The New Nation - Internet Edition

WP Report

Sunsilk shampoo, a hair product by Unilever has recently prepared a survey. It's Bangladesh's report is prepared by MRC Mode and AsiaticJWT as well as Global report prepared by salt. Global survey details this research was carried out by Sunsilk in Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Brazil, USA, Russia and Mexico. Around 500 girls globally were questioned in each country during August 2007 to January 2008. At Sunsilk, they understand the transformational power hair can have on the life of 20-something girls. And so, they set out to find out just how important hair is to the lives of girls across the world - asking girls in India, Thailand, Brazil, Mexico, Russia, USA and most importantly girls in Bangladesh, questions about their hair, their life and how one impacts the other.

Hair - crucial to your look!

Nearly all girls - wherever you are in the world - think hair is a crucial part of their appearance. In fact over 41 per cent feel hair is the most important aspect of their looks - over make-up, clothes and skin! Five out of the six countries surveyed felt that hair is the most important aspect of their appearance, none more so than in Bangladesh where more than half of the girls subscribed to this outlook.

And amongst all the countries surveyed, Bangladeshi girls are most convinced by the power of hair. In fact 96 per cent of the girls here believe it plays a crucial role in the way a person looks.

Perhaps hair is so important because girls can use their hair to make a fashion statement - something 82 per cent of girls do worldwide and Bangladeshi girls are no different as 93 per cent of them also feel the same way. And this is something that can be done spontaneously; with over 87 per cent using their hair to instantly transform their look. Girls in Bangladesh make the most of this instant tool of transformation, as almost all of them use their hair this way. Once again the girls from Brazil closely follow with 95 per cent using hair as a transformational tool, with 92 per cent of Russian girls also recognising the transformational power of hair.

And with all this emphasis placed on hair, it isn't surprising that hair is the last thing, almost 50% of the girls in Bangladesh check before an important event - such as a meeting.

In fact in all countries apart from Thailand, hair scored highest with girls for things they check before an important event - with over half of girls in the USA putting hair above everything else.

However, over a third of girls worldwide are unhappy with their hair and only one third of girls find it easy to get the look they want for their hair - leaving two thirds of girls struggling with complicated and time consuming styling. The girls of Bangladesh tell a different story however, with three quarters of them stating that it's easy to get the look they want for their hair.

My hair is me!

Amongst all the countries surveyed Bangladeshi girls are also the most convinced that their hair is the very best reflection of their personality with almost 90% of them believing that hair defines the physical expression of who they are.

Nearly all girls - a whopping 97 per cent - admit that how their hair looks affects how they feel about themselves. This is particularly true for girls in Thailand, Bangladesh and Russia - almost 99 per cent of girls in those countries are affected by the way they feel about their hair.

In fact more than half of girls don't feel truly themselves when they are unhappy with their hair. And girls from Russia, Bangladesh and Thailand feel least like themselves when they aren't happy with their mane.

Girls - and Sunsilk - believe that a person's identity is radiated through their hair - so much so that over 80 per cent of girls have made a judgment about someone solely based on their hair.

Girls in Russia judge people according to how their hair looks more than any other girls. However, this is closely followed by girls in India, Mexico and the USA. However, girls in Thailand are the least judgmental about other people's hair - perhaps they are worrying too much about their own.

Hair makes life happen

A huge 87 per cent - nearly 9 out of every 10 girls feel more confident and open to new opportunities when they think their hair looks good. Girls in Thailand, Russia and Bangladesh feel the most confident and ready to make life happen thanks to their lovely locks.

This must be why 69 per cent of girls get impatient when they feel happy with their hair - they don't want to waste time before going out and making the most of their 'good hair feeling'. And this is especially true of girls in Bangladesh - where more than 81% of the girls are in a rush to show off their hair, many more than laid back American girls.

Because for more than three quarters of girls, hair magically transforms the way they feel about themselves - feeling good about their hair makes them able to make the most of the day and make life happen. So they can live for today - not tomorrow.

Once again, this magical transformation is felt most by girls in Thailand - with nearly 9 in 10 girls feeling more able to seize the day because of the way the feel about their hair, followed closely by 85% of Bangladeshi girls.

However, this means that 50 per cent of girls feel the need to hide away from the world when they aren't happy with their locks. And it is impossible to make life happen when you are hidden away. Russian girls feel the strongest about this with over 60 per cent of girls wishing they could hide from the world on days they feel unhappy with their hair. They are closely followed by the Bangladeshi girls where more than half of them feel like they can't go out and face the world when their hair does not look right.

A life ruled by hair

Feeling unhappy with your hair can have a huge impact on your life and cause extreme behaviour - over half of the girls in Brazil and Russia have purchased emergency hair products and made an emergency appointment with the hairdresser.

Girls in Thailand seem to take the most drastic action when they aren't happy with their hair - over half of girls have stayed in the house all day when they weren't happy with their hair and 15 per cent of girls have not even left their bed. This particular extreme reaction is also quite prevalent in Bangladesh where 1 in every 10 girl decided to stay in bed because they were unhappy with their hair!

In India, 1 in 10 girls have gone as far as taking the day off work because of their discontent with their hair. And when Indian girls have braved a work appointment a bad feeling about their hair has wrecked it for a fifth of girls - nearly a fifth of these girls have also had a job interview ruined because of this. Almost 1 in 10 Indian girls have cancelled a job interview because they weren't happy with their hair.

Mexican girls are most worried about what people they know will think about their hair when they are unhappy with their style - nearly a third have crossed the road to avoid seeing someone they know because of bad hair. This is true for almost a fifth of girls worldwide - think of all the missed opportunities!

A hairy outlook

Half of girls throughout the world describe themselves as unattractive when they are unhappy with their hair.

One third of Brazilian and Mexican girls think, a bad feeling about their hair makes them feel sad.

Feeling unhappy with your hair also appears to make many girls insecure - a third of girls reporting this feeling across the world. This hair-related insecurity could be holding them back and may mean they miss opportunities. For 1 in 10 Indian girls their hair can also make them feel incompetent - not a feeling that will make you able to make good things happen.

The Sunsilk summary.

These global findings prove just how powerful hair can be. Feeling happy with your hair can make you feel confident, open to new opportunities and truly be yourself. Hair can be a reflection of your personality - an expression of self - but this means if you feel unhappy with your mane you can want to hide away from the world and think you are insecure or incompetent. Girls need to feel happy with their hair and take advantage of its instant, and sometimes magical, transformational powers to ensure they never miss or ruin another important work meeting again!