Aqua Net

{{further|Hairstyles in the 1950s|Hairstyles in the 1980s}}

Aqua Net was invented by the Rayette Company of St. Paul, Minnesota in the 1950s.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HjRcBAAAQBAJ&q=aqua-net|title=The Big Book of Hair Metal: The Illustrated Oral History of Heavy Metal's Debauched Decade|first=Martin|last=Popoff|date=15 August 2014|publisher=Voyageur Press|via=Google Books|isbn=9780760345467}} Rayette was founded by chemist Raymond E. Lee {{cite news |title=Acquisitions Give Rayette Broadest Base In Field |newspaper=Minneapolis Star Tribune |date=3 May 1964}}{{cite news|page=5}} in 1935, and specialized in professional hair care products including shampoo and hair coloring as well as curlers, dryers, rollers, brushes, and hairnets. By 1959, the company had annual sales of over $11 million. Mark L. Arend and George Barrie took over the firm in 1959. Barrie immediately began an aggressive marketing campaign and increased sales by 700%{{cite news |title=Rayette Shows 700% increase |newspaper=Minneapolis Star |date=27 January 1960}}{{cite news|page=47}} The company acquired Fabergé in 1963 for $20 million.{{cite news |title=Rayette Purchase of Faberge Cost Firm $20 Million |newspaper=Minneapolis Star Tribune |date=28 June 1963}}{{cite news|page=10}} Sources differ on its availability around this time. One source describes it as being initially available only in hair salons and not offered directly for sale to the public until the late 1950s.{{cite web|url=http://www.thedieline.com/blog/2013/4/2/before-after-aqua-net.html|title=Before & After: Aqua Net|website=Thedieline.com}} Another states that this change happened in 1961.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24suAQAAIAAJ&q=aqua-net+hairspray|title=10-K Transcript|date=5 July 1977}} Yet another says that it was on the market as early as 1953, but does not specify whether that included direct sale to the public, or only to salons.{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/12/16/faberge-will-provide-aqua-net-for-new-line/|title=Faberge Will Provide Aqua Net For New Line|website=Articles.chicagotribune.com|date=16 December 1985 |access-date=28 July 2018}} Regardless of how they obtained it, those who did have access to it in the 1950s and 1960s found it suitable for facilitating the bouffant hairstyles popular in those decades, such as the beehive.{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/sixtiespeople00stern|url-access=registration|quote=aqua-net.|title=Sixties people|first1=Jane|last1=Stern|first2=Michael|last2=Stern|date=17 February 1990|publisher=Knopf|isbn=9780394570501 |access-date=27 July 2018|via=Internet Archive}}

In the 1960s, Aqua Net was advertised by The Three Stooges.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VY_j1vzWnasC&pg=PA194|title=The Three Stooges Scrapbook|isbn=9781613740859|last1=Lenburg|first1=Jeff|last2=Maurer|first2=Joan Howard|last3=Lenburg|first3=Greg|year=2012|publisher=Chicago Review Press }}

In the 1980s, a renewed trend for big hair, and the rise of glam rock and hair metal bands like Mötley Crüe and Cinderella resulted in the widespread use of hair spray in mainstream and alternative culture alike.{{cite web|url=https://www.mixonline.com/recording/classic-tracks-motley-crues-girls-girls-girls-365920|title=Classic Tracks: Motley Crue's "Girls, Girls, Girls"|website=Mixonline.com|date=December 2007 }}{{cite web|url=https://www.allure.com/story/nostalgia-when-most-hair-was-big-hair|title=Nostalgia: When Hair Was Big|first=Anne-Marie|last=Guarnieri|website=Allure.com|date=13 April 2012 }}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wzFiBwAAQBAJ&pg=PA178|title=Truth and Justice for Fun and Profit: Collected Reporting|first=Michael|last=Heaton|date=12 January 2015|publisher=Gray & Company, Publishers|via=Google Books|isbn=9781938441691}} Aqua Net became synonymous with these trends during that decade.{{cite web|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/other-ways-to-use-aqua-net-hairspray|title=The Return of Aqua Net: How the 80s Hairspray Became a Fashion Phenomenon—Again|website=Vogue.com|date=27 May 2014 }}See, for example:{{bulleted list

