Schwarzkopf’s hair analysis device for salons makes world debut in Japan
Henkel’s salon-targeted brand Schwarzkopf Professional is introducing to salons all over Japan the world’s first digital device that can measure inner hair condition — the Salon Lab Smart Analyzer.
The Salon Lab Smart Analyzer is a handy, compact device that can analyze the inside of hair at a molecular level and show the health status of an individual’s hair through visualized results. It was developed over two years in Henkel’s German laboratories, and from December it will be fully implemented into salons across Japan before it hits salons anywhere else in the world.
By using this device, beauticians in a salon can measure a customer’s inner hair condition and give them the results of the diagnosis right then and there. Through taking this data analysis and combining it with experience-backed counseling by beauticians, the resulting treatment and product recommendations can now be more reliable than ever before. On top of this, the counseling by beauticians is not just a one-sided presenting of results, it involves looking at the data in detail to come up with treatment personalized to the customer and that is in line with what they want.
The technology involved allows salons to be connected directly in real-time to Henkel’s laboratory in Germany thanks to the use of IoT. The iPad app used in-store sends the hair data to the server in Germany which instantly compares it with storage of big data containing information on the hair of 30,000 different people to form an analysis and diagnosis.
The whole process begins with the customer answering questions about the length and fineness of their hair. After that, the salon beautician runs bunches of the customer’s hair through the hand-held analyzer from around the sides and back of their head to conduct the measurement. The near-infrared ray sensor built into the analyzer measures the levels of cysteic acid within the hair (which indicates hair damage). The data is run through an originally-developed algorithm that takes into account the customer’s answers to the initial questions, and the results are shown on the in-store iPad. All of this occurs roughly within 5 minutes. Based on the results, the beautician can recommend certain treatments at their salon, optimal haircare products, and also effective techniques for at-home treatment.
In their Fibre Clinix lineup, which went on sale in Japan in June, Schwarzkopf offers five different products each for a different hair condition. When receiving treatment at the salon, customers can have a customized mixture applied to their hair that combines the item recommended by the Smart Analyzer and another item chosen by the beautician based on their visual judgment of the customer’s hair condition. The hair data results and treatment the customer receives can also be recorded and stored in the app.
Development of the Salon Lab Smart Analyzer began in Germany by inviting 58 beauticians into the process as collaborators. It involved creating an algorithm based on 2,000 hair samples and the hair profiles of 30,000 people. To improve the product’s design and operability, prototypes were repeatedly made in an extensive trial and error process. In the end, they accomplished a size and weight that made the product easy to hold in the hand. As a result of this work, the company received the 2018 CES Innovation Award, drawing the attention of the world.
Pursuing a 3-way advantage for customers, salons, and Henkel
For salons, the implementation of Salon Lab Smart Analyzer will allow them to distinguish themselves from other salons, and the data from the product will also become a tool for customer management. Furthermore, this data will play a role in better facilitating the communication between beautician and customer during counseling sessions, where the data will be referable. With better communication, salons can anticipate greater customer loyalty and repeated patronage.
For customers, they can benefit from learning more about the inner condition of their hair via the analyses and also receive haircare better customized to themselves.
Salon Lab Smart Analyzer is marketed as a tool for salons that use the Fibre Clinix lineup, and as such the device isn’t sold separately. However, the benefits the analyzer brings to Henkel not only include the ability to push its haircare products. It also allows the company to capture enormous amounts of data on individual customers to improve the accuracy of their analysis tools, which in turn can feed into the creation of new products and the improvement of services. The product ends up being advantageous for all three parties of the salon, the customer, and the manufacturer.
Although the Schwarzkopf Professional brand is present in over 120 countries, Salon Lab Smart Analyzer will first be introduced into Japan before the rest of the world. Already from July tests have begun at a select few salons. From December it will be rolled out to 500 salons across the country, and Henkel Japan is already planning to increase this amount next year.
The reasons for introducing the Smart Analyzer first in Japan include the fact that Japan is the second-largest haircare market after the United States, and also in-salon services in Japan are of considerable quality and among the very best in the world. The country’s quick adoption of digital technologies and Japanese consumers’ particularly high standards are also factors.
In other words, the heads at Schwarzkopf have judged that if the service proves its worth in Japan, this will become a benchmark for introducing it to other countries around the world. Once feedback from Japanese users is taken in and the product is better refined, Henkel plans to roll it out in Europe and North America from next summer.
Text: Ching Li Tor
Original text (Japanese): Miki Onishi
