Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, September 14, 1993                   TAG: 9309140165
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 3   EDITION: STATE 
SOURCE: DIANE SUCHETKA KNIGHT-RIDDER/TRIBUNE
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

HORSE SHAMPOO ROPES IN A HERD OF 2-LEGGED CUSTOMERS

They swear it's true. A horse shampoo and conditioner called Mane 'n Tail make their hair full and thick. They even claim the products make their locks grow faster.

"It's all I ever use," says Jayne Toldon, owner of a horse farm in Richburg, S.C., who's been using Mane 'n Tail conditioner since a permanent left her mop a little frizzy about a year ago.

"It gives my hair a real good softness. It's manageable. It takes the tangles out.

"I love it to death."

She's not alone.

Across the country, feed stores, tack shops and western wear boutiques are selling all the Mane 'n Tail they can get their hands on.

What's the secret ingredient and is it safe?

Those are the biggest questions users have.

Carter says it's natural proteins that make Mane 'n Tail different from shampoos and conditioners made for people.

And he sent along a list of ingredients. The conditioner, which customers say works best, contains distearyldimonium chloride, stearyl alcohol, cetearyl alcohol, polysorbate 60, PEG-150 stearate, steareth-20, cetyl alcohol, coconut oil, methylparaben, propylparaban and yellow dye. All are found in human conditioners.

The ingredients in Mane 'n Tail that were not found on labels of a dozen human conditioners checked were lanolin and glycerin.

"There's no problem with those," says Wayne Stevenson, a chemist for the Food and Drug Administration.

"But if it's not intended for human use, then I wouldn't use it," he says, "even though the ingredients might be safe."

That won't be as big an issue for Straight Arrow Products Inc., the shampoo's maker, after Oct. 1, the day its new shampoo and conditioner, made specifically for humans, hits drug and grocery stores across the country.

"That's a shame," says Sally Herwin, who uses Mane 'n Tail conditioner on customers who request it at The Clip Joint, a hair salon in Gastonia, N.C.

"It was kind of unique, using horse shampoo," she says. "But I'll still use it."

Jamco Discount Drugs & Cosmetics in Charlotte, N.C., has been selling it for months "I get calls for it every day," says Andy Baron, store manager.

"It's amazing, the amount we go through," says Judy Garrou, co-owner of Horse Play Western Store in Charlotte.

"Oh, God," says Melissa Lewis, who, with her husband, Steve, owns Lewis Feed & Tack Store in Gastonia, "we sell megacases every week."

"It's gotten to the point where our distributor can't keep up with it," says Meredith Felch, tack buyer for the six Lebo's stores in the Charlotte area.

Gene Carter, sales and marketing director for Straight Arrow says it's amazing - the story of Mane 'n Tail's move out of the barn and into the beauty shop.

The company began making Mane 'n Tail and Body Shampoo more than 20 years ago, he says. Roger Dunavant bought the company about four years ago.

Carter joined him two years later, and couldn't believe what his market research showed.

"We were shocked," says Carter. "Ten out of 12 bottles were being bought for human use."

That's when the Bethlehem, Pa., company began making Mane 'n Tail a little less horsey. Straight Arrow improved the scent, added color to the label and watched sales jump from half a million dollars a year to $30 million to $40 million in 1993.