Hair spray (also
hair lacquer,
spritz, or
sticky water) is a common household
aqueous solutionAn aqueous solution is a solution in which the solvent is water. It is usually shown in chemical equations by appending to the relevant formula. The word aqueous means pertaining to, related to, similar to, or dissolved in water...
that is used to keep
hairHair is a protein filament that grows through the epidermis from follicles deep within the dermis. The fine, soft hair found on many nonhuman mammals is typically called fur; wool is the characteristically curly hair found on sheep and goats. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the...
stiff or in a certain style. Stronger than
hair gelHair gel is a hairstyling product that is used to stiffen hair into a particular hairstyle. The results it produces are usually similar to but stronger than those of hair spray and weaker than those of hair glue or hair wax.-Types:...
,
hair waxHair wax is a thick hairstyling product containing wax, used to assist with holding the hair. It does not harden like products such as hair gel, but remains pliable. Hair wax has been used for many years. In fact, a waxy soap-like substance was invented by the ancient Gauls as a hair styling agent...
, or glue, it is sprayed to hold styles for a long period. Using a
pumpA spray bottle is a bottle that can squirt, spray or mist fluids. A common use for spray bottles is dispensing cool cleaners, cosmetics, and chemical specialties. Another wide use of spray bottles is mixing down concentrates such as pine oil with water...
or
aerosol sprayAerosol spray is a type of dispensing system which creates an aerosol mist of liquid particles. This is used with a can or bottle that contains a liquid under pressure. When the container's valve is opened, the liquid is forced out of a small hole and emerges as an aerosol or mist...
nozzleA nozzle is a mechanical device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow as it exits an enclosed chamber or pipe via an orifice....
, it sprays evenly over the hair. May leave hair feeling "crunchy" unless brushed out. Hair spray was first developed and manufactured in 1948 by Chase Products Company, based in
BroadviewBroadview is a village in Cook County, Illinois west of Chicago. The population was 8,264 at the 2000 census.-About Broadview:Broadview was incorporated as a village in 1914...
,
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
.
The
solventA solvent is a liquid, solid, or gas that dissolves another solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution.The most common solvent in everyday life is water. Most other commonly-used solvents are organic chemicals. These are called organic solvents...
used was once a
compoundA chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...
of
carbonCarbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
,
fluorineFluorine is the chemical element with atomic number 9, represented by the symbol F. Fluorine forms a single bond with itself in elemental form, resulting in the diatomic F
2 molecule. F
2 is a supremely reactive, poisonous, pale, yellowish brown gas. Elemental fluorine is the...
, and
chlorineChlorine Chlorine Chlorine ( , from the Greek word 'χλωρóς' (khlôros, meaning 'pale green'), is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is a halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17 (formerly VII, VIIa, or VIIb). As the chloride ion, which is part of common salt and...
(a
chlorofluorocarbonA chlorofluorocarbon is an organic compound that contains carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. Also discussed in this topic are the hydrochlorofluorocarbons , which contain hydrogen in addition to carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. Most commonly, the term refers to a family of volatile derivatives of...
, or CFC).
Hair spray (also
hair lacquer,
spritz, or
sticky water) is a common household
aqueous solutionAn aqueous solution is a solution in which the solvent is water. It is usually shown in chemical equations by appending to the relevant formula. The word aqueous means pertaining to, related to, similar to, or dissolved in water...
that is used to keep
hairHair is a protein filament that grows through the epidermis from follicles deep within the dermis. The fine, soft hair found on many nonhuman mammals is typically called fur; wool is the characteristically curly hair found on sheep and goats. Found exclusively in mammals, hair is one of the...
stiff or in a certain style. Stronger than
hair gelHair gel is a hairstyling product that is used to stiffen hair into a particular hairstyle. The results it produces are usually similar to but stronger than those of hair spray and weaker than those of hair glue or hair wax.-Types:...
,
hair waxHair wax is a thick hairstyling product containing wax, used to assist with holding the hair. It does not harden like products such as hair gel, but remains pliable. Hair wax has been used for many years. In fact, a waxy soap-like substance was invented by the ancient Gauls as a hair styling agent...
, or glue, it is sprayed to hold styles for a long period. Using a
pumpA spray bottle is a bottle that can squirt, spray or mist fluids. A common use for spray bottles is dispensing cool cleaners, cosmetics, and chemical specialties. Another wide use of spray bottles is mixing down concentrates such as pine oil with water...
or
aerosol sprayAerosol spray is a type of dispensing system which creates an aerosol mist of liquid particles. This is used with a can or bottle that contains a liquid under pressure. When the container's valve is opened, the liquid is forced out of a small hole and emerges as an aerosol or mist...
nozzleA nozzle is a mechanical device designed to control the direction or characteristics of a fluid flow as it exits an enclosed chamber or pipe via an orifice....
, it sprays evenly over the hair. May leave hair feeling "crunchy" unless brushed out. Hair spray was first developed and manufactured in 1948 by Chase Products Company, based in
BroadviewBroadview is a village in Cook County, Illinois west of Chicago. The population was 8,264 at the 2000 census.-About Broadview:Broadview was incorporated as a village in 1914...
,
IllinoisIllinois , the 21st state admitted to the United States of America, is the most populous and demographically diverse Midwestern state and the fifth most populous state in the nation...
