---
title: "What is a Match made of?"
description: "An oxidiser and a fuel in the head, with the phosphorus that starts it moved onto the striking strip. Every component, the material it uses, and the constraint that "
url: https://atoneplace.net/made-of/match/
site: "At One Place"
---

# What is a Match made of?

**What is a Match made of?: An oxidiser and a fuel in the head, with the phosphorus that starts it moved onto the striking strip.**

The safety match works precisely because it is split in two: the phosphorus that provides the low ignition temperature lives on the box, not on the match, so a boxful cannot go up from friction in a pocket. That design, from Sweden in the 1840s and 1850s, replaced white phosphorus matches, whose vapour caused phossy jaw — necrosis of the jawbone — among matchmakers, a scandal that drove the 1888 London matchgirls' strike and an international ban under the Berne Convention of 1906. It is one of the clearest cases of a consumer product being redesigned around a workplace disease rather than a consumer risk.

## Component by component

*Every material is a choice, and the third column is the constraint that drove it.*

| Part | Material | Why that material |
| --- | --- | --- |
| head | potassium chlorate as oxidiser with sulfur or antimony trisulfide as fuel, in a glue binder | The head carries its own oxygen supply, so once lit it burns regardless of how much air reaches it. |
| striking surface | red phosphorus with powdered glass in a binder | Friction converts a trace of red phosphorus to white phosphorus, which ignites in air at about 30 °C and sets the head off. |
| friction filler | ground glass in both head and strip | It concentrates the friction into hot points instead of letting the energy spread out as warmth. |
| stick | aspen or poplar impregnated with ammonium phosphate, or waxed paperboard | The impregnation stops the stick glowing on after the flame is out, which is what causes afterglow fires in a bin. |
| strike-anywhere heads | phosphorus sesquisulfide in the tip | It puts the ignition chemistry back in the head, so any rough surface works — and that is why they are restricted for transport. |

## Other around the house objects

- [Banknote](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/banknote/) — Cotton and linen rag paper, or polymer film — never wood pulp, which is why notes survive the wash.
- [Lego brick](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/lego-brick/) — ABS plastic moulded to a tolerance of about ten micrometres — the tightness of the fit is the whole product.
- [Soap](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/soap/) — Fats reacted with lye to make fatty acid salts — and most modern "beauty bars" are not soap at all.
- [Toothpaste](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/toothpaste/) — Mostly abrasive and humectant, with a detergent for foam — the active ingredient is about 0.15% fluoride.
- [Coin](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/coin/) — Base-metal alloys chosen for wear and cost — most modern "silver" coins are copper-nickel and most "copper" ones are plated steel or zinc.
- [Sunscreen](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/sunscreen/) — UV filters — mineral, chemical or both — suspended in an emulsion whose job is to hold them in an even film.
- [Credit card](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/credit-card/) — Laminated PVC sheets 0.76 mm thick, carrying a silicon chip in epoxy and a copper antenna coil.
- [Candle](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/candle/) — Wax that is really a fuel, and a braided cotton wick that acts as a pump rather than as the thing burning.
- [Lipstick](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/lipstick/) — Castor oil carrying pigment, set into a stick with waxes — the oil is the workhorse, not the colour.
- [Shampoo](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/shampoo/) — Three-quarters water, a primary detergent, a milder secondary one, salt to thicken, and silicone to make hair feel smooth.
- [Balloon](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/balloon/) — Party balloons are dipped natural rubber latex; foil balloons are metallised plastic film and are not rubber at all.
- [Deodorant](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/deodorant/) — Deodorant kills the bacteria that cause the smell; antiperspirant uses aluminium salts to plug the sweat duct. Different products.

## Common questions

### What is a Match made of?

An oxidiser and a fuel in the head, with the phosphorus that starts it moved onto the striking strip.

### What is the head of a Match made of?

Potassium chlorate as oxidiser with sulfur or antimony trisulfide as fuel, in a glue binder. The head carries its own oxygen supply, so once lit it burns regardless of how much air reaches it.

### What is the striking surface of a Match made of?

Red phosphorus with powdered glass in a binder. Friction converts a trace of red phosphorus to white phosphorus, which ignites in air at about 30 °C and sets the head off.

## Related pages

- [Banknote](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/banknote/)
- [Lego brick](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/lego-brick/)
- [Soap](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/soap/)
- [Toothpaste](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/toothpaste/)
- [Coin](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/coin/)
- [Sunscreen](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/sunscreen/)
- [Credit card](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/credit-card/)
- [Candle](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/candle/)
- [Pencil](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/pencil/)
- [Tennis ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/tennis-ball/)
- [Golf ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/golf-ball/)
- [Paper](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/paper/)
- [Glass](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/glass/)
- [Soccer ball](https://atoneplace.net/made-of/soccer-ball/)

## Sources

- Typical range compiled from manufacturer specifications — At One Place (/about/)