|{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xfEjLof28w8C&pg=PA86|title=SPIN|first=SPIN Media|last=LLC|date=1 September 2002|publisher=SPIN Media LLC|via=Google Books}}

|{{cite web|url=https://www.glamour.com/story/80s-trend-revisited-aquanet-ha|title='80s Trend Revisited: AquaNet Hairspray Is BACK. Need I Say More?|first=Christa Joanna|last=Lee|website=Glamour.com|date=23 July 2010 }}

|{{cite web|url=https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty-products/hairspray-reviews/a27996/aqua-net-professional-hairspray-extra-super-hold-732/|title=Aqua Net Professional Hairspray Extra Super Hold Review|date=11 August 2011|website=Goodhousekeeping.com}}

|{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YgtQAwAAQBAJ&q=aqua-net|title=Sex, Drugs, Ratt & Roll: My Life in Rock|first1=Stephen|last1=Pearcy|first2=Sam|last2=Benjamin|date=15 April 2014|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=9781451694581|via=Google Books}}

|{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DKAIo0Po_tEC&q=aqua-net&pg=PA85|title=Still Growing: An Autobiography|first=Kirk|last=Cameron|date=1 October 2010|publisher=ReadHowYouWant.com|isbn=9781459607088|via=Google Books}}

|{{cite web|url=https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/beauty/makeup/g2701/throwback-beauty-products-makeup-hair-skincare/|title=23 Throwback Beauty Products You Totally Used as a Teen|date=20 August 2015|website=Goodhousekeeping.com}}

|{{cite web|url=https://nypost.com/2017/11/25/dude-like-totally-spends-100k-collecting-80s-junk/|title=This $100K collection of '80s memorabilia is totally tubular|date=25 November 2017|website=Nypost.com}}

|{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/watch-howard-stern-on-bon-jovis-2018-rock-and-roll-hall-of-fame-induction-628920/|title=See Howard Stern on Bon Jovi's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction|first=Rolling|last=Stone|date=15 April 2018|website=Rollingstone.com}}

|{{cite news|url=https://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1201/p11s01-almp.html|title=Break out the Aqua Net! Heavy metal retakes stage.|date=1 December 2003|newspaper=The Christian Science Monitor}}

|{{cite web|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/50-greatest-hair-metal-albums-of-all-time-20151013|title=50 Greatest Hair Metal Albums of All Time|author1=Tom Beaujour |author2=Richard Bienstock |author3=Chuck Eddy |author4=Reed Fischer |author5=Kory Grow |author6=Maura Johnston |author6-link=Maura Johnston |author7=Christopher R. Weingarten|date=13 October 2015|website=Rollingstone.com}}

|{{cite web|url=https://www.slantmagazine.com/music/review/guns-n-roses-appetite-for-destruction-super-deluxe-edition|title=Guns N' Roses: Appetite for Destruction: Super Deluxe Edition - Album Review - Slant Magazine|website=Slantmagazine.com|access-date=5 July 2018|date=2018-06-22}}

|{{cite web|url=http://www.citypages.com/music/how-def-leppards-unlikely-glam-metal-revolution-changed-everything/470819153|title=How Def Leppard's unlikely glam-metal revolution changed everything - City Pages|first=Jess|last=Harvell|website=City Pages|access-date=5 July 2018}}

|{{cite web|url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/1986-the-year-thrash-metal-exploded-thanks-to-three-now-classic-albums-7659616|title=1986: The Year Thrash Metal Exploded, Thanks to Three Now-Classic Albums|first=David|last=Konow|date=29 November 2016|website=Laweekly.com|access-date=5 July 2018}}}} In the 1980s, Aqua Net was advertised by Donna Mills.{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=72W4AAAAIAAJ&q=aqua-net|title=Television/radio Age|date=1 November 1986|publisher=Television Editorial Corporation|via=Google Books}}{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V54eAQAAMAAJ&q=%22donna+mills%22|title=Product Marketing for Beauty Industry Retailers & Manufacturers|date=1 January 1987|publisher=U.S. Business Press|via=Google Books}}

