Editing Wetsuit (section)

===Development of suit design===
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Initially, wetsuits were crafted solely from foam-rubber or neoprene sheets devoid of any supporting material. Such suits demanded cautious handling during wear due to the inherent fragility and stickiness of foam-rubber against the skin. Excessive stretching and pulling often resulted in tearing these suits apart.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 14, 2023 |title=Wetsuits: A Brief History |url=https://www.oceanmagic.co.uk/blog/wetsuits-a-brief-history/ |access-date=August 2, 2024 |website=Ocean Magic UK}}</ref> To mitigate this issue, divers resorted to generously applying [[Talc|talc powder]] to both the suit and their body to facilitate smoother sliding of the rubber material.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Neoprene: A Brief History |url=https://www.seventhwave.co.nz/blogs/library/neoprene-a-brief-history |access-date=2024-06-06 |website=Seventhwave |language=en}}</ref>

Backing materials first arrived in the form of nylon knit cloth applied to one side of the neoprene. This allowed a swimmer to pull on the suit relatively easily since the nylon took most of the stress of pulling on the suit, and there was less friction between the nylon and skin, but the suit still had the bare foam exposed on the outside and the nylon was relatively stiff, limiting flexibility. A small strip of neoprene reversed with the rubber against the skin could help provide a sealing surface to keep water out around the neck, wrists, and ankles.

In 1960, the British Dunlop Sports Company brought out its yellow Aquafort neoprene wetsuit, whose high visibility was intended to improve diver safety.<ref name="Dunlop" /> However, the line was discontinued after a short while and wetsuits reverted to their black uniformity. The colorful wetsuits seen more recently first arrived in the 1970s when double-backed neoprene was developed. In this material the foam-rubber is sandwiched between two protective fabric outer layers, greatly increasing the tear-resistance. An external layer also meant that decorative colors, logos, and patterns could be made with panels and strips sewn into various shapes. This change from bare flat black rubber to full color took off in the 1980s with brilliant fluorescent colors common on many suits.