Effects of Hair Gloss and Brightness on Impression

Abstract

Hair is one of the factors that determine the impression of a person. However, there has not been enough research regarding the change in the impression on people given by the presence of hair gloss or the difference in hair brightness. In this study, we conducted experiments using 9 combi-nations of hair gloss and brightness and 25 positive evaluation words （ 15 impression words and 10 texture words ） to quantitatively measure the impression of different glosses and degrees of brightness of hair, and analyzed the obtained scores using two-factor ANOVA and factor analysis. As a result, it was shown that when the hair gloss went up, ratings for most evaluation words became higher. When the brightness rose, however, ratings for some impression words became lower. In the four-factor model indicated by covariance structure analysis, gloss explains factors including tactile texture words and feminine evaluation words, whereas brightness explains factors including visual texture words and freshness evaluation words. Clarifying the effects of hair gloss and brightness on the impression of a person will enable us to match haircare products more accurately to the appearance that consumers desire to achieve.