Around January 1989, Fabergé entered talks to sell a number of brands, including Aqua Net, to Unilever.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-01-11-fi-170-story.html|title=Unilever Seeks to Acquire Faberge|agency=Reuters|date=11 January 1989|newspaper=Los Angeles Times}} The sale was completed in February 1989.{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1989-02-11-fi-1913-story.html|title=Faberge to Sell Cosmetics Units to Unilever : Arden, Brut, Aqua Net Among Firms Included in $1.55-Billion Deal|first=JESUS|last=SANCHEZ|date=11 February 1989|website=Articles.latimes.com|access-date=28 July 2018}}

In 1989–1992, Aqua Net was the subject of a product safety lawsuit, Nowak v. Faberge USA,{{cite web|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/district-courts/FSupp/812/492/1761422/|title=Nowak v. Faberge USA, Inc., 812 F. Supp. 492 (M.D. Pa. 1992)}} that has since entered legal textbooks.See, for example:{{bulleted list

|{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_Uc9AQAAIAAJ&q=nowak+aqua+net|title=Products liability|first1=Jerry J.|last1=Phillips|first2=Robert E.|last2=Pryor|date=28 July 2018|publisher=LexisNexis|isbn=9780327162490|via=Google Books}}

|{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/essentialsofcont00chee|url-access=registration|quote=nowak aqua net.|title=Business Law: The Legal, Ethical, and International Environment|first=Henry R.|last=Cheeseman|date=28 July 1998|publisher=Prentice Hall|isbn=9780130804006 |via=Internet Archive}}

|{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RB0Fk8D2lTAC&q=nowak+aqua+net|title=Instructor's Manual|first=Henry|last=Cheeseman|date=1 June 2002|publisher=Pearson Prentice Hall|isbn=9780130476463|via=Google Books}}

|{{cite web|url=https://law.resource.org/pub/us/case/reporter/F3/032/32.F3d.755.92-7660.93-7051.html|title=32 F.3d 755|website=law.resource.org}}}}

In the 1990s, Aqua Net was used by punk musicians such as Lars Fredriksen and Michelle Cruz Gonzales.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/01/28/magazine/what-s-in-a-mohawk.html|title=What's in a Mohawk?|first=Rj|last=Smith|work=The New York Times |date=28 January 1996 |access-date=5 July 2018}}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HKXECwAAQBAJ&pg=PT23|title=Spitboy Rule: Tales of a Xicana in a Female Punk Band|first1=Michelle|last1=Gonzales|first2=Martín|last2=Sorrondeguy|date=19 February 2016|publisher=PM Press|isbn=9781629632551|access-date=5 July 2018|via=Google Books}}{{cite web|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/07/08/punk-is-gone-but-not-forgotten-at-950/|title=Punk Is Gone But Not Forgotten At 950|website=Chicago Tribune|date=8 July 1994 |access-date=5 July 2018}}

The brand was acquired from Unilever in 2006 by Lornamead, Inc.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/jatania-brothers-snap-up-unilever-hair-care-brands-6102041.html|title=Jatania brothers snap up Unilever hair care brands}} Lornamead instigated a rebranding effort intended to reference the product's heritage by reviving parts of its original design elements.{{cite web|url=http://gdusa.com/blog/aqua-net-gets-a-makeover|title=Aqua Net Gets A Makeover|date=14 March 2015}} Li & Fung acquired Lornamead in 2012.{{Cite web| title = Li & Fung acquires Lornamead| work = Li & Fung| access-date = 2021-01-21| url = https://www.lifung.com/press-release/li-fung-acquires-lornamead/}} Lornamead is currently part of Meiyume, owned by a joint venture between the Fung Group and Hony Capital called LH Pegasus.

