BUSINESS RESEARCH METHOD

PROJECT REPORT

“A SURVEY ON CONSUMPTION PATTERNS

OF HAIRCOLOR”

SUBMITTED BY:
AKANSHA SINGH, E-15
AKANSHA GARG, E-16

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 Table of contents

S.No. Particulars Page No.

1. Acknowledgement 3
2. Introduction 4-8
3. Objective 9

4. Questionnaire 13-27

5. Descriptive Analysis 31
6. ANOVA 32-33
7. Independent t-test 28
8. Cross Tabulation 29-30
9. Conclusion 34
10. Limitations of study 35
11. Annexure 36-39

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We take this opportunity to express our profound gratitude and deep regards to our guide Professor
Dr. S.K Laroiya for his exemplary guidance, monitoring and constant encouragement throughout
the course of this research project. The help and guidance given by him from time shall carry us a
long way in the journey of life on which we are about to embark.

And finally, we are thankful to Almighty, our parents and colleagues, for their valuable advice and
constant encouragement without which this project would not have been possible.

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 INTRODUCTION

The ancient Egyptians were some of the first known people to use hair dye, applying henna
to cover grey hair. Natural hair colour was also used years later in Ancient Greece and
Rome, where people pulled different plant extracts to modify the colour of their hair. The
first permanent hair colour—jet black—can also be attributed to Ancient Rome, but it took
a few hundred years for Greeks and Romans to introduce more colour choices beyond
black. During the Roman Empire, prostitutes were required to have blonde hair, and while
many wore wigs, some used a plant-based mixture to lighten their natural hair colour.
Outside of these ancient empires, other civilizations used hair colour on the battlefield as a
means to show their rank and frighten the enemy.

 Hair color History

Like many great modern inventions, hair color as we now know it was invented by
accident. English professor William Henry Perkin was attempting to come up with a cure
for malaria when he instead discovered the first synthesized dye. Chemistry professor
August Wilhelm von Hoffman enhanced Perkin’s discovery, creating para-
phenylenediamine (PPD), which is still the base for many permanent hair colors today—but
more on that later.

Diodorus Siculus, a Greek historian, described in detail how Celtic people dyed their hair blonde.
This practice continued in some parts of Britain long after the Fall of the Western Roman
Empire, particularly in Wales, where Llywelyn Ap Gruffudd was described in an elegy
by Gruffudd ab yr Ynad Coch to have blonde hair: "...Not since Camlann has there been such
weeping, Gone is our mainstay, his golden hair, stained with a death blow..."

In 1907, French chemist Eugene Schueller took PPD and created the first hair color for
commercial purposes, dubbing the new product Aureole, which soon became known as

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The dyeing of hair is an ancient art that involves treatment of the hair with
various chemicalcompounds. In ancient times, the dyes were obtained from plants. Some of the
most well known are henna (Lawsonia inermis), indigo, Cassia
obovata, senna, turmeric and amla. Others include katam (buxus dioica), black walnut hulls, red
ochre and leeks. In the 1661 book Eighteen Books of the Secrets of Art & Nature, various
methods of coloring hair black, gold, green, red, yellow, and white are explained. The
development of synthetic dyes for hair is traced to the 1860s discovery of the reactivity of para-
phenylenediamine (PPD) with air. Eugène Schueller, the founder of L'Oréal, is recognized
for creating the first synthetic hair dye in 1907. In 1947 the German cosmetics
firm Schwarzkopf launched the first home color product, "Poly Color" Hair dyeing is now a
multibillion-dollar industry that involves the use of both plant-derived and synthetic dyes.

Throughout the early and mid 1900s, hair color formulas advanced, including at-home hair
colour that boasted longer staying power and hydrogen peroxide-free lightening hair
colour. While in the 1950s, much advertising around hair color was around discretion, the
1970s signalled a change of openness about beauty, prompting ownership of coloring your
hair that paved the way for the bolder hair colors and highlight styles of the 1980s and
1990s.

 Hair colouring meaning

Hair coloring, or hair dyeing, is the practice of changing the haircolour. The main reasons for
this are cosmetic: to cover gray or white hair, to change to a color regarded as more fashionable
or desirable, or to restore the original hair color after it has been discolored by hairdressing
processes or sun bleaching.

Hair coloring can be done professionally by a hairdresser at a salon or independently at home.

