Helen Barnett Diserens

Helen Barnett Diserens (1919—April 15, 2008) was an American chemist and inventor, known as one of the inventors of Ban deodorant.

Early life and education

Helen Barnett Diserens was born in 1919 to Arthur Leroy and Leah Barnett, in Huntington, West Virginia. She attended the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, and graduated with a degree in chemistry, in 1941.

Career

After graduation, Diserens moved to the New York area, where she worked for Elizabeth Arden, and pharmaceutical companies, Hoffman LaRoche and Bristol Myers.

In the mid-1950s, she landed a job at Bristol Myers, where she became the head of the research laboratories for their deodorant product line. Diserens was working on Mum deodorant, which was originally founded in 1888 by an anonymous inventor in Philadelphia, and was bought by Bristol-Myers in 1931.

At the time, MUM (an acronym for Morning Until Midnight) was applied by fingers. Inspired by the newly invented ballpoint pen, Diserens came up with the idea of adapting the rolling function of the ball to apply deodorant on the underarms. The invention was tested in the U.S. in 1952.

Instead of repackaging Mum, the company decided to market it as an entirely new product, named "Ban Roll-On." Ban was acquired in 1998 by Tennessee-based pharmaceutical company, Chattem. In 2000, Ban was acquired by Japan-based cosmetics company, Kao Corporation, which continues to sell the product under the same name. 

Besides creating the roll-on applicator for deodorants at Bristol-Myers, Diserens also worked on many other products, including Bufferin aspirin and Ipana toothpaste.

After taking a break from work to raise her young children, she returned to work as Business Manager of the Rippowam Cisqua School in Bedford, NY, where she served as Chair of the Business Affairs Committee of the National Association of Independent Schools. Working at Rippowam Cisqua School, she and John Shank of the Harvard Business School co-authored a book that for the first time standardized accounting practices for independent schools.

After working with the school for 30 years, Diserens worked on her own business, Money Minder, in which she managed personal and household finances for women in Northern Westchester.

She completely retired at the age of 84.

Personal life

Diserens was married to her husband, Robert C. Diserens, Jr. The couple had two children: daughter, Deborah Diserens, and son, Robert C. Diserens, III.

Death

Diserens died on April 15, 2008, in Mount Kisco, New York. The memorial service was held at St. Matthews Church in Bedford, New York on May 10.