What Happened to Bakelite?

The History of the Hair Brush

By Leslie Drollinger Stratmoen

September 25, 2022

The answer to the question posed in the headline is: I don’t know! Some historians say Bakelite was phased out of women’s hairbrushes, along with jewelry and other accessories, by the 1940s by new plastics. But, which ones? And, why?

This Bakelite vanity set from the 1940s is in my personal collection and includes a shoehorn and clothing brush along with the brush and mirror. I imagine it probably also came with a comb. Photo Copyright Leslie Kay Productions

This, I have not been able to figure out. I’ve tried to research this online in relation to the history of the hairbrush, in particular, those from the 1920s to 1970s, the period of which my exhibit covers. But my search keeps coming up short. I mean, I couldn’t really find any new information.

I already knew, for instance, what hairbrushes from the 20th century were made of, based on my own collection, which includes everything from: wood, ivory, brass, silver, celluloid, Bakelite, lucite and plastic; with mainly boars-hair and nylon bristles.

But what I want is specifics, like the exact year the newer plastics replaced Bakelite. And, when did we switch from boars-hair bristles to nylon bristles?

The only exact date I found was on the Fuller Brush company website, Fuller.com. There, they declare the company developed luxury hairbrushes in 1942 that were sold with a five-year guarantee. From the picture included, they look like they were tortoise shell plastic with cream-colored boars-hair bristles in the round. But that’s it.

So, since no one seems to have the full history on hairbrushes, I’ve decided the only way to find out is by going to the source – vintage photos and magazine pictures and advertisements showing women brushing their hair or sitting at a vanity table surrounded by their toiletries. I’m starting with my own collection of vintage photos and magazines.

And, I would love to have you join me on the hunt. If you have family photos depicting a loved one brushing her hair, that would be awesome if you’d share. Just go ahead and post it on this website with the description of who and when it was taken and I’ll include the photo in my exhibit. I’d also include magazine advertisements you’ve found, as long as they’re in the public domain world, which I understand to be prior to 1978.

Please help. This could be really fun.

You have to look close, but there is a hairbrush on the shelves on the right. The photo is part of the Flappers to Fringe collection.