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 Types of haircolouring

a) Permanent

Permanent hair color generally contains ammonia and must be mixed with a developer or
oxidizing agent in order to permanently change hair color. Timing may vary with
permanent hair coloring but is typically 30 minutes or 45 minutes for those wishing to
achieve maximum color change.

b) Demi-permanent

This is the hair color that contains an alkaline agent other than ammonia
(e.g. ethanolamine, sodium carbonate) and, while always employed with a developer,
the concentration of hydrogen peroxide in that developer may be lower than used
with a permanent hair color. Since the alkaline agents employed in demi-permanent
colors are less effective in removing the natural pigment of hair than ammonia these
products provide no lightening of hair's color during dyeing. As the result, they
cannot color hair to a lighter shade than it was before dyeing and are less damaging to
hair than their permanent counterpart.

c) Semi-permanent
This hair coloring involves little or no developer, hydrogen peroxide or ammonia, and
is thus less damaging to hair strands. The reduced amount of developer, whether
peroxide or ammonia, means that hair previously damaged by applying permanent
color or permanent reshaping is less likely to be damaged during the color application
process.
Semi-permanent hair color uses compounds of lower molecular weight than are found
in temporary hair color dyes.

Semi-permanents may still contain the suspected carcinogen p-

phenylenediamine(PPD) or other related colorants.

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d) Temporary color

Temporary hair color is available in various forms including rinses, shampoos, gels,
sprays, and foams. Temporary hair color is typically brighter and more vibrant than
semi-permanent and permanent hair color. It is most often used to color hair for
special occasions like weddings, parties, festivals, etc.

e) Alternative color
Alternative hair coloring products are designed to create hair colors not typically
found in nature. The available colors are diverse, such as the colors green and fuchsia.
Permanent alternatives in some colors are available. Some color shades
are blacklight-reactive, and thus show up under certain nightclub lighting, for
instance.
The chemical formulae of alternative color dyes typically contain only tint and have
no developer. This means that they will only create the bright color of the packet if
they are applied to light blond hair. People with darker hair (medium brown to black)
need to use a bleaching kit before tint application. Some people with fair hair may
benefit from prior bleaching as well. Gold, yellow and orange undertones in hair that
has not been lightened enough can adversely affect results, especially with pinks,
blues and greens. Although some alternative colors are semi-permanent, such as blue
and purple, it could take several months to fully wash the color from bleached or pre-
lightened hair.

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  Importance of haircoloring

“The soul becomes dyed with the color of its thoughts”, Marcus Aurelius

When the color on someone’s hair can emphasize their skin tone and eye color, one can make
their hair look fuller, add texture and even help them express their personality. The laws of hair
coloring apply to light and pigment. When one understands these laws, will never have to guess
and the results will always be expected.

Today, hair color remains hot, with a booming 75 percent of American women reportedly
coloring their hair. (In 1950, only about 7 percent of American women colored their hair. And
when they did, they did it to cover gray with their natural color and usually didn't want anyone to
know they'd done it.

Women have decided to change their look from their natural colour to something they prefer
more. Apart from women, Men increasingly cover gray or, following the female lead, completely
change their look. Men's home hair-color sales reached $113.5 million last year, a 50 percent
increase in just five years. The selection of coloring products and techniques is mind-boggling.
Home coloring is less expensive -- ranging from about Rs. 99 to 2,186 per coloring & a trip to
the salon, which, depending upon your hair length, color and the method used, can cost Rs.
1500-4000 and up.

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 OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH

 To know the number of consumers who colour their hair and who do not
 To identify the reasons behind not colouring
 To know if customer colors hair at home or salon
 To know if promotional tools play a role in purchasing the product
 Level of satisfaction of haircolor product users at home and salon service
users.

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 RESEARCH METHODLOGY

Research is a process of systematic inquiry that entails collection of data; documentation of critical
information; and analysis and interpretation of that data/information, in accordance with suitable
methodologies set by specific professional fields and academic disciplines.

Research is conducted to evaluate the validity of a hypothesis or an interpretive framework; to

assemble a body of substantive knowledge and findings for sharing them in appropriate manners;
and to generate questions for further inquiries.

Research Methodology is a way to find out the result of a given problem on a specific matter or
problem that is also referred as research problem. In Methodology, researcher uses different
criteria for solving/searching the given research problem. Different sources use different type of
methods for solving the problem. If we think about the word “Methodology”, it is the way of
searching or solving the research problem.

