Bringing you up to date with all the latest
company and industry news
Cottons News
January 2008
Cottons are publishing a round up of marketing activities that are helping to grow this unique brand.
For the latest Cottons Newsletter, please click here.
BBC Celebrity Scissorhands
November 2007
For the BBC Children in Need Celebrity Scissorhands series, Albyn were delighted to kit out the salon with Lee Stafford straighteners and hairbrushes.
New Lee Stafford Electrical Range
September 2007
Building on our expertise in hair care, Albyn have been working on a new range of Electrical products for the Lee Stafford brand. Now you can buy Lee Stafford hairdryersand straighteners in Boots. If you bought a Lee Stafford straightener between September and December 2007, click here.
New Distribution Opportunity
July 2007
Albyn were approached by an Australian company who wanted to tap into our distribution network.
We are now distributing the Cottons sanpro range..
It's environmentally friendy, hypo-allergenic and biodegradeable.
Click here to learn more.
Hot From Hollywood
May 2006
This Spring’s must have looks have been making their way down the red carpet the ‘Gwyneth’ is everywhere, withstraight and sleek hair at the crown graduating to long feminine waves – it is recommended by experts to use wide barrelled tongs or ceramic straighteners to create kinks and then brush out with a natural bristled brush for the soft waves. The more sleek and sophisticated style such as Eva Longoria’s is created using serum before blow drying and then using natural bristles to keep the hair looking sleek. The retro pony is a popular look using hair bands and also scarves to create a modern twist to the pony tail. The biggest trend to be seen this season has however been the return of ‘luxury’ hair; super expensive, well groomed hair. Must haves to create this look are a round brush, clips and Velcro rollers.
Time for Cosmoprof 2006
March 2006
Albyn will be making the trip to Italy for Cosmoprof Bologna this spring April 6-10 (www.cosmoprof.com).
As ever Cosmoprof promises to be bigger and better than ever and leading the way in all segments of the beauty market at highlighting trends. Cosmopack is a fair within the main fair devoted entirely to the packaging sector, a great place to compare and explore new trends in technologies and services as well as raw materials. The Hair salon is always densely packed with demonstrations and shows, focussing on both the big names and also new names to look out for.
The Albyn team will be quite happy to take a brief if anyone is looking for anything in particular and you don’t have time to get there e-mail us on info@albyn-int.com.
Electrical Haircare Appliances – profile and trends
March 2006
A booming area of the haircare sector is electrical appliances – fuelled by the growth in straighteners in particular. This area focuses on young women aged 15-24 – and this group of consumers is predicted to grow up until 2009 and is most likely to buy hair appliances to look good when going out socialising. They will not however, forfeit hair health for the latest look.
New technologies such as ceramic and ionic are moving mainstream however the consumer is more interested in the finished look rather than technological features. Current market predictions state that the current total market for electrical haircare appliances will increase by 42% between 2005 and 2010 reaching a value of £281.8m (source Mintel Market Intelligence Electrical Haircare Appliances June 2005)
Latest research on lice detection and removal – new launch of Hedrin
January 2006
Following on from the study last summer of the efficacy of a 4% dimeticone lotion - Hedrin, a lice treatment without pesticides - has been launched. The study was conducted by Ian Burgess Director of Insect Research and Development and he concluded that ‘Dimeticone lotion cures head louse infestation’ he also stated that ‘dimeticone seems less irritant than existing treatments and has a physical action on lice that should not be affected by resistance to neurotoxic insecticides’. So how does dimeticone work? Test tube studies have shown that dimeticone can incapacitate lice within 5 minutes and the lice do not recover even when the silicone mixture is washed away. It is thought that the lotion coats the lice preventing them from regulating the way they use and retain water. The lotion must be applied to the whole length of the hair as lice have been observed ‘running away’ down the shaft of the hair.