Aqua Net's ingredients include dimethyl ether, SD alcohol 40-B, and aminomethyl propanol.

From at least 1970 through 1972, during a period in which it was manufactured by Fabergé, Aqua Net contained vinyl chloride as a propellant.{{cite journal|journal=International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health|volume=15|issue=1|pages = 36–42|date=2009|title= Vinyl Chloride Propellant in Hair Spray and Angiosarcoma of the Liver among Hairdressers and Barbers: Case Reports|author=Peter F. Infante, Stephen E. Petty, David H. Groth, Gerald Markowitz & David Rosner|doi=10.1179/oeh.2009.15.1.36|pmid=19267125}} Vinyl chloride exposure is associated with a raised risk of certain liver cancers.{{cite web|url=https://www.aol.com/article/lifestyle/2015/01/03/the-story-behind-hairspray/20577435/|title=Beauty throwback: The story behind hairspray|website=Aol.com|access-date=5 July 2018}}

In 2002, during the period in which it was manufactured by Unilever, Aqua Net was reported to contain the phthalates dibutyl phthalate (DBP) and diethyl phthalate (DEP).{{cite journal|title=Download Limit Exceeded| year=2002 |citeseerx = 10.1.1.613.1781}} Pthalates are associated with male reproductive dysfunction.

Besides hairstyling, Aqua Net has been used:

• as a fixative in microbiology, typically during staining procedures;{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IojzAAAAMAAJ&q=aqua-net+hairspray|title=Stain Technology: A Journal for Microtechnic and Histochemistry|date=5 July 1970|publisher=Williams & Wilkins Co.|via=Google Books}}{{cite journal|journal=Stain Technology|volume=46|issue = 4|pages=177–182|date=1971|title=Commercial Hair Sprays as Fixatives for Hematological Cytochemistry|author=Leonard S. Kaplow|doi=10.3109/10520297109067850|pmid=4105506}}{{cite journal|title=Oral Exfoliative Cytology: An Adjunct to Biopsy|first=N. H.|last=Rickles|date=1 May 1972|journal=CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians|volume=22|issue=3|pages=163–171|doi=10.3322/canjclin.22.3.163|pmid=4625568|s2cid=44654146|doi-access=}}
• as a fixative for charcoal or pastel artworks;{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WLVTAAAAMAAJ&q=(%22aquanet%22+OR+%22aqua+net%22)|title=Polaroid Transfers: A Complete Visual Guide to Creating Image and Emulsion Transfers|first=Kathleen Thormod|last=Carr|date=6 July 1997|publisher=Amphoto Books|via=Google Books|isbn=9780817455545}}
• by ballerinas, to reduce slippage of pointe shoe ribbons;
• for stiffening or straightening crinolines, skirts and tulle;
• as a solvent for un-gluing hair extensions;
• as a stain remover for makeup;
• as an insect killer;{{cite magazine|url=https://www.vogue.com/article/other-ways-to-use-aqua-net-hairspray|title=The Return of Aqua Net: How the 80s Hairspray Became a Fashion Phenomenon—Again|magazine=Vogue}}
• as a propellant in potato cannons;{{cite web|url=https://gizmodo.com/5900546/how-to-turn-pvc-and-hairspray-into-a-force-of-destruction|title=How To Turn PVC and Hairspray Into a Force of Destruction|first=Andrew|last=Tarantola|date=19 May 2012 }}{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0VGlAwAAQBAJ&q=+%22aqua-net%22&pg=PT22|title=Causing Trouble: High School Pranks, College Craziness, and Moving to California|first=Mark|last=Dice|date=27 May 2014|publisher=Mark Dice|via=Google Books|isbn=9780988726833}}{{cite web|url=https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a5684/bill-gurstelle-mad-scientist-profile/|title=Bill Gurstelle Teaches Science With Trebuchets|date=17 May 2010}}{{cite web|url=https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~fricke/spudgun/|title=Splorg Potato Cannon|website=www.ocf.berkeley.edu}}
• as an inhalant in recreational substance abuse;{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/dopetroubleportr0000curr|url-access=registration|title=Dope and Trouble: Portraits of Delinquent Youth|first=Elliott|last=Currie|date=5 July 1991|publisher=Pantheon Books|via=Internet Archive|isbn=9780394561516}}
• as a lubricant and fixative for installing tool handles and handlebar grips; {{cite web|url=https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/a/8720|title=How do I put grips on mountain bike handlebars?|date=28 March 2012}}
• for increasing print adhesion in 3D Printing.{{Cite news|url=http://3dprintgeneral.com/product/aqua-net-hair-spray-bed-adhesion/|title=Aqua Net Hair Spray (for Bed Adhesion) - 3D Print General|work=3D Print General|access-date=2018-09-17|language=en-US}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:28787|title=Miracle Print Adhesion Improver by phineasjw|last=Thingiverse.com|website=www.thingiverse.com|language=en|access-date=2018-09-17}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.instructables.com/id/Improving-Prints-With-Hairspray/|title=Improving 3D Prints With Hairspray|work=Instructables.com|access-date=2018-09-17|language=en}}

