"The big thing on the head" cannot be ignored. At present, the number of people suffering from hair loss and other hair problems is gradually expanding, and "hair health" has become an inevitable issue in the care industry.
From April 12th to 14th, the first China Hair Health Industry Conference and the first Anhui Hair Medicine Annual Conference were held in Hefei.
Among them, Off&Relax, an Asian scalp health care brand, has strongly promoted the technological upgrading of the scalp care field with a number of R&D and innovation achievements.
01
Promote domestic and international cutting-edge technology exchanges
The Hair Health Industry Alliance was established
According to the 2023 National Scalp Health White Paper, the number of people suffering from hair loss in mainland China has exceeded 250 million, which is twice the total population of Japan. However, the market size of China's anti-hair loss products only surpassed that of Japan until last year, indicating that the potential of the domestic market in this field is very huge.
Although the market size of the hair health industry in mainland China has exceeded 100 billion, due to the late start and relatively weak foundation, the improvement of professional and scientific research capabilities is particularly urgent. Driven by market demand, research exchanges in the fields of scalp hair follicle health and anti-hair loss technology are becoming more and more important in China and even in Asia.
In this context, the Hair Health Industry Alliance was officially established.
As one of the initiators of the Hair Health Industry Alliance, Dr. Yang Jianzhong, Chief R&D Officer of Off&Relax, an Asian scalp health care expert, said in his speech, "The establishment of the China Scalp and Hair Health Industry Alliance is not only conducive to the healthy development of the domestic hair health market, but also provides a basic platform for cross-border cooperation in this area. ”
He believes that China, Japan and South Korea have strong complementarity in the development stage of the hair health industry, the accumulation of academic and technical knowledge, and the market potential. Through academic and technical exchanges in this field, it will be a promising direction of cooperation to jointly explore scalp hair care and anti-aging solutions suitable for Asians.
02
Three major R&D trends
Traction for the future development of the cleaning and care industry
In addition to the identity of the chief R&D officer of Off&Relax, Dr. Yang Jianzhong is also known as "the first person in the world of cleaning and care" and "the father of silicone-free oil" in the industry. He has been engaged in the technology development of shampoo and hair care products in Procter & Gamble for 15 years, and has served as the chief scientist of hair care products in P&G R&D Center and the chairman of the Asian Scalp Health Research Center, with more than 30 years of experience in technology research and development of shampoo and hair care products.
In the past few decades, the scalp care market has experienced the era of 1.0 basic cleaning represented by Procter & Gamble, and the era of 2.0 sulfate-free and silicone-free technology represented by Ziyuan. With the continuous improvement of people's living standards and consumption awareness, today's cleaning and care products have ushered in new changes.
At the conference, Dr. Yang Jianzhong interpreted the development trend of the cleaning and care market with his experience and perspective. In view of the future trend of the cleaning and care market, Dr. Yang Jianzhong shared three major R&D trends:
Dr. Yang Jianzhong, Chief R&D Officer of Off&Relax, an Asian scalp health care expert
Scalp care
Dr. Yang Jianzhong said that the focus of technology development is shifting from simple hair care to scalp health care, including anti-hair loss. From the perspective of the evolution and development of scalp care technology, Dr. Yang Jianzhong divided scalp care into four stages of development: 1.0 antibacterial and anti-dandruff, 2.0 scalp burden reduction, 3.0 oil balance, and 4.0 microecological balance.
In Dr. Yang Jianzhong's view, balance is healthy. As a representative brand in the new era of washing and care, Off&Relax has also adopted a number of innovative scalp care technologies on the basis of continuing the silicone-free and sulfate-free scalp burden reduction technology, including:
(1) Selective cleansing technology, that is, efficient washing away high-risk substances in sebum without over-irritating the scalp; Off&Relax's refreshing and fluffy shampoo is a representative of this technology, product tests show that the shampoo has a high cleaning index for high-risk oils such as squalene and unsaturated fatty acids, and has a certain retention effect on cholesterol, cholesteryl esters, wax and other oils that are beneficial to the scalp.
(2) Selective antibacterial technology, which selectively inhibits the reproduction of Staphylococcus aureus without acting on Staphylococcus epidermidis as a beneficial bacterium of the scalp, to achieve the microecological balance of the scalp;
(3) Selective deposition, avoiding excessive deposition of ingredients that are good for hair care but risky for scalp health. The Off&Relax Light Hair Mask uses this concept and is more rinsable than commercially available products.
In parallel with the scalp care techniques mentioned above, there is also a hair follicle rejuvenation and hair loss prevention technology, which maintains the vitality of hair follicle stem cells and hair papilla cells through the penetration of active ingredients, and maintains the normal hair growth cycle.
