Good Morning Baltimore!

The hair trends of the 1960′s would not have been possible without the help of some fantastically strong hairspray.   Again, in the 80′s, when hair was back in style, hairspray was practically a necessity for every trendsetting woman (and man)!

Hair trends fade in and out of style, but until recently, it seemed that “big hair” had died right along with eighties hair bands.  While hair trends typically go in and out on their own, there’s a good chance the absence of big hair in the fashion world has had something to with the hairspray industry itself.

Hairspray and the Environment

You’ve probably heard that hairspray and aerosol cans are harmful to the ozone layer.  Research in the 1980′s found that VOC’s (Volatile Organic Compounds), found in most hairspray formulas were responsible for adding to the amount of smog in the environment and destroying the ozone layer.

In 1990, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) passed the Clean Air Act, which required states to create laws that reduced the amount of VOCs in various household products (including hair spray).  CARB (The California Air Resource Board) was the first state to enact such a plan, which was made effective in January 1993.  The regulation lowered the amount of acceptable VOC in hairsprays to 80%.  The law then re-lowered the percentage to 55% in 2005.  A similar law was passed in New York soon after, and many other states followed suit.

In compliance with the new laws, hair spray manufacturers were required to change their formulas.  Their main problem was that by lowering the percentage of VOC’s, they were in many cases substituting important hairspray ingredients with water.  This dramatically changed the effectiveness of their products.  Subsequently, almost the entire hairspray industry was drenched with ineffective, sticky, and heavy hair spray products.

New Hairspray Technology, finally!

Faster Plus is the new generation of hair sprays!  The company (a division of Mastey Products) is one of the first companies to develop a hair spray formula that is much more like those used in the 80′s.   Their products are made without added water (regular hair sprays can be up to 45% water)!  Faster Plus hairspray dries fast, keeps hair in place, but is not sticky or heavy.   They are also 100% in compliance with the VOC laws and do not harm the environment. 

Do we think that big 80′s hair might be coming back, now that there are products to help it along?  Something tells us, history may repeat itself sooner than you think.