Skip to main content
  • Main menu
Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation
  • Home
  • Tags
  • Personal care

Personal care

Filter By
  • All
  • Text
  • Audio
Found 20 Stories
Close up of manicured hand with tiny green bug perched on one finger.
Invention Stories

Inventing a No-Chip Manicure

Like many successful inventions, the shellac manicure has made my life easier and is a vast improvement from easily chipping nail polish.

Stock image of insect repellent products on a store shelf.
Invention Stories

Buzz... Swat: Mosquito Repellents

It’s the time of year when mosquitos are hatching in preparation to swarm us, bite us, and make us itch.

Razor and shaving cream carried aboard the Apollo 11 mission by astronaut Michael Collins.
Invention Stories

Get that clean, baby-faced look: Razors at the Smithsonian

Whether participating in Movember or No Shave November or just being lazy with the razor, November is all about facial hair. Perhaps coincidentally, November hosts some razor-specific invention anniversaries.

hand with textured manicure
DO Try This at Home!

Caviar Manicures and Inventive Dreams

Try your hand at an innovative kind of manicure. (Pun intended!)

Madam C. J. Walker
Beyond Words

Podcast: Madam C. J. Walker Had a Good Head for Hair Care, Part 2 (of 2)

A'Lelia Bundles explains her quest to document her famous great-great-grandmother's life and legacy.

Madam C. J. Walker
Beyond Words

Podcast: Madam C. J. Walker Had a Good Head for Hair Care, Part 1 (of 2)

A'Lelia Bundles explains her quest to document her famous great-great-grandmother's life and legacy.

Invention Stories

Papers Illustrate Woman Inventor's Life and Work

Learn more about Marion O'Brien Donovan (1917-1998), who earned 20 patents and was one of the few commercially successful female inventors of her era.

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

William Mack Patent, 1882

Inventor Name Mack, William

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

Madam C. J. Walker Papers, 1910-1980

Inventor Name Walker, C.J.

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Soap (Warshaw Collection of Business Americana Vertical Ephemera Series), 1838-1953

Inventor Name Various

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Ann Moore Innovative Lives Presentation, 1999

Inventor Name Moore, Ann

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Nathaniel Mathis Collection of Barbering and Beauty Culture, 1946-2004, 2010

Inventor Name Mathis, Nathaniel

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Charlotte Cramer Sachs Papers, 1905-2002 (bulk dates 1940-2002)

Inventor Name Cramer Sachs, Charlotte

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

Sarah D. Clifton Family papers, 1859-1951 (bulk 1896-1910)

Inventor Name Clifton, Sarah D. Repository Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society25 Nottingham CourtBuffalo, NY 14216-3199716-873-9644http://www.bechs.org/

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

Larkin Company Records, 1875-1974

Inventor Name Larkin Company Repository Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society25 Nottingham CourtBuffalo, NY 14216-3199716-873-9644http://www.bechs.org/

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

Alois J. Degenfelder

Inventor Name Degenfelder, Alois J. Repository Buffalo and Erie County Historical Society25 Nottingham CourtBuffalo, NY 14216-3199716-873-9644http://www.bechs.org/

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

William Ainsworth Papers, 1884-1933

Inventor Name Ainsworth, William

Logo for the Modern Inventors Documentation database, showing a stylized head with words like creativity and innovation written on different parts of the brain
Archives

Joseph Buchtel Papers, 1851-1864

Inventor Name Buchtel, Joseph Repository Oregon Historical Society1200 SW Park AvePortland, OR 97205-2843503-222-1741http://www.ohs.org/collections/index.cfm

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

Stearns (R.B.) & Company Records, 1865-1924

Inventor Name Stearns (R.B.) & Company

MIND database logo for non-Smithsonian archival materials
Archives

Gloria Swanson Papers (Series III), 1921-1982

Inventor Name Swanson, Gloria

VIEW 2720 Matching Results

Found 2720 Stories

  • Agriculture and horticulture (Relevance: 5.2205882352941%)
  • Air and space (Relevance: 6.7647058823529%)
  • Archives@NMAH (Relevance: 8.4191176470588%)
  • Chemistry (Relevance: 3.0882352941176%)
  • Food and drink (Relevance: 3.2352941176471%)
  • Industry and manufacturing (Relevance: 7.5367647058824%)
  • Medicine, health, and life sciences (Relevance: 4.5955882352941%)
  • Military technology (Relevance: 3.3455882352941%)
  • Mining and drilling (Relevance: 3.4191176470588%)
  • Patents and trademarks (Relevance: 11.397058823529%)
  • Photography, film, television, and video (Relevance: 3.8602941176471%)
  • Power generation, motors, and engines (Relevance: 3.4558823529412%)
  • Spark!Lab (Relevance: 3.5294117647059%)
  • Textiles and clothing (Relevance: 3.3823529411765%)
  • Transportation (Relevance: 5.9926470588235%)
  • Women inventors (Relevance: 3.2352941176471%)
❯
Go to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History website

About Menu

▼
Open menu
▲
Close menu
  • Explore
    • Blog
    • Invention Stories
    • Places of Invention
    • Beyond Words
  • Study
    • Research Opportunities
    • Archives
    • Lemelson Center Books
    • Lemelson Center Research
    • Symposia & Conferences
  • Try
    • DO Try This at Home!
    • Spark!Lab
    • Spark!Lab Network
    • Encouraging Innovative Thinking
  • About
    • Events
    • Exhibitions
    • News
    • Who We Are
    • FAQ
    • Donate
  • Multimedia
  • Tags
  • Surprise Me
  • Search
  • Open Drawer
Copyright 2022, Smithsonian Institution, All Rights Reserved
  • DONATE
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
Twitter Facebook Tumblr Email Print