Nair is a hair-removal product manufactured by

Church & Dwight Church & Dwight Co., Inc. is an American consumer goods company focusing on personal care, household products, and specialty products. The company was founded in 1847 and is headquartered in Ewing, New Jersey. It is the parent company of well-kno ...

. Nair is a

portmanteau In linguistics, a blend—also known as a blend word, lexical blend, or portmanteau—is a word formed by combining the meanings, and parts of the sounds, of two or more words together.

of "No hair." The brand is mainly known for its depilatories that work by breaking the

disulfide bond In chemistry, a disulfide (or disulphide in British English) is a compound containing a functional group or the anion. The linkage is also called an SS-bond or sometimes a disulfide bridge and usually derived from two thiol groups. In inor ...

s of the

keratin Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. It is the key structural material making up Scale (anatomy), scales, hair, Nail (anatomy), nails, feathers, horn (anatomy), horns, claws, Hoof, hoove ...

molecules in hair. Nair's slogans include: ''"The Less That You Wear the less you have to fix your hair'', ''the More You Need Nair!"''; ''"Like Never Before"''; and ''"We wear short shorts, Nair for short shorts"''. The initial ad for the "short shorts" commercial won a

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; ), also spelled Kleio, Сleio, or Cleo, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre-playing. Etymology Clio's name is derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλείω (meaning ...

. It was based on the 1958 song "

Short Shorts "Short Shorts" is a song written and performed by Tom Austin, Bill Crandell, Bill Dalton, and Bob Gaudio, members of The Royal Teens. It reached #2 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, U.S. R&B chart and #3 on the Billboard Hot 100, U.S. pop chart in ...

". The original Nair lotion was introduced in 1940. Nair was purchased from

Carter-Wallace Carter-Wallace was a personal care company headquartered in New York City. The company was formed by the merger of Carter Products and Wallace Laboratories. The company had a research facility in Cranbury, New Jersey. History The company was fo ...

in 2001 via a partnership with Kelso. Also in 2001 Nair introduced its line of men's products. As of 2007, Nair had 25 products ranging from hair removal waxes to bleaches.

Active ingredients

Calcium hydroxide Calcium hydroxide (traditionally called slaked lime) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula Ca( OH)2. It is a colorless crystal or white powder and is produced when quicklime ( calcium oxide) is mixed with water. Annually, approxim ...

is an active ingredient that chemically breaks down the hair for removal. Some formulations also contain potassium

thioglycolate Thioglycolic acid (TGA) is the organic compound HSCH2CO2H. TGA is often called mercaptoacetic acid (MAA). It contains both a thiol (mercaptan) and carboxylic acid functional groups. It is a colorless liquid with a strongly unpleasant odor. TGA is ...

, which breaks down the disulfide bonds in the hair's keratin. The products often include softening agents, such as

mineral oil Mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of higher alkanes from a mineral source, particularly a distillate of petroleum, as distinct from usually edible vegetable oils. The name 'mineral oil' by itself is imprecise, ...

, to help offset the harsh active ingredients.

References

External links

Nair

Nair for Men
{{Church & Dwight Hair removal Church & Dwight brands Personal care brands Carter-Wallace Products introduced in 1940