A research design is a systematic approach that a researcher uses to conduct a scientific study. It
is the overall synchronization of identified components and data resulting in a plausible
outcome. To conclusively come up with an authentic and accurate result, the research
design should follow a strategic methodology, in line with the type of research chosen. To have a
better understanding of which research paper topic, to begin with, it is imperative to first identify
the types of research to start writing a research proposal.

a) Exploratory research design is conducted for a research problem when the researcher has
no past data or only a few studies for reference. Sometimes this research is informal and
unstructured. It serves as a tool for initial research that provides a hypothetical or
theoretical idea of the research problem. It will not offer concrete solutions for the research
problem. This research is conducted in order to determine the nature of the problem and
helps the researcher to develop a better understanding of the problem. Exploratory research
is flexible and provides the initial groundwork for future research. Exploratory research

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 requires the researcher to investigate different sources such as published secondary data,
data from other surveys, observation of research items, and opinions about a company,
product, or service.

b) Descriptive research design is defined as a research method that describes the

characteristics of the population or phenomenon that is being studied. This methodology
focuses more on the “what” of the research subject rather than the “why” of the research
subject.

In other words, descriptive research primarily focuses on describing the nature of

a demographic segment, without focusing on “why” a certain phenomenon occurs. In other
words, it “describes” the subject of the research, without covering “why” it happens.

c) Causal research, as the name specifies, tried to determine the cause underlying a given
behaviour. It finds the cause and effect relationship between variables. It seeks to determine
how the dependent variable changes with variations in the independent variable.

Sample Frame-
Respondents from Delhi/NCR and Gurgaon sector have given their responses. Respondents from
different states in India have given their responses as coffee houses are present almost every state
and metropolitan cities. Many respondents have different perspective so a larger demography is
covered instead of a particular sector and the major objective of the research was to identify the
consumer perspective which gives us much clear picture of their attitude towards coffee houses.

TOPIC-

“CONSUMPTION PATTERNS OF HAIRCOLOR”

NATURE OF RESEARCH
The nature of study is exploratory and descriptive

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UNIVERSE
NCR REGION

SAMPLE SIZE

150 respondents were there and all of them were conducted through offline survey.

SAMPLING TECHNIQUE

 Simple random sampling

 Reference sampling

DATA COLLECTION
It is based on both primary and secondary data.
a) Primary data is:
Questionnaire
b) Secondary data is:
Books and journals
Internet

TECHNIQUE APPLIED FOR ANALYSIS

 INDEPENDENT T-TEST
 ANOVA
 CROSS TABULATION

PRESENTATION TOOLS USED

These tools help to make project interactive and easily understandable by any individual who want
to seek information about any particular subject.
The main presentation tools are as follows:
● Pie charts
● Tables
● Bar graph

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 QUESTIONNAIRE

Q.13. What is your age?

o Below 18
o 18-24 years old
o 25-34 years old
o 35-44 years old
o 45-54 years old
o Above 54 years old

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Q.14. What is your gender?

 Male
 Female

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Q.15. What is your income?
 Below 1 lakh
 1 lakh-3 lakhs
 3-5 lakhs
 5-7 lakhs
 7-9 lakhs
 Above 9 lakhs

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Q.1. What is your natural hair-color?

o Black
o Brown
o Red or auburn
o Blonde
o Gray

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Q.2. Which hair color would you prefer the most?

o Blonde
o Brown
o Black
o Red or auburn
o Other colors

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Q.3. Do you dye your hair?

 Yes
 No
 I dye and highlight it
 I highlight it

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Q.4. If you answered yes, and said you highlight it or both to Question 3, do you
color it yourself or at a salon?

A. At a salon
B. At home

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Q.5. If you answered no to Question 3, why don’t you color your hair?

 You love your gray hair

 You don’t have gray hair, and love your natural hair color
 Don’t have enough time
 Don’t want to spend money on it
 Due to health issues

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Q.6. Whether at home or at a salon, how often you color your hair?

 Every four weeks

 Every six weeks
 Every eight weeks
 Less often

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Q.7. Why do you color your hair?

o To cover gray roots

o You don’t like your natural hair-color
o To look younger
o Other

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Q.8. Which brands do you use to color your hair at home?

 L’Oréal
 Garnier
 Revlon
 Streax
 Godrej
 Bblunt
 Clairol
 Dabur Vatika
 Matrix

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Q.9. Do advertisements or any kind of promotional tools, campaigns motivate you
to buy a particular brand?

