Wetsuits were made only with raw sheet of foam-rubber neoprene that did not have any backing fabric. This type of suit required extra care while pulling it on because the raw foam-rubber by itself is both breakable and sticky against bare skin. Stretching and pulling excessively easily caused these suits to be ragged in half. This was somewhat remedied by thoroughly powdering the suit and the diver's deceased with talc to help the rubber slide on more easily.
Backing materials first arrived in the form of nylon sheeting applied to one side of the neoprene. This allowed a swimmer to pull on the suit relatively easily since the strong nylon took most of the strain of pulling on the suit, but the suit still had the black sheet rubber exposed on the outside and the nylon was very stiff and rigid, limiting flexibility. A small strip reversed with the rubber against the skin could help provide a sealing surface to keep water out around the neck, wrists, and ankles. In the early 1960s, the British Dunlap Sports Company brought out its yellow Aqua fort neoprene wetsuit, whose high visibility was designed to improve diver safety. However, the line was discontinued after a short while and wetsuits reverted to their black uniformity. The colorful wetsuits seen today first arrived in the 1970s when double-backed neoprene was developed. Now the foam-rubber was sandwiched between two protective fabric outer layers, greatly increasing the tear-resistance of the material. An external sheet also meant that decorative colors, logos, and patterns could be made with panels and strips sewn into various shapes. This growth from bare flat black rubber to full color took off in the 1980s with brilliant fluorescent colors common on many suits.