International Beauty Trends

WENDY TOTH and DAN ALAIMO

Recent research conducted by Procter & Gamble, Cincinnati, found that the U.S. is lagging behind several other countries when it comes to the sales of certain health and beauty care products.

The U.S. comes in 19th in hair color behind leaders Finland, Norway, France, Greece and the Netherlands.

In shampoo, the U.S. is 25th behind Portugal, Norway, Ireland, Spain and Denmark, and 28th in skin care behind South Korea, the Netherlands, France, Japan and Denmark.

“It is very interesting to see the importance various cultures place on different categories,” said Steve Cesler, vice president of customer business development for P&G.

For retailers within the U.S., it remains important to study the demographics of each store's neighborhood, said Charles Yahn, vice president of sales, retail development, customer service and pharmacy, Associated Wholesalers Inc., Robesonia, Pa.

“Maybe you are in a neighborhood where ethnic care is more important. It just depends where you are and who your consumer is. What you have to do is look at the demographics of every store and merchandise to the consumer that is there,” he said.

“In many countries, beauty is a major consumer priority,” Cesler said.

“One of the first new industries to open up in Afghanistan after the Taliban left power were hair salons. In Asia, having beautiful skin is a very important need. Many Asian women spend 30 minutes each morning and then again at night going through several steps to care for their skin. In Latin America, coloring your hair can be a big need in some countries,” he said.