Historic Hood River
odo-ro-no
Notes
Grace has selected this museum artifact for your Monday enjoyment:
Odo-ro-no was one of the first commercially available antiperspirant deodorants. This bottle dates to the late 1920s or early 1930s and was likely purchased at one of the drugstores in downtown Hood River.
The original formula contained around 33% aluminum chloride, which is more than two times the amount available in any clinical-strength deodorant today and was known to eat through clothing and cause health issues for many.Â
The brand found marketing success by exploiting people’s insecurities, as deodorant was a new invention at the time and perfume had been the main method of odor control for centuries. Odo-ro-no dominated the market and remained popular until the mid-20th century. From a struggling market in the 1910s to a $30 billion global market today, Odo-ro-no changed the world of cosmetics as we know it.Â
It’s fascinating how such a small bottle can hold such a large amount of societal influence and cosmetic history.Â
Kalley
Fun object. The bubbles in the glass are always so interesting too! Looks like that there is a little residue at the bottom of the bottle.
Nels
Probably the alcohol base killed as many bacteria as anything else in the bottle