Hairspray in the '80s

Everyone overwhelmingly associates Aqua Net hairspray with the '80s, but was it really that great? The truth is it was a low-end product you could find at any supermarket and it stank like your grandmother's salon. Growing concerns for the hole in the Ozone (discovered in the '70s) led to the Montreal Protocol (1987) that banned CFCs and many aerosol products got a bad rap. Totally uncool.

Thumb through any old magazines and it's easy to see hair products were a huge industry in the '80s. Studio Line by Loreal was a step up from Aqua Net even though you could still find it at most drugstores, while products like ICE (now Freeze and Shine) by Paul Mitchell were sold exclusively at salons and generally considered top tier (though perhaps no less damaging to your hair). Pump hairsprays were becoming the environmentally friendly trend of the late '80s even though the CFC ban didn't take effect until 1989.

Other common brands you'd find at the supermarket (or in your mom's bathroom when you were, like, totally desperate) were Jhirmack, Final Net, and Rave. Meanwhile a lot of brands specifically targeted the extreme style needs of the decade like Dep and Stiff Stuff.