In the 1950s, lotion shampoos with conditioning ingredients became popular precursors of the shampoo/conditioner rinse pairing of two decades later. The Clairol ad campaign, "Does she ... or doesn't she?" boosted hair color product sales not just for their company, but across the hair dye industry.[19]
The bouffant style relied on the liberal use of hairspray to hold hair in place for a week.[20] Hairspray lacquers of this era were of a different chemical formula than used today, and were more difficult to remove from the hair than today's products.[21] But even less extreme styles, such as parting hair on the left and the right before pulling the bangs to one side, required holding the style in place with hairspray.[22] One ingredient in 1950s hair spray was vinyl chloride monomer; used as an alternative to chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), it was subsequently found to be both toxic and flammable.[23]
Hair gels, such as Dippity-do, came in a variety of forms such as spray or jelly, and were referred to as "setting gels".[20] African American hair products promised natural-looking hair to black women, with natural in this context defined as straight, soft, and smooth; these products, such as Lustra-silk, were advertised to not be heavy, greasy or damaging like pressing oils and chemical relaxers of the past.[24]
Only a small amount of Brylcreem was needed to make a man's hair shiny and stay in place; Brylcreem's tag line was "Brylcreem, a little dab'll do ya."[25] It was also used by those who suffered from dandruff.[26] While the conk was still popular through the end of the decade, Isaac Hayes switched to going bald.[13] Hair growth products for men were first introduced in the 1950s, in Japan.