Hair spray
material · 1948 · Digital age
A polymer solution in an aerosol can: sprayed on, it dries into a thin film that holds a hairstyle. On sale since 1948.
Principles and materials it uses
- Aerosol can — uses. Hair spray comes out of an aerosol can as fine droplets, so it settles as an even film.
- Polymer — is made of. The hairstyle is held by the polymer film left once the solvent evaporates.
What it is a kind of
- Cosmetics — is a kind of. A hair styling product.
How important it is
Rank in the importance rating of inventions: 1920 of 2848, score 26.7 out of 100. Direct links to other things: 2; fields of technology it appears in: 2; things built directly on it: 0. Hall of fame of inventions.
Similar things of the same time and field
- PET (1941) — Polyethylene terephthalate — bottles and fibre.
- Teflon (1938) — Low-friction polytetrafluoroethylene (Plunkett).
- pH meter (1934) — An electronic acidity meter (Beckman).
- Polyethylene (1933) — The most widely used plastic (ICI).
- Synthetic rubber (1931) — Rubber made from butadiene (Lebedev, 1910; industrially in 1931).
- Neoprene (1930) — DuPont’s synthetic rubber.
What it has in common with other things
- Hair spray and particle accelerator: what they have in common — a link in 5 steps
- Hair spray and bellows: what they have in common — a link in 3 steps
- Hair spray and CNC machine: what they have in common — a link in 4 steps