Dry shampoo may catch on with drought

Forget the brown lawns. California’s historic drought may make the state’s residents less keen on washing their bodies and their homes.

The water woes in the western United States may cut sales of traditional cleaning products sold by the likes of Procter & Gamble Co., Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Deborah Aitken and Gregory Elders wrote in a report Friday.

But it could boost sales of dry shampoos, which customers spray on and comb through their hair in lieu of washing in the shower, they said.

Consumers changing their cleaning patterns in response to a drought isn’t unheard of. Unilever chief executive officer Paul Polman recently told analysts and investors that Brazilians are showering 15 per cent less because of water shortages.

Meanwhile, the company’s products that are geared toward helping consumers use fewer resources are growing twice as fast as its other brands, and they’re more profitable, Polman said at a conference this month.

Dry shampoos already had started to gain traction because more consumers want to keep their hair’s natural oils intact and avoid harsh substances.

Sales of the products are growing five times as fast as the 2 per cent gain predicted for the total shampoo category through 2019, Aitken said, citing Euromonitor International data.

“It is now a case of skip a wash, or even two, among some of the users I know,” she said.

People who feel compelled to keep skip showers entirely have some waterless options for keeping clean. There are a number of personal cleansers geared to medical caregivers that don’t require water, including a version made by CVS Health Corp. for sale in its stores.

New technologies may eventually help, too. Xeros Technology Group has developed a system that cleans clothing using small, reusable polymer beads to soak up dirt and stains, a technique that requires as much as 80 per cent less water.

The British company currently sells to commercial laundries and plans to start testing in home machines this year.