 Yes
 No
 Sometimes

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Q.10. If answered yes to question 3, What is your satisfaction level for hair-color
brands which you are using?
* Please rate by ticking in the boxes, on the scale of 1-5, where 5 is very satisfied
Very satisfied neutral dissatisfied Very
satisfied dissatisfied
Price
Effectiveness
Quality

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Q.11. If you answered no to Question 3, how satisfied are you with your salon
which you last visited for haircoloring? *not to be answered if salon services for
haircoloring are not taken.

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Q.12. If you go to a salon how much do you spend on hair coloring?
*If you don’t use salon services, skip this and answer question 13.

 1500-2000
 2000-3000
 3000-4000
 4000-5000
 Above 5000

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 Independent T-test

H0: There is no relationship between the preference for hair-color and age

H1: There is relationship between the preference for hair-color and age

Interpretation

The calculated value is more than p-value of .05 i.e. 0.925, hence we
accept null and reject alternate hypothesis.

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1. Cross Tabulation

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2. Cross-tabulation

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 Means

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  ANOVA

H0: There is no significant relationship between the satisfaction level with salon service and
money spent at salon.

H1: There is significant relationship between the satisfaction level with salon service and money
spent at hair salon

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Interpretation

Since the calculated value is .553 and is greater than p value i.e. .05, we accept null hypothesis
and reject alternate hypothesis.

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 CONCLUSION

The study showed that age is not having any relation to the type of colour a person prefers.

Since the respondents who were taken belonged to a higher income group who were greater in
our sample along with some lower income ones we calculated through ANOVA that the
satisfaction level with salon service did not have a significant relation with the money spent on
salon service.

The number of people who did not colour their hair were about 65 out of the sample of 150
respondents.

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 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

• The places where in, we have conducted the survey generally belonged to people ranging
from higher income to lower income groups, with the majority being of higher income
groups

• The sample taken is not as broad as to cover the biases of people belonging to rural areas.

• The sample taken does not include the views of teenagers in the age bracket varying from
13 to 15.

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 ANNEXURE

SURVEY ON HAIRCOLORS

We are doing a survey for academic purposes on consumer preferences for

haircolors and their consumption. We would be grateful if you could take the
time and fill this questionnaire. *All your information will remain
confidential.

Q.1. What is your natural hair-color?

o Black
o Brown
o Red or auburn
o Blonde
o Gray

Q.2. Which hair color would you prefer the most?

o Blonde
o Brown
o Black
o Red or auburn
o Other colors

Q.3. Do you dye your hair?

 Yes
 No
 I dye and highlight it
 I highlight it

Q.4. If you answered yes, and said you highlight it or both to Question 3, do you
color it yourself or at a salon?

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 C. At a salon
D. At home

Q.5. If you answered no to Question 3, why don’t you color your hair?

 You love your gray hair

 You don’t have gray hair, and love your natural hair color
 Don’t have enough time
 Don’t want to spend money on it
 Due to health issues

Q.6. Whether at home or at a salon, how often you color your hair?

 Every four weeks

 Every six weeks
 Every eight weeks
 Less often

Q.7. Why do you color your hair?

o To cover gray roots

o You don’t like your natural hair-color
o To look younger
o Other

Q.8. Which brands do you use to color your hair at home?

 L’Oréal
 Garnier
 Revlon
 Streax
 Godrej
 Bblunt
 Clairol

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  Dabur Vatika
 Matrix

Q.9. Do advertisements or any kind of promotional tools, campaigns motivate you

to buy a particular brand?

 Yes
 No
 Sometimes

Q.10. If answered yes to question 3, What is your satisfaction level for hair-color
brands which you are using?
* Please rate by ticking in the boxes, on the scale of 1-5, where 5 is very satisfied

Very satisfied neutral dissatisfied Very

satisfied dissatisfied
Price
Effectiveness
Quality

Q.11. If you answered no to Question 3, how satisfied are you with your salon
which you last visited for haircoloring? *not to be answered if salon services for
haircoloring are not taken.

Q.12. If you go to a salon how much do you spend on hair coloring?

*If you don’t use salon services, skip this and answer question 13.

 1500-2000

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  2000-3000
 3000-4000
 4000-5000
 Above 5000

Q.13 What is your age?

o Below 18
o 18-24 years old
o 25-34 years old
o 35-44 years old
o 45-54 years old
o Above 54 years old

Q.14. What is your gender?

 Male
 Female

Q.15. What is your income?

 Below 1 lakh
 1 lakh-3 lakhs
 3-5 lakhs
 5-7 lakhs
 7-9 lakhs
 Above 9 lakhs

*Optional
Name-___________________________
Phone number-____________________
E-mail address-____________________

Thank You so much for your time !!!

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