More information is available on: http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/gca?allch=&SEARCHID=1140626447790_16065&FULLTEXT=
dimeticone&FIRSTINDEX=0&hits=10&RESULTFORMAT=&gca=bmj%3B330%2F7505%2F1423
Vacuum comb
One of the responses to the study conducted by Ian Burgess and posted on the BMJ website highlighted a Danish product innovation for lice removal to judge the efficacy of treatments at removal- the ‘Lice snatcher’ which connects to a household vacuum cleaner and removes lice from dry hair into a separate collection box. The lice can then be counted, classified (by development stage) and the level of infestation ascertained before being returned to the hair for treatment. After treatment the process is repeated and then again at 4, 8 and 12 day periods to ascertain the effectiveness of the treatment on lice and eggs.
Conference in Argentina
The third international conference on phthiraptera is schedules to take place in Buenos Aires from 16 – 20th October. The conference brings together leading authorities on lice to review current knowledge of lice and louse borne diseases. It includes presentations by Kosta Y. Mumcuoglu (Hebrew University, Jerusalem, Israel). On Head louse infestations worldwide and also by Steve Barker (University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia) What is a good randomised control trial of a pediculicide? More information available at www.phthiraptera.org
Regulation changes
The MHRA recently clarified the regulations regarding Head lice products in the UK, the following key points are noted:
1. Products for administration to humans containing substance known to be capable of killing head lice are classified as medicines and require a Marketing Authorisation before they can be placed on the market.
2. Fine-toothed combs for the removal of head lice are regarded as medical devices and must meet the requirements of the Medical Device Directive 93/42/EEC and associated UK legislation, including bearing the CE Mark.
3. Any product that is specifically intended for the treatment of head lice infestation by facilitating the use of a comb and presented for this purpose only, may be regarded as a medical device. If so it will be subject to requirement 93/42/EEC. There must be no additional claims to otherwise affect the normal life cycle of head lice or remove nits in any other manner, otherwise such products may be considered as medicinal products.
4. Repellents are not classified as medicinal or a device, but would fall under the General Products Safety Directive. Products sold as repellents must not claim or imply that they have a secondary use as a treatment and should not be sold with a comb.
If you would like more information or any points clarifying please e-mail us on info@albyn-int.com
Customer commissions Albyn to solve their problem
Sept 2005
InfectoPharm of Germany produces InfectoPedicul, the countries leading lice treatment.
Most of InfecoPharm sales come through pharmacists and many of them had asked InfectoPharm to recommend a comb that was ‘best in class’. Unable to find a comb that met all their requirements, InfectoPharm commissioned Albyn to develop a new comb that was: - easy to hold and use, had long parallel metal pins to catch and remove lice and eggs and could withstand boiling in water at 100ºC. As part of the research that went into the development, Albyn asked a specialist measuring company to measure the average gaps of the combs on the market down to 1/1000th of a millimetre.
The results were astounding! Many of the combs had gaps so large both hair and eggs would pass through the teeth, rendering the combs useless for anything other than basic lice detection. Albyn have now developed the InfectoPedicul comb, with an arched handle to reduce strain in use, a special finger grip for added comfort and InfectoPedicul branding on the comb. Now when pharmacists call InfectoPharm to find out the best comb to use, they recommend their own product, increasing brand value and sales! Albyn now supply products for the brand leaders in the USA, Canada, UK, Germany, Spain and Switzerland.
Latest research on lice detection and removal
Sept 2005
A recent report in the British Medical Journal has compared the effectiveness of the Bug Buster Kit with a single treatment of over the counter lotions for eliminating head lice. The study was carried out on young people aged 2-15 years in four counties in England and one in Scotland. The outcome of the test was that the claimed cure rate of the Bug Buster kit was higher than that of the lotions and that this was the most effective over the counter treatment for head louse infestation.
The test has caused some controversy however as only a single dose of lotion was used which is not realistic to real life where more often than not multiple doses are used by parents. Also the sample size was small and so questioned how representative the research was.
It so appears that the age old question – ‘Which is the best method of eradication’ is still not answered but we will keep advising you of published research as we come across it.To view the full report and feedback please visit
http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/331/7513/384?ehom
Which brush to buy?
