When: 1967
Where: USA
Why: The ease of use of the aerosol deodorant finally provided a solution to the age-old problem of body odour
How: Two cosmetics giants went into battle, and gave birth to the world’s first aerosol antiperspirant deodorant
Who: Gillette, Carter-Wallace
Fact: Analysts predict that the global deodorant market will be worth $12.6bn (£7.7bn) by 2015
Every product mentioned in this book has met a clear market need, but arguably none has tackled a more significant need than the aerosol deodorant. Body odour has blighted humanity since the dawn of civilisation, and it’s taken us thousands of years to find a solution. The early Egyptians drew scented baths to mask the smell of dirt and sweat; the Greeks and Romans used perfume; ancient Middle Eastern societies even relied on full body hair removal to keep bad smells away.
The aerosol deodorant, which came onto the market in the 1960s, was as significant a breakthrough as any previously made in the long battle against body odour. The spray-on solutions rolled out almost 50 years ago brought new levels of user-friendliness and enabled manufacturers to bring out deodorants with antiperspirant properties, greatly improving overall efficacy.
The pre-eminence of the aerosol deodorant was relatively short lived. Concerns about the environment, and the emergence of alternative methods of application, eroded consumer confidence and ate into market share. But, despite the fierce criticism and competition, aerosols continue to constitute a substantial share of the deodorant market, which is worth half a billion pounds a year in the UK alone.
It is thought that underarm deodorants were invented as long ago as the 9th century, but development did not begin in earnest until the late 1800s, when scientists discovered that two glands were principally responsible for the production of sweat. In the 1880s, a team of chemists in Philadelphia developed a rudimentary paste for the regulation of body odour. Although the product, branded Mum, was messy and difficult to apply, the scientists knew they were on to a winner.
In 1903 the world’s first antiperspirant deodorant, EverDry, came onto the market, using aluminium chlorohydrate (ACH) salt to block the secretion of sweat. Meanwhile, development of Mum continued; in the late 1940s, a woman named Helen Barnett Diserens created an underarm product based on the design of a ball-point pen, heralding the birth of roll-on deodorant.
By the 1950s, odour-combatants accounted for a crucial chunk of the toiletries market. However, the sector was still divided into two contrasting but complementary segments: deodorants, which tackle the bacteria that cause body odour, and antiperspirants, which inhibit the glands that secrete sweat. As the market began to boom, cosmetics giants began searching for a product that could combine the best of both worlds.
At the same time, aerosol technology was developing fast. In 1926 a Norwegian chemical engineer, Eric Rotheim, invented a refillable can, complete with valve and propellant, to help him wax his skis. The idea behind the aerosol was relatively simple – a pressurised fluid was used to push another fluid up through a tube, and out through a nozzle at the top.
In 1928, Rotheim sold the patent to America, and the aerosol gradually began to gain traction. In 1939, American Julian S. Kahn received a patent for a disposable spray can. Two years later, Americans Lyle Goodhue and William Sullivan came up with the first refillable spray can, known as the ‘bug bomb’, using compressed gas.
During World War II, US soldiers began using aerosols for insecticide, and the patent for the product was released for commercial use once the conflict was over. By the 1950s a range of beauty products, including perfume and shaving creams, were being dispensed from aerosol cans.
Buoyed by these inroads, scientists began researching ways of developing an aerosol deodorant that could also offer antiperspirant protection. But their early attempts were riddled with problems, the biggest of which was caused by ACH, which had a tendency to erode the aerosol can and clog the valve when it was mixed in water inside the inner chamber.
In the early 1960s Gillette finally brought out the first aerosol deodorant. The product, known as Right Guard, was a solution-type product, similar to the war-time insecticides, and contained no trace of ACH. The product enjoyed considerable early success, and by leaving out the ACH, the company’s researchers got around the can and valve issues. However, without the aluminium salt, the deodorant failed to provide any long-term prevention of perspiration. In addition, the spray was dry and often irritable to the skin; the US public preferred a moist solution.
