorded an average weight of (141.7 ml).

This was less than the permissible error. If you add up all the difference, it may not be too great an amount, but a difference of a few paise only. But to consumers as a class, it means a lot. To a manufacturer who sells in thousands of tonnes, they add up to quite a bit. This is a case of Unjust Enrichment to the manufacturer just as we had found out in our tests of bottled water, vanaspati, instant coffee, turmeric and chilli powder. Consumers should not be made to pay for what they do not receive.

What the Experts Say : CERS also had set its panel of experts to debate on the efficacy of the claims made by manufacturers on their product labels, like “cures migraine”, “relieves headache”, “effective memory aid”, “stops hair fall” and so on. While the experts were unanimous about the positive effect of a gentle massaging of the scalp, they were skeptical on the tall therapeutic claims of the hair oils.

CERS also urged upon the BIS to formulate performance Standards, since hair oils are products of mass consumption and all manufacturers make several claims. The BIS should ensure that any brand may be allowed to make therapeutic claims provided it substantiates them.

Areas of Action : The BIS has done away with the labelling information on the ‘best use before’ and the expiry date for products less than 10 ml./25 gm or those with a shelf-life of over 24 months. But consumers would not know whether a product has more than 24 months of shelf-life. Also, the mere manufacturing date will not show whether the product has become rancid or not. The BIS should, therefore, ensure that either the ‘best use before’ or the expiry date be put on the label.

CERS also asked the BIS to draw up Standards for de-tanglers, since they are being marketed as products to be used on hair.

Before publishing the results, CERS had conveyed the test findings to all the manufacturers for their views and comments. There was no response from the manufacturers of New Nihar Coconut Oil, New Nihar Coconut Amla Hair Oil, Clinic Plus Coconut Hair Oil, Dey’s Keo Karpin Hair Oil, Dabur Amla Hair Oil, Cantharidine Hair Oil, Himani Navratna Oil, Himtaj Oil, Banphool Oil, Brylcreem Protein Plus Styling Hair Cream, Brylcreem Dandruff Control Hair Cream and Clinic Active Hair Grooming Cream.

The details of rating and ranking, the‘Best Buy’ and excerpts of the correspondence with the manufacturers have been published in the September-October 2004 issue of Insight - The Consumer Magazine.

Date : 16/11/2004
Place : Ahmedabad

Pritee Shah
Editor
INSIGHT - The Consumer Magazine

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Opinions, test results and research findings issued through this Press Release cannot be used in any form directly or indirectly for advertising, promotional or commercial purpose.

CONSUMER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH SOCIETY
“Suraksha Sankool”, Thaltej, Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway, Ahmedabad- 380 054 (INDIA)
Phone: 079-27489945-46 Fax: 079-27489947
E-mail: cerc@wilnetonline.net
Web Site: http://www.cercindia.org
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