291. Brand Names That Became Everyday Pinoy Words #7: SPRAY NET

MISS SPRAY NET, Non-stick spray, 1966

The company that gave us the brand name “spraynet” which Filipinos use to refer to hair spray was an invention of Helene Curtis. Founded back in 1927 by Gerald Gidwitz and Louis Stein as the National Mineral Company,  it was renamed as ‘Helene Curtis’, derived from the first names of Stein’s wife and son.

From manufacturing mud pack products for salons, the company shifted its focus to creating hair care products like shampoos and tonics. Suave hairdressing became their biggest flagship product.

HELEN CURTIS VINTAGE CAN, Source: gramho.com

When aerosol cans were invented after World War II,  Helene Curtis was one of the first companies to recognize its value, and in 1950 it first used the term “hairspray” for its new aerosol cosmetic hair styling product: SPRAY NET.

It was so-called because of its superior hold on hair, that allowed women to keep their 50s bouffant and beehive hairdo as if protected by a net-- higher and longer, with just a spray.

SPRAY NET became such a successful product that other beauty care products joined the hair spray bandwagon, like Aqua Net. It was said that SPRAY NET became so popular that it even outsold lipsticks!

Advertised in 1966 in the Philippines. SPRAY NET was a huge hit among modern Filipinas. As it becae a dominant brand in the market, everyone started calling other branded aerosol hair sprays as “SPRAY NET”.

By the late '60s, tastes in hairstyles changed, with celebrities like Twiggy and Mia Farrow popularizing simpler, shorter, and more natural hair styles. Sales for hair sprays declined slowly. This was further aggravated when it was discovered that aerosol products contained Chlorofluoro Carbons (CFCs), that harmed the environment . A pre-1970 ingredient, vinyl chloride, was found to cause cancer.

HELENE CURTIS, 1966 Print Ad

Aerosols continued to be widely used as safer alternative ingredients were used. Helene Curtis now produces Thermasilk Shape and Hold Spray and Salon Selectives Spray. Though the iconic product is long gone, baby boomers still call any hair spray by that name—SPRAY NET!

SOURCES:

Inset Photo: https://gramho.com/explore-hashtag/helenecurtis

Wikipedia: Helene Curtis Industries, Inc. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Helene_Curtis_Industries,_Inc.