The leading cosmetics companies scrambled to find a better solution: a product that would offer genuine antiperspirant properties, as well as the anti-bacterial effect of a deodorant. Scientists searched for an alternative to water that was capable of absorbing the aluminium chlorohydrate without destroying the deodorant can and its aperture. Various aluminium compounds were liquefied in alcohol, but no combination offered the commercial viability that the cosmetics firms were after.
In the early 1960s, Gillette finally brought out the first aerosol deodorant … known as Right Guard.
Then, in 1965, two researchers, George Spitzer and Lloyd Osipow, hit upon a solution. Their researchers suspended the aluminium chlorohydrate in oil, obviating the need for water and creating a product that would leave the can and its core components intact. Carter-Wallis heard about the Lloyd–Osipow solution, patented it and took it to market in 1967, under the name Arrid Extra Dry. The product proved popular with consumers, thanks to its antiperspirant properties and the damp, misty sensation it left on the body.
Both Gillette and Carter-Wallace experienced immediate success with their aerosols. The impact of Right Guard is evidenced by the fact that in 1967, just six years after it went on the market, half the antiperspirants sold in the USA came in aerosol form. The roll-out of Arrid Extra Dry saw this figure increase again – and earned Carter-Wallace a huge share of the market.
By early 1972, aerosols accounted for 82% of all deodorant sales, and Arrid had 16% of the market, with sales of almost $65m. This early success drew new players, such as Procter & Gamble, into the market and compelled manufacturers to address a number of minor packaging flaws, with piecemeal improvements. Valve and pressure systems were tweaked to reduce bounce-off and billowing, while silicones were introduced to reduce staining.
By early 1972, aerosols accounted for 82% of all deodorant sales [but] negative publicity inflicted a huge body blow on the aerosol industry: by 1982, aerosols accounted for just 32% of the antiperspirant market
But the boom was short-lived. In 1977 America’s Food and Drug Administration prohibited aluminium zirconium complexes, which had come to be used in addition to, or instead of, ACH in many aerosol deodorants. A short time later, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) placed severe constraints on the use of chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) propellants, another aerosol staple, due to concerns about the ozone layer. The negative publicity inflicted a huge body blow on the aerosol industry: by 1982, aerosols accounted for just 32% of the antiperspirant market.
The deodorant market, however, continued to go from strength to strength. In 1992, a report in the New Yorker claimed that the industry was growing by 10% year on year, and sales have remained strong as grooming assumes ever-greater importance in people’s lives. According to a report released in February 2011, the UK’s deodorants and body-spray market generated total sales of £548m in 2010, and market penetration was almost total. Mintel forecasts that this sector will generate sales of £581m in 2015.
During the 1980s and 1990s, it seemed that aerosols were falling away in this market as criticisms of the environmental impact of CFCs, coupled with the emergence of alternative products, began to bite. In the early 1990s stick-based deodorants accounted for 50% of the market, and it seemed that the traditional brands would be overtaken by natural, organic deodorants, which appealed to ethical consumers. When America’s EPA banned aerosol products containing CFC propellants in 1993, many forecast the beginning of the end for aerosols.
However, replacement propellants have been found, such as butane, propane and isobutane, and the aerosol has clung to its foothold in the deodorant market. Some would even argue that the aerosol deodorant sector remains buoyant; a report released by Global Industry Analysts in February 2011 claimed that the spray deodorants category, which includes aerosols, constitutes the largest as well as fastest-growing product segment of deodorants in the world.
The two brands that did most to catalyse the aerosol antiperspirant deodorant have endured mixed fortunes since making their breakthroughs. In 2006 Gillette sold the Right Guard brand to Henkel in a $420m deal, and retail revenues have since remained strong; last year, Right Guard helped Henkel to increase sales by 11.2%. In contrast, Carter-Wallace, the original parent company of Arrid Extra Dry, went into a prolonged tailspin following the boom of the 1970s, and eventually sold off its various operations in 2001. Today Arrid Extra Dry is produced by Church & Dwight, and sits at the lower end of the deodorant market – a far cry from its pre-eminence 40 years ago.