Why Are Styling Product Labels So Confusing?
Why aren’t hair styling products clearer when it comes to instructions? It’s bad enough that you have to scan the small type on the bottle, without glasses (hey, don't those marketing folks realize you’ve just left the shower?) to find your own language. I understand that most of these gels, mousses, cremes and pomades are distributed worldwide, but some are a muddle of type all scrunched together, making it super-hard to decipher.

Once you find what you’re looking for, the confusion persists because it's tough to figure out exactly how much you're supposed to be using. Here is a random sampling of what’s written on the products in my home stash, which mostly contains frizz-minimizers and smoothing serums:

Anti-Frizz Cream: A few dabs
Blow-dry pomade: Apply sparingly
Styling treatment: A small amount

Some don’t indicate amount at all and just say: Apply to damp hair.

I was pretty pleased when I discovered a couple of products that were more specific; one instructed me to apply a quarter-sized amount, the other a dime. Still, shouldn’t they indicate which length hair they’re referring to? My hair is short, so should the quarter be more like a dime and the dime, a pea?

My best advice—which is unfortunately also somewhat vague—is that less is more. You can always add more while you’re styling, but you can’t go back and remove what’s already there.

What do you think—do you often have problems using styling products because of unclear directions?

Mary Greenberg