Pure care
At present, minimalism has swept the shampoo industry, following silicone-free and sulfate-free shampoos, there have been "cation-free" conditioners, hair masks, "non-volatile silicone" hair care essential oils, and "alcohol-free" anti-hair loss lotions, and the concept of minimalism + environmental protection has entered the shampoo market, and the number of brands paying attention to the natural source index of formulas has increased rapidly.
Aromatherapy
Scientific studies have shown that fragrance stimulates various parts of the brain related to memory and emotion, improves immunity, promotes hormone secretion, stimulates the autonomic nervous system that controls life activities, and thus affects the entire human body. Therefore, the therapeutic effect of the use of fragrance in cleaning and care products on consumers' body and mind has also become a major research and development direction in the future.
In Dr. Yang Jianzhong's view, in the future, the cleaning and care industry will develop in multiple directions, combining scalp care, fragrance healing, and pure washing and care, reducing the burden on the scalp through pure washing and care, and using fragrance to promote physical and mental health, so as to maintain scalp health and prevent hair loss, which will become a set of dynamic product experience under the guidance of advanced concepts.
This is the key point that the Off&Relax R&D team led by Yang Jianzhong focuses on in the product development process.
03
R&D-oriented
Use the most suitable method to solve the scalp hair problem of Asians
In the matter of scalp care, Off&Relax advocates "treating with nourishment, first reducing and then adding, from the inside and outside", fighting against the chaotic changes of the modern scalp environment with mild and powerful long-termism, and awakening the scalp's self-healing ability through the appropriate intervention of washing and care products, so that the scalp barrier and hair follicles can reach a healthy state, the sebaceous glands are regularly metabolized, and the microecology is balanced and orderly, so that the scalp and hair can return to a healthy state of self-balance.
In order to achieve the above vision, from the beginning of its establishment, Off&Relax has adhered to the "R&D-oriented" as one of its development strategies, combined with the decades of experience of many top scientists in the industry, guided by the "Golden Triangle Standard of Scalp Health", using the most advanced ingredients and technologies in the world, focusing on using the most appropriate and effective methods to fundamentally solve various problems existing in Asian scalp hair.
In the eyes of beauty headlines, Off&Relax is not only a care brand, but also a strong scientific research team.
In terms of R&D, Off&Relax is led by Dr. Yang Jianzhong, who has accumulated his basic research on Asian scalp and hair strands for more than 30 years, as well as his technology and experience in the field of scalp care. The R&D team includes a number of experts and scholars in the fields of medicine, chemistry, molecular and cell biology, as well as fragrance experts with decades of experience in fragrance development, with more than 50 patents and more than 100 academic and technical papers.
And this also provides strong support for the creation of brand product strength. Off&Relax Anti-Hair Loss Serum is the best proof of its product power.
It is understood that Off&Relax anti-hair loss serum is the first breakthrough product in China to apply type 17 collagen research to prevent hair loss, which lasted two years of research and development, and has obtained the foreign product license of the Japanese Ministry of Medicine before marketing, which is known as "the world's strictest anti-hair loss certification".
As early as 2016, Professor Emi Nishimura, a top expert in the field of aging and regenerative biology at the Institute of Medical Sciences of the University of Tokyo, Japan, discovered for the first time the association between type 17 collagen in hair follicle stem cells and hair loss in the hair bulge site, and published the relevant research paper in the international top journal Science.
Based on the above research, Koji Wakamei, scientific advisor of Off&Relax and professor of the Faculty of Pharmacy at Hokkaido University of Science, led a team to carry out a series of applied basic research, becoming the first person to conduct research on the application of type 17 collagen hair loss prevention and hair loss serum, and applied the research results to Off&Relax hair loss prevention serum.
The product starts from the three major channels of hair growth, hair fixation, and anti-hair loss, and the core action is to awaken the hair follicles in the telogen phase to shorten their telogen phase. The product uses 1% natural rooting acid Hairgrowju and 0.5% BMP-2 growth promotion factor, which can effectively activate type 17 collagen and increase hair follicles, and compound 0.5% double plant extract to strengthen the nutrient supply of hair follicles, while regulating the scalp barrier, so as to rejuvenate hair follicles and directly combat hair loss.
In order to evaluate the true efficacy of this product, Off&Relax cooperated with SGS, an international authoritative third-party testing organization, to launch the #28 Day 100 People Anti-Detachment Check-in Challenge in November 2023. According to the authoritative certification of a third-party testing agency, the average hair loss count of subjects decreased by 22.79% and the average hair density increased by 23.30% after using the product for 14 days, and the average hair loss count decreased by 37.61% and the average hair density increased by 26.63% after using the product for 28 days. The data proves that Off&Relax Anti-Hair Loss Serum has the effect of improving hair loss, making hair loss a problem.
It is not difficult to see that in the tide of scalp care, Off&Relax has become a "trendsetter" with its profound scientific research strength, product strength and market insight, and promotes the technological transformation and upgrading of the shampoo and hair care industry through technological innovation, and works with the industry to bring consumers a better washing and care experience.