By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
World of SoftwareWorld of SoftwareWorld of Software
  • News
  • Software
  • Mobile
  • Computing
  • Gaming
  • Videos
  • More
    • Gadget
    • Web Stories
    • Trending
    • Press Release
Search
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Copyright © All Rights Reserved. World of Software.
Reading: Bad Hair Day? Not for Product Managers | HackerNoon
Share
Sign In
Notification Show More
Font ResizerAa
World of SoftwareWorld of Software
Font ResizerAa
  • Software
  • Mobile
  • Computing
  • Gadget
  • Gaming
  • Videos
Search
  • News
  • Software
  • Mobile
  • Computing
  • Gaming
  • Videos
  • More
    • Gadget
    • Web Stories
    • Trending
    • Press Release
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Privacy
  • Terms
  • Advertise
  • Contact
Copyright © All Rights Reserved. World of Software.
World of Software > Computing > Bad Hair Day? Not for Product Managers | HackerNoon
Computing

Bad Hair Day? Not for Product Managers | HackerNoon

News Room
Last updated: 2025/07/05 at 7:15 PM
News Room Published 5 July 2025
Share
SHARE

The legendary phenomenon of hair

Value propositions. Get this right and your product is off to a great start. Naturally, it’s not easy to do but before you tear your hair out over it, pause for a moment. The ultimate answer might literally be sticking out!

Yes, this post is about that ultimate product — hair. It’s natural, ubiquitous and has economics eating out of its hand. Hair offers a fascinating lens through which to explore timeless product principles. Let’s dive into the tangled world of hair and uncover its secrets to product design mastery.


Naturally unnatural

Hair is a protein filament (mostly keratin) that grows from skin follicles. Hair is natural. Everyone has hair, in various parts of their body. It grows continually and importantly, can be cut relatively painlessly. Head hair of course can also be styled in various fashion.

In Jobs To Be Done parlance, hair has a functional, social and emotional dimensions. It’s a sensory interface and plays a part in thermal regulation. It’s emotional and social dimensions however are much more significant. Hair is a big part of our appearance and grooming. Having hair, or not, significantly alters our appearance, and, others perception of us. In the game of first impressions, hair can be a crowning glory or arch nemesis. Staying at a societal level, hair is also involved in several cultural and religious rituals and prescriptions.

Already we can detect 3 aspects of great value:

  • Abundant supply
  • Easy harvesting
  • Delivering across functional, social and emotional dimensions

While impressive, these attributes are relatively prosaic compared to what makes hair the blockbuster, G.O.A.T. product: Perpetual dissatisfaction.

We are simply never satisfied with hair. It can always be longer, heavier, shinier, straighter whatever.

More importantly, hair is usually in places where you don’t want it, and usually not in places where you want it! 😧

Notice, I’ve used the term want* not need. In nature, nothing is ever superfluous. We have hair where we need them. The question is if we have hair where we want them!

Take men for example. They shave facial hair but their head starts to resemble a shiny bowling ball, they scramble for baldness remedies. Hair wields significant social and emotional power. A clean shave can make a man look sharp and dapper, while a thinning crown often leads to a frown. If the situation was reversed — head hair grew forever, but facial hair could disappear over time, there likely wouldn’t be many complaints.

Women will most likely have similar concerns. Men or women, one thing is clear: hair desirability is effectively a crusade against natural forces. We are continually going against the natural flow.

Perpetual dissatisfaction and desire. Desire of course is an unquenchable thirst. This means that the demand for the product (hair) is eternal, undying. Globally, the haircare industry is worth $100 billion. Although it’s a large amount, it most likely undervalues the vast latent ecosystem surrounding haircare.


Circular Business

Introduction. Growth. Maturity. Decline. This is the lifecycle of most products. Great products, and those that provide enduring value, eschew this linear lifecycle and aim for circular flow.

Today we talk about the circular economy, a model of production and consumption that keeps a product in the make-use-reuse cycle as long as possible before sustainable disposal (and ideally regeneration).

Hair is used in many products. Wigs are obvious destinations (technically a value-add product). Indeed, human hair is also to soak up oil spills. Besides, being a biological (by)product, hair, in its natural form, is also biodegradable. Of course this is just human hair we’re talking about. There’s also animal hair, a cognate product that humans have a long history of putting to good use.

Three other attributes identified: Mutable. Reusable. Recyclable.


Attributes

Examining hair from both a product and value standpoint can uncover the lasting qualities of iconic products:

  • Have abundant supply
  • Are easy to harvest
  • Add value across functional, social and emotional dimensions
  • Inspire perpetual dissatisfaction
  • Re-purposable
  • Reusable, Recyclable

Entirely co-incidentally (really!), these attributes conveniently form the acronym HAAIRR.


Hair is an amazing product. The only thing that comes close is probably oil. Petroleum has 6000 byproducts, and without it our life would not be imaginable. The key difference of course is that it’s a non-renewable source, whose use has considerable ecological ill-effects.

Hair provides a masterclass in creating enduring value propositions. Product managers will do well to emulate these (HAAIRR) attributes into their designs. They won’t get all of them. Hair is the unsurpassable G.O.A.T. product for a reason. But at least, they will know what utopia looks like and where the North Star is.

Sign Up For Daily Newsletter

Be keep up! Get the latest breaking news delivered straight to your inbox.
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. You may unsubscribe at any time.
Share This Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Share
What do you think?
Love0
Sad0
Happy0
Sleepy0
Angry0
Dead0
Wink0
Previous Article Elon Musk’s xAI gets permit for methane gas generators
Next Article The Best Portable Monitors We’ve Tested (July 2025)
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Stay Connected

248.1k Like
69.1k Follow
134k Pin
54.3k Follow

Latest News

Amazon’s Echo Devices Compared: Which One Is Best for Your Smart Home?
News
‘I was constantly scared of what she was going to do’: the troubled life and shocking death of Immy Nunn
News
The 6 best e-readers of 2025, reviewed by someone who really loves books
News
How AI and ML have Accelerated iOS App Development
Gadget

You Might also Like

Computing

Big Improvements For Qualcomm GPU Driver With Linux 6.17 – Especially For Snapdragon X

2 Min Read
Computing

The HackerNoon Newsletter: How to Stop Your TV From Watching You (7/5/2025) | HackerNoon

2 Min Read
Computing

Can AI Coding Tools Learn to Rank Code Quality? | HackerNoon

17 Min Read
Computing

20 Canva Calendar Templates for Easy Scheduling in 2025

38 Min Read
//

World of Software is your one-stop website for the latest tech news and updates, follow us now to get the news that matters to you.

Quick Link

  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Advertise
  • Contact

Topics

  • Computing
  • Software
  • Press Release
  • Trending

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

World of SoftwareWorld of Software
Follow US
Copyright © All Rights Reserved. World of Software.
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?