Can I barrow some of your King Hair Gel or Moco de Gorila gel or Punky Junky Gel for my “punk style”? Or the more sophisticated kids would ask for some Loreal or Paris hair gel. But what about 25 years ago? What were the kids and teenagers using to create their favorite hair styles?
I want to start by telling you of a certain grease… Yes hair grease. Vaseline which came with various scents was actually pasted on the hair to create the hair styles. There was a yellow one called éclat. Another green one was Palmolive and then a white one that was odorless. Brylcreem was a softer smoother cream for hair treatment and then of course there was the baby oil also used on the hair.
I’ll share a little idea with you all. The soft fluffy hair was hardened with the grease. The stiff stubborn hair, almost like horse hair, was softened with the cream or oil. The only thing with all of them is that they left an oily hair and soon it ended on your face and gave you an oily skin. Don’t ask about your shirt collar or your pillow.
How about the young ladies and the use of hair spray which was non-existent? Well it was lucky of those girls who had beautiful curls. They did not need any accessories. They simply let the curls hang loosly over their shoulders and took the admiration of those lustful teenage eyes.
But those girls who had stubborn hair, they could either use a plastic band that literally held the hair down or could pin up the head with dozens of hair clips. Creole women who wanted to hold down the short sizzling hair that is called “cruffy hair” used to use a net which was like a spider web cap to cover the entire head.
So what do you think of today’s “Gorilla Mucus Gel”, Moco de Gorilla, as compared to Vaseline grease twenty five years ago? I can tell you because I’ve used both.
– by Angel Nuñez, Columnist