.
The
solventA solvent is a liquid, solid, or gas that dissolves another solid, liquid, or gaseous solute, resulting in a solution.The most common solvent in everyday life is water. Most other commonly-used solvents are organic chemicals. These are called organic solvents...
used was once a
compoundA chemical compound is a pure chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical elements that can be separated into simpler substances by chemical reactions. Chemical compounds have a unique and defined chemical structure; they consist of a fixed ratio of atoms that are held together...
of
carbonCarbon is the chemical element with symbol C and atomic number 6. As a member of group 14 on the periodic table, it is nonmetallic and tetravalent—making four electrons available to form covalent chemical bonds...
,
fluorineFluorine is the chemical element with atomic number 9, represented by the symbol F. Fluorine forms a single bond with itself in elemental form, resulting in the diatomic F
2 molecule. F
2 is a supremely reactive, poisonous, pale, yellowish brown gas. Elemental fluorine is the...
, and
chlorineChlorine Chlorine Chlorine ( , from the Greek word 'χλωρóς' (khlôros, meaning 'pale green'), is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is a halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17 (formerly VII, VIIa, or VIIb). As the chloride ion, which is part of common salt and...
(a
chlorofluorocarbonA chlorofluorocarbon is an organic compound that contains carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. Also discussed in this topic are the hydrochlorofluorocarbons , which contain hydrogen in addition to carbon, chlorine, and fluorine. Most commonly, the term refers to a family of volatile derivatives of...
, or CFC).
CFCThe haloalkanes are a group of chemical compounds, derived from alkanes containing one or more halogens. They are a subset of the general class of halocarbons although the distinction is not often made. Haloalkanes are widely used commercially and consequently are known under many chemical and...
s are nontoxic, nonflammable, and make almost ideal
aerosolTechnically, an aerosol is a suspension of fine solid particles or liquid droplets in a gas. Examples are smoke, oceanic haze, air pollution, smog and CS gas. In general conversation, aerosol usually refers to an aerosol spray can or the output of such a can...
propellants. However, when it was learned that they cause destruction of stratospheric ozone, they were replaced with other solvents, like alcohols and hydrocarbons.
One of the polymers used is polyvinylpyrrolidone, which is also used to glue the layers of wood in plywood together. A non-water soluble polymer called
polydimethylsiloxanePolydimethylsiloxane belongs to a group of polymeric organosilicon compounds which are commonly referred to as silicones. PDMS is the most widely used silicon-based organic polymer, and is particularly known for its unusual rheological properties...
is added to make the hold last a bit longer (the polyvinylpyrrolidine is water soluble). Pytocalcious chemicals are another family of ingredients in hair spray, which increase the amount of minerals in the hair's root causing the hair to become stiff.
Other polymers used in plastic-based hairsprays are copolymers with
vinyl acetateVinyl acetate is an organic compound with the formula CH3COOCH=CH2. A colorless liquid with a pungent odor, it is the precursor to polyvinyl acetate, an important polymer in industry.-Preparation:...
and copolymers with
maleic anhydrideMaleic anhydride is an organic compound with the formula C2H22O. In its pure state it is a colourless or white solid with an acrid odour....
.
Some hair sprays use natural polymers and solvents like vegetable gums dissolved in
alcoholIn chemistry, an alcohol is any organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom of an alkyl or substituted alkyl group. An important group of acohols is formed by the simple acyclic alcohols, the general formula for which is C
nH
2n+1OH...
. One popular ingedient is
gum arabicGum arabic, also known as gum acacia, chaar gund, char goond or meska, is a natural gum made of hardened sap taken from two species of the acacia tree; Acacia senegal and Acacia seyal...
is made from the sap of certain trees that grow in the
SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
. Gum
tragacanthTragacanth is a natural gum obtained from the dried sap of several species of Middle Eastern legumes of the genus Astragalus, including A. adscendens, A. gummifer, and A. tragacanthus. Some of these species are known collectively under the common names "goat's thorn" and "locoweed". The gum is...
is another herbal gum that is used to stiffen calico and
crepeA crêpe is a type of very thin pancake . The word is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled." While crêpes originate from Brittany, a region in the northwest of France, their consumption is nowadays widespread in France and they are considered a national dish. In...
, as well as hair.
Japanese scientists have recently found strains of bacteria,
Microbacterium hatanonisMicrobacterium hatanonis is a bacterium of the family Microbacteriaceae. The type strain, FCC-01T , was discovered living in hair spray.M...
, that have evolved to live in hair spray.
Effects
Excessive use or lack of washing after hair spray may lead to dull or damaged hair and
dandruffDandruff is the excessive shedding of dead skin cells from the scalp. Dandruff can also be caused by frequent exposure to extreme heat and cold. As it is normal for skin cells to die and flake off, a small amount of flaking is normal and in fact quite common...
. Some hair sprays are scented or have color. Hair spray is an easy way to hold hairstyles for a short period. Hair spray can be used mostly for hairstyles like the beehive and the bubble.
Hair spray is extremely flammable, more so before it is dry. The result of ignition is moderate to serious burns to the hair, head and upper torso, sometimes resulting in death.
Sources
- Ben Selinger, Chemistry in the Marketplace, fourth ed. (Harcourt Brace, 1994).Abigail Saucedo (2008)
Further information