Packages with Hair Style
The packaging for Surf Spray links the unique formula to scuba diving and the beach
Companies attract consumers with packaging that reflects their specific hair-care needs.
Hair-care products today are state-of-the-art formulations. High-performance shampoos, shaping gels, and other styling aids are no longer relegated to bland white stock bottles. Instead, packages are expertly designed to communicate the unique benefits of the products they contain. Companies are wise to invest in such stylized packaging, because consumers follow the marketing cues on tubes, jars, and bottles when seeking hair products to suit their individual needs.Steps to Success
The Color Support system by Bumble and Bumble (New York City) is a line consisting of five product families. Each family comprises shampoo, conditioner, and styling lotion, a three-step system to address the needs of color-treated hair. Distinctive packaging is the thread that ties the products in each family together, reinforcing the simplicity of a three-step approach to healthy hair.
The idea was to use different colors in the packaging to convey that the system includes three equally important steps. "The art flows from the set box to the carton to the bottle," says Frederic Pignault, vice president of product development for Bumble and Bumble. "In each family, different colors are layered on the packages the same way you would have your hair highlighted." The colors, he says, are inspired by the colors of the products and by the actual hair colors the products are designed to achieve.
Te Tao Tea for Hair blends feng shui packaging with the principles of Chinese medicine. Photo courtesy of Kuan. The functionality of the packaging also means high performance and optimized care for the hair. "The pumps on the bottles, in addition to having a modern look, are actually there to dose exactly the amount of shampoo and conditioner the consumer needs," says Pignault. Sprayers have the same profile as the pumps, reinforcing the notion of a total hair-care system. Opting for custom bottles, Bumble and Bumble developed molds for Color Support with Techpack America (New York City). Valois of America (Greenwich, CT) manufactured the pumps and sprayers
Also to Bumble and Bumble's credit is how the company took the packaging for Surf Spray in a thematic direction. The packaging, which is inspired by the beach, markets the styling mist as a unique formulation that replicates the sun-baked quality of ocean-washed hair.
The product's rubberlike bottle and silver dispenser are clearly linked to scuba diving. "The bottle was inspired by the wet suit material Santoprene, and the silver sprayer is modeled after a diving [tank]," says Pignault.
The search for the right package began when the company first outfitted a stock bottle with a miniature wet suit. The idea quickly evolved into something more technologically challenging. "The bottle is a biinjection of polypropylene (on the inside) and Santoprene (on the outside)," says Pignault. "The yellow ink is for the sun, and the blue ink is for the water."
Striking a Balance
From Chinese medicine to tai chi, the quest for balance and harmony through the use of ancient Asian principles has become popular across the United States. In keeping with this theme, Te Tao Tea for Hair, a collection of Chinese herbal-based shampoos and conditioners, is divided into five lines that are designated by the traditional Chinese symbols for fire, earth, water, wood, and metal. Each product and its respective element correspond to an individual's hair type and personality, and are formulated to address the internal and external needs of hair.
The bottles for the Lifetex Wellness line are translucent and display the products' soothing pastel colors. . Packaging for the line adheres to the principles of feng shui with round, flowing curves and no straight lines. "Te Tao actually means the way to virtue," says Nawzat Kattan, U.S. office manager, Kuan (London). "Achieving and maintaining a sense of balance is paramount in Chinese medicine, and Te Tao subscribes to this philosophy, down to the design of its bottles." Transparent bottles with sloped shoulders allow the vividly colored formulations to show through.
Each product is topped with a round, black screw-top closure accented with a narrow band of color on the neck and a disk of color on the top. The bottle and cap, owned by Kuan, are custom tooled. The bottles are produced by M&H Plastics (Suffolk, UK), and the caps are provided by Seaquist Dispensing (Cary, IL).
Packaging for Bumble and Bumble's Color Support system reinforces the line's three-step system for color-treated hair. Wella Corp. (Woodland Hills, CA) has a similar flair for using packaging to echo the formulaic benefits of its products. The Lifetex Wellness line is rooted in the concept that what's good for the body is good for the mind. Three cleansing and conditioning pairs, two Vitality Blast conditioning treatments, two specialty tonics, and a glossing additive are packaged in ergonomic translucent bottles and tubes that make the products' muted colors visible to consumers.
"Soft rolling curves in the translucent packaging appeal to [consumers'] visual senses, relaxing them as they view the product on the shelf," says Wella's Christine Plumber. "The pastel palate was selected because it conveys a sense of caring, purity, pampering, and uplifting."
Looks Matter
It's not just what's inside a package that counts. Packages that are well designed and well executed, like the examples in this article, highlight the unique benefits of highly specialized hair-care formulations. Customers count on such visuals to find the products that best suit their individual needs. Salons and personal care companies are wise to invest in packaging that conveys a hair-care product's specific benefits.