Mum was the first brand of commercial

deodorant A deodorant is a substance applied to the body to prevent or mask body odor caused by bacterial breakdown of perspiration, for example in the armpits, groin, or feet. A subclass of deodorants, called antiperspirants, prevents sweating itself, t ...

. Containing a

zinc Zinc is a chemical element; it has symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is a slightly brittle metal at room temperature and has a shiny-greyish appearance when oxidation is removed. It is the first element in group 12 (IIB) of the periodic tabl ...

compound as its active ingredient, it was developed in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

in 1888.Joey Green (2004) ''Joey Green's Incredible Country Store: Potions, Notions, and Elixirs of the Past--And How to Make Them Today'', Rodale Press According to the manufacturer's web-site, "The MUM brand owes its name to a nurse of the inventor, who was nicknamed "Mum". Another source claims that the brand was named after the term "mum" from the phrase " Mum's the word", meaning to keep silent. Mum was originally sold as a cream in a jar and applied with the fingertips. The small company was bought by

Bristol-Myers The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, doing business as Bristol Myers Squibb (BMS), is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in Princeton, New Jersey, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consiste ...

in 1931.

Branding as "Ban"

In the late 1940s, an employee (Helen Diserens) developed an applicator based on the newly invented ball-point pen. In 1952, the company began marketing the product under the name Ban Roll-On. In 1958, the product was launched in the United Kingdom and the

Commonwealth of Nations The Commonwealth of Nations, often referred to as the British Commonwealth or simply the Commonwealth, is an International organization, international association of member states of the Commonwealth of Nations, 56 member states, the vast majo ...

as Mum Rollette. The product was briefly withdrawn from the market in the United States, but is again widely available. It is popular in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

Singapore Singapore, officially the Republic of Singapore, is an island country and city-state in Southeast Asia. The country's territory comprises one main island, 63 satellite islands and islets, and one outlying islet. It is about one degree ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

and

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. In the Philippines, it was sold in the 1970s and 1980s but has since been withdrawn. Ban is now owned by Kao Corporation. In the UK Mum is made by Dendron Ltd, under license from The Procter & Gamble Co.

References

External links

Ban website
Personal care brands Products introduced in 1888 {{product-stub