A universal reaction to using illumai shampoo is “Wow!  It feels really different.”  There are two components of the “feel” —

1. a certain dryness (what one person called an “astringent” feel) which is the opposite of the “moisturized” feel that many other products deliver, and
2. a lack of lubricity (slipperiness) between the hair strands, which makes detangling a challenge.

We tell our users to expect a very different feel — a “squeaky clean” feel.  We don’t say “dry” (because that’s perceived to be a negative).  Those that trust us or buy into our story report LIKING the clean feeling on hair and scalp.

These two things (dryness and lubricity) are related items in that a slippery feel would not feel dry, but analytically, they are separate.  Theoretically, the shampoo could deliver the dry feeling, but also allow the strands to move freely enough that the beginning of detangling could start at the shampoo step.

While there may be a benefit to delivering what most consumers expect — namely a shampoo which “doesn’t strip” the hair and that feels moisturized, but I believe XO-70 won’t ever do that.  I think we need to make a feature of the feeling.  (I’m assuming we can attenuate any tangling negatives somehow).   But how do we explain why illumai is delivering an “astringent” or dry feeling?

One analogy I’ve always liked is to mouthwash.  Mouthwashes originally were sweet — like Scope.  Then came Listerine and Lavoris.  Listerine stung your mouth.  But they explained that they “killed the germs that caused bad breath.”  So, a little stinging sensation convinced you that the mechanism of action (“MOA”), namelyh, killing germs, was working!  The tactile experience reinforced the story.

Scope and other sweet, aromatic mouthwashes reinforced an image in the consumer’s mind of a different MOA, that of masking halitosis with perfumes and making your breath “sweet.”   Lavoris had yet another approach — by making their mouthwash both astringent and cinnamin-flavored, it offered the consumer yet another mental image of an effective MOA — that Lavoris pulled all the surface crud off tongue, gums, lips and teeth with the astringent action and, to the extent it left any scent, it was a pleasant cinnamon scent.

I have a slight concern that our “dry” or “astringent” feel during and after the shampoo step will mentally trigger a fear that “my hair has been stripped!”   In a perfect