• In the film After Hours (1985), the beehive-wearing, 1960s-obsessed character Julie is shown to have a large backup supply of Aqua Net.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=x7ZZAAAAMAAJ&q=aqua-net|title=Martin Scorsese: an analysis of his feature films, with a filmography of his entire directorial career|first=Marie Katheryn|last=Connelly|date=27 July 1993|publisher=McFarland|via=Google Books|isbn=9780899508450}}{{cite news|url=https://www.avclub.com/teri-garr-1798214431|first=Sean|last=O'Neal|date=22 July 2008|title=Interview: Teri Garr|newspaper=The A.V. Club}}
• In the film When Harry Met Sally... (1989), Sally Albright uses Aqua Net on her Farrah Fawcett-style hairdo.{{cite web|last=Michel |first=Lorin |url=http://liveitoutloud.com/post/2015/02/02/The-many-uses-of-Aqua-net.aspx |title=Celebrate Something | The many uses of Aqua net |publisher=Live It Out Loud |date=2015-02-02 |access-date=2018-09-17}}{{cite web|url=https://thepioneerwoman.com/entertainment/things-i-love-about-when-harry-met-sally/|title=Things I Love About "When Harry Met Sally…"|date=27 July 2011}} The use of a well-known product with a strong "set" may have been chosen by the film's writers in order to add a subtext.{{cite web|url=https://thefineartdiner.blogspot.com/2012/01/fate-vs-chance-when-harry-met-sally.html|title=THE FINE ART DINER: Fate vs Chance: When Harry Met Sally|first=The Fine Art|last=Diner|date=20 January 2012}}
• In the television series Mad Men (2009), the lead characters' advertising agency pitches for the Aqua Net account.{{cite web|url=http://www.tvworthwatching.com/post/Mad-Men-Serves-Up-a-Stunning-Surprise.aspx |title=AMC's "Mad Men" Serves Up a Stunning Surprise - And a Modern-Day TV Triumph |publisher=Tvworthwatching.com |access-date=2018-09-17}}{{cite web|url=https://www.thejournal.ie/mad-men-ads-864545-Apr2013/|title=How Mad Men ads compare with ones that actually ran in the 1960s|date=14 April 2013 }}
• The song AquaNet by Yelawolf

{{reflist}}

{{Refbegin}}

• {{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Hair: A Cultural History |last=Sherrow |first=Victoria |year=2006 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=0-313-33145-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9Z6vCGbf66YC}}

{{Refend}}

{{Cosmetics}}

Category:American brands

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Category:Hair care products

Category:Unilever brands

Category:1960s fads and trends

Category:1970s fads and trends

Category:1980s fads and trends