Insette

Insette is a British haircare and personal-care brand owned by LEC (Lpool) Ltd, an aerosol-filling company based in Wavertree, Liverpool. The brand is best known for its hairspray and hair mousse, sold mainly through UK supermarkets and pharmacies and exported to more than 20 countries. LEC was established in 1967, and the Insette name has been one of its two retail brands, alongside Studio 2000, for most of that history [1][6].

The business remains active. Its website was current to 2026, the product range is still listed, and the company continues to trade as a family-run operation following the death of co-founder Larry Clare in 2022.

LEC was founded by Larry and Eileen Clare, and the company name is drawn from their initials [6]. According to a trade-press account, Eileen had worked as a hairdresser and Larry as a salesman of hairdressing products; the two met when he began selling to her salon. They started by filling bulk hair setting lotion and hairspray at home and selling it to other hairdressers, an operation that grew into a hairdressing wholesale business and was incorporated as LEC in 1967 [6].

From those origins the company developed its own retail brands, Insette and Studio 2000, and expanded into three product areas: hair care, personal care and household products.

LEC describes itself as the first company to invent and develop hair mousse, a category it pioneered in the 1970s and brought to national distribution through The Boots Company [2]. The firm says this move helped it expand rapidly onto the High Street.

In 2005 the company launched a "Mini" range, with products under 100 ml aimed at air travellers and younger consumers [2][8]. Larry Clare, who led the company for more than 50 years, died in November 2022 at the age of 85 [2].

Insette is a trading name of LEC (Lpool) Ltd, which functions as the parent and operating entity [5]. No acquisitions or sister companies beyond LEC's own brands are documented. The registered address is given as LEC House, Alfred Street, Wavertree, Liverpool. The postcode is listed as L15 2JJ on the company's own contact page [5], while the European business directory Europages records it as L15 4LH [8]; the brand-site value is the more current of the two.

The company presents itself as a long-standing aerosol-filling specialist that supplies both its own brands and private-label products for other High Street names. Alongside the consumer brand, LEC runs a contract-filling business, handling work from design and artwork through to production and delivery. Its stated aim for that side of the business is to "get things right first time, on time, everytime" [4]. The firm notes that many of its staff have been employed for 30 years or more.

Insette's range centres on aerosol haircare: hairspray, including a men's variant, hair mousse, dry shampoo and the Studio 2000 styling line. The brand also markets bodycare products such as body sprays and shave foam, while LEC's wider output extends to household items including air fresheners and furniture polish.

The Insette hairspray was, in the brand's description, created for professional hairstylists more than 40 years ago and formulated with Pro-Vitamin B5 [7]. A 2024 independent review described the product as well known in the haircare market and frequently praised for its affordability and effectiveness, positioning it as a value-oriented option [7].

Insette is active. LEC remains UK-based, with home-market distribution through retailers such as Boots and exports to more than 20 countries via exclusive distributors [2]. The most recent visible activity recorded for the brand is its 2026 website, which still lists the full product range and current business hours. The company continues as a family-run firm after Larry Clare's death in 2022.