Recently one of our staffers went to the beauty parlor at lunch and came back to the office looking like she hadn’t washed her hair in weeks. “What happened to you?” we couldn’t help but ask.

 

 

There’s a long history of unguents being rubbed into hair for the sake of beauty. Ancient Egyptians loved the Hot Oil look. In the Victorian age, a craze for Macassar Oil spread through Hair World, and led to the invention of antimacassars, those doily things housewives pinned on chair tops to protect upholstery from hair slime. In the 20s and 30s, they called it “brilliantine” which sounds both glossy and classy. The 50s were full of greased pompadours, of course. In the 60s, Brylcreem still sold well to the likes of Jack Lord. But by the 70s, the Dry Look had swept the nation, and the Wet Look hasn’t returned. Yet.