Aug 2005
Albyn recently commissioned research to look closely at how consumers perceive hairbrushes and combs currently available on the market. The research was in the form of in depth focus groups and really tried to get to grips with how all the different types of brushes are understood (or not!) and how each type would be used, by whom, when and on what type of hair. Therefore the main objective of the research was to provide insight into what consumers are looking for in terms of function and quality.There were many interesting insights which will prove invaluable when developing new ranges for our customers in the future some of the more general findings were:
Static is still a fundamental concern and any brush that can truly combat this would be well recieved - there is some knowledge of ‘ionic’ from electrical beauty.• Brushes were chosen for the hair type rather than on brush name.
• Wooden brushes are seen as premium
• Preferred handles were round, with a grippy surface (texture)
There is a more detailed summary of the research available if you are interested e-mail us info@albyn-int.com and we will send through a copy.
Astonishing success of gift with purchase
Jul 2005
Sunsure – the unique detection lens which detects sunburn before you burn – was recently selected by Speedo Canada for their summer gift with purchase programme in The Hudson Bay Company. The world swimming championships were being held in Montreal and Speedo wanted to select a gift complimentary to their brand and also complimentary to their work to reduce UV exposure. Their choice of Sunsure was an unqualified success. Speedo sold 40,000 swimsuits through only 100 HBC stores in 4 weeks!
IGD Health and Beauty Conference 2005
April 2005
The recent IGD H&B Conference had several key speakers reviewing the category and also looking to the future. Speakers included Richard Baker of Boots, Helen Blackholly of Revlon and Sue Pockhill of Moss Pharmacy. Much ground was covered during the course of the conference but some of the major themes which were emerging in all sectors of health and beauty were:
• The move from ‘illness’ to ‘wellness’ – particularly in the OTC category but a strong feeling this will move across into toiletries.
• Following on for this there is a great need for good health, looking young and convenience
• The £4 billion toiletries market is still showing strong growth, particularly in premium products
• Grocers are taking a bigger slice of the H&B pie – with 2% growth in market share from 2002. Although it still only accounts for 10% of supermarket sales
• Categories need to grow incrementally through innovation
• Childrens market is outperforming adults
• Hot topic of the moment is shelf ready packaging and how it is becoming so important
Lee Stafford launch of new hairbrush range
April 2005
Albyn have been working for the last 12 months on his new range of hairbrushes and they were launched in Boots in February. A range was put together encompassing Lee’s unique approach to hair care and his brands core values. Extensive product and packaging development has produced a highly unique range of hair brushes.
R&D project into lice combs underway
April 2005
Albyn has begun a major new R&D project into lice combs. Evaluating what is currently available and aiming to take lice combs forward in terms of materials and efficacy. We will keep you posted of developments and will be consulting customers throughout.
Full Marks new launch
April 2005
Albyn are proud to supply SSL International with the launch of their toxin-free lice treatment, including a metal pin comb. The lice treatment is available throughout the UK and is supported by an extensive advertising campaign.
New Research on its way
April 2005
New research is underway in Denmark. The Danish Pest Infestation Laboratory have invited children suffering from head lice to contact them. They are conducting a study aimed at discovering if head lice have become resistant to pesticides used in current treatment lotions.
Insecticide Free Head Lice Treatment
April 2005
Piedmont Pharmaceuticals have presented data to the American Academy of Dermatology suggesting that an insecticide free treatment they have developed and is currently moving through the regulatory process in the US may be an effective alternative to existing insecticide based products for the treatment of head lice. The study used 30 subjects with active lice infestations and subjects were considered successes if two or fewer treatments were successful over the 21 day evaluation period. A 96% success rate was achieved.Did you know…..Research into the genetics of modern head lice by the University of Utah makes us believe that modern humans lived alongside our ancient relatives. Yes. The research suggests that ancient man and modern man must had contact to enable 2 types of head lice to have emerged by ‘jumping’ from one to another probably about 25 000 years ago……..
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