Barbed Comments

Just back from Plymouth - which has a historic waterfront area known as the Barbican.

This reminded me of something I saw on Thursday before I left - on a whim, I went into the village hairdressers [sign outside appointments not always necessary'] and got a haircut. I am very pleased with the cut [especially as the children at school in the afternoon said it looked good] but something on the shelf in the salon bothered me...

 

 

 

 

A large jar of blue liquid, labelled Barbicide!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The name baffles me - in a hairdressers, it sounds like a product for killing off barbers.

Or perhaps for ridding us of a certain doll with a fondness for pink?

 

I have researched it, and apparently this is "a registered hospital disinfectant for all salon tools and is used by thousands of hairdressers in the U.S.A. and Europe. It is Germicidal, Fungicidal, Virucidal and Pseudomonacidal. Kills H.I.V. - 1 (A.I.D.S. Virus), hepatitis B virus and hepatitis C virus, herpes, ringworm, staph and numerous other pathogenic organisms. Disinfects scissors, combs, brushes and salon surfaces. Metals can be immersed for hours without rusting. It has a pleasant fragrance and is fully biodegradable."

Maurice King invented the stuff in 1947 to kill germs, fungi and viruses...and as for being 'pseudomoacidal' , that apparently means it will kill 'Pseudomonas Aeruginosa' which is an 'opportunistic pathogen'

Well, I am comforted to know my hairdresser takes such care and concern over the health of her clients!

[Barbican comes originally from a Persian word meaning 'to guard', so maybe that was what Mr King had in mind when he named his product?]