Barcelona, Spain – April 13, 2015

Hair styling products are an integral part of popular culture. They both influence and reflect the latest cultural trends and phenomena, giving people a way to show others who they are and express how they feel about themselves. To help develop hair styling products that really resonate with consumers, BASF has put together the “Trends & Textures Box” – a set of formulations tailored to meet current hair styling trends. Offering most promising opportunities for manufacturers, each formulation has been developed to create popular, cutting-edge looks.

Enduring workout styles

Products that enable flawless hair styles even during workouts are on the rise – especially in the United States and on the European market. The formulation of such solutions poses challenges, since the product’s styling performance needs to defy sweat and salts. BASF’s “Trends & Textures Box” contains the Enduring Performance Styling Gel, which harnesses the thickening performance of Luvigel® Fit UP: The gelling agent does not thin and run in the presence of salts and thus offers a solution for sporty styling gels.

Texture and hold for classy looks

Classy, pinned-up hair styles, braids and plaits never go out of fashion. Creating these looks requires texture and hold, particularly at the hair roots. BASF’s Sleek and Styled Bodying Cream provides both – the soft, smooth cream provides texture and hold. The latter is achieved by BASF’s cationic polymer Luviquat® PQ11 AT 1.

Strong hold for wet looks

The wet look is celebrating a glamorous comeback on catwalks around the world. Creating authentic yet controlled wet looks depends on strong hold properties to keep the hair in place. BASF’s Out of the Shower Wet Look Styling Gel formulation provides this strong hold – thanks to the Ultrahold® Power. The gel is easily applied to the hair, pulling it back from the face, and creates stunning wet looks that highlight facial beauty.

Product textures reminiscent of spun sugar and soufflés

Exciting new textures as found in hair styling creams and soufflés spark interest in consumers and can crucially influence their purchasing decisions. BASF harnesses the natural sugar emulsifier Emulgade® Sucro for creating the soufflé-like texture of itsSugar Spun Smoothing Soufflé formulation. It was developed to effectively smooth down flyaway hair, condition dry ends and provide the hair with a soft and silky finish.

Solid setting for rebellious hair styles

Punky and spiky hair styles are back – not least because they signal youth, exuberance and a rebellious spirit. Creating these looks requires styling products with high setting properties and long-lasting hold. This can be achieved by combining cationic and anionic polymers – as in BASF’s Rock Hard Styling Gel: The anionic polymer Luviset® One provides both gel creation and setting properties, and the cationic polymer Luviquat® Supreme AT1 boosts the formulation’s styling performance.

Luviquat® Supreme AT1 offers added benefit of heat protection

The use of heat for hair styling forms an essential part of many people's daily grooming ritual. “That is why it is so important that styling polymers protect the hair against heat damage,” explained Nicole Kurth, Marketing Manager at Personal Care Europe. “Consumers do not want to sacrifice good hair condition when they style their hair.”Luviquat® Supreme AT1, already known as a cationic styling polymer for hair mousses, has been further investigated and found to provide effective heat protection of the hair during drying and styling. In addition to these new results, it offers high setting, long-lasting hold at high humidities and gives an elegant creamy foam.