Japan-only products: "neguse" sprays

Take a guess.

What do you suppose the two products at left are? (You're wrong if you guessed "window cleaner" or any other type of cleaning agent!)

Don't fret if you have no idea. Sometimes the customs of a country result in the development of entire product categories you've never heard of.

In this case, the products are related to Japan's bathing culture.

Let me explain.

Customarily, the daily bath is an evening ritual which involves taking a long soak in a deep tub (after one has scrubbed up and rinsed off). It's prototypically Japanese. After all, why would anyone want to get into their futon with any trace of dirt on their bodies? Moreover, the evening bath is a wonderful way to relieve stress at the end of the day. For many people, this is the only time they bathe or shower.

But this addiction to evening cleaning does not come without its costs. One of these is known as neguse, which literally means something like "sleep propensity." It refers to those goofy kinks some people discover in their hair each morning (a.k.a. "bedhead").

Thankfully, Japanese consumer companies have come to the rescue. The above spray bottles are used to relieve bedhead. Just spray them on your hair and run a comb through to straighten it back out.

Kanebo's "Morning Set Water" and "Neguse and Softening Water" from Gatsby do this and more. They set, soften and enrich hair to make it beautiful as well as straight.

The lesson is that entering Japan sometimes provides unexpected opportunities. Oftentimes, some of your products may not go over as well as they do at home. But thanks to specifics of the local culture, you may have the chance to add a completely new product to your portfolio (which may even work in other markets).

No need to let the market drown you! Adjust, and you may clean up!

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Comments

[chris]

I bought some "water" in japan. It wasn't packaged in the "409" type bottles, it was in a regular spray can... well I'm not the best at kanji so I took a chance and got ... water. It really made my hair useless in the morning after a shower, I had to use some hair gel that day.

I always wondered about the Idea of clean in japan. I happen to sweat a little and get really greasy hair as i sleep. I wounder how the japanese think they are cleaner by not showering in the morning. Actually most japanese i know shower in the morning. But i really enjoyed both a bath at night and a quick shower in the morning in japan. =)