Brylcreem (pronounced brill-cream) is a men's hair pomade created in 1928 by County Chemicals at the Chemico Works in Bradford Street, Birmingham, England. County Chemicals is also noted for Chemico abrasive kitchen cleaner.
Brylcreem's purpose is to keep combed hair in place while giving it a shine or gloss. It is an emulsion of water and mineral oil stabilised with beeswax. Other ingredients are fragrance, calcium hydroxide, BHT, dimethyl oxazolidine, magnesium sulfate, and stearic acid.
Brylcreem is sold in a tube in the US, and tube and pot in Europe and Canada. The formulations are slightly different. It is marketed in the US by Combe Incorporated; in Europe, by the Sara Lee Corporation.
The shiny "wet" look it gave hair was de rigueur for men for many years. Other substances, including macassar oil and petroleum jelly, had been in use for this purpose earlier and made popular by such figures as Rudolph Valentino.
Brylcreem's use declined during the 1960s as hair fashions changed to favor the "dry look". However, it has seen a comeback since the late 1990s. It is remarketed in Europe under a Ministry of Hair banner alongside companion gel and wax products in squeeze bottles, rarely sold directly alongside the traditional Brylcreem. In the US, the traditional Original Brylcreem has undergone a resurgence as a new generation discovers it. This appears to be a response to market pressures and a trend to get away from the "helmet hair" that is common with gels, with a new generation of men, including many in a number of subcultures, returning to using pomades and creams. Most hair care manufacturers now offer similar petrolatum, wax, or oil-based hair products that give hair a sleek and pliable look while maintaining control for styles such as DA, "bed-head" and "Princeton".
Jingle
It was first advertised on TV by the jingle "Brylcreem — A Little Dab'll Do Ya!". Lyrics for the Brylcreem jingle:
- Bryl-creem, a little dab'll do ya,
- Use more, only if you dare,
- But watch out,
- The gals will all pursue ya,--
- They'll love to put their fingers through your hair.
- Bryl-creem, a little dab'll do ya,
- Bryl-creem, you'll look so debonair.
- Bryl-creem, the gals will all pursue ya,
- They'll love to RUN their fingers through your hair.
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- Note-When the dry look became popular, the last line was changed to, "They'll love the natural look it gives your hair."
It has been claimed that Fred Flintstone's famous "Yabba Dabba Doo" was derived from this motto when Alan Reed, the actor who voiced the character, didn't like the simple "Yahoo" in the script.[1]
Subsequent television advertisements used the mottoes "Grooms without gumming" and later, in the 1