Development of the Hair & Scalp CARE questionnaire: Measuring the impact of hair and scalp issues on psychological wellbeing in healthy populations.


Newton-Fenner, Alice, Hirst, William M, Jones, Therese, Scott, Margaret, Roberts, Carl ORCID: 0000-0003-4275-601X, Smeets, Monique AM ORCID: 0000-0002-7216-8094, Shen, Jeremy ORCID: 0009-0000-8971-7734, Thomas, Anna and Giesbrecht, Timo (2025) Development of the Hair & Scalp CARE questionnaire: Measuring the impact of hair and scalp issues on psychological wellbeing in healthy populations. International journal of cosmetic science, 47 (5). pp. 807-819. ISSN 0142-5463, 1468-2494

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Abstract

<h4>Objective</h4>Haircare cosmetic products are commonly reported to have a positive impact on psychological wellbeing. These effects are attributed to increased feelings of confidence and improved self-esteem facilitated by improved hair and scalp condition. However, the causal relationship between hair and scalp health and psychological wellbeing is under-researched. This paper reports the results of an extensive survey of haircare consumers in diverse populations using an exploratory Hair & Scalp CARE (Condition and Affective Response Evaluations) questionnaire.<h4>Method</h4>Participants (N = 1184) completed an online 23-item questionnaire designed to capture hair and scalp-related wellbeing as an initial exploratory validation of Hair & Scalp CARE. For the analysis, the data were randomly split into 2 equal samples; Sample 1 provided the data for the initial exploratory factor analysis, and Sample 2 was used for confirmatory factor analysis. Participants also provided demographic information and completed the Sleep Health Index (SHI) and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to investigate sleep health and perceived stress.<h4>Results</h4>Factor analysis provided a one-factor solution, explaining 55% of the variance. The final version of the Hair & Scalp CARE questionnaire consisted of 21 items. The one-factor structure was supported by confirmatory factor analysis. Correlational analyses demonstrated that higher scores on Hair & Scalp CARE were also associated with lower PSS scores and higher SHI scores.<h4>Conclusion</h4>The Hair & Scalp CARE questionnaire is a valid tool for the assessment of the impact of hair and scalp condition on psychological wellbeing. The present data also suggest a relationship between hair and scalp wellbeing and other psychological wellbeing indicators, as healthier hair and scalp was also linked to lower levels of perceived stress and good sleep health. Hair & Scalp CARE could be used within a variety of further research designs to demonstrate the positive impact of cosmetic haircare products on wellbeing.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Scalp, Hair, Humans, Factor Analysis, Statistical, Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Middle Aged, Female, Male, Young Adult, Surveys and Questionnaires
Divisions: Faculty of Health & Life Sciences
Faculty of Health & Life Sciences > Inst. Population Health
Depositing User: Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited: 24 Apr 2025 14:58
Last Modified: 08 Oct 2025 16:36
DOI: 10.1111/ics.13070
Open Access URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/ics.13070
Related Websites:
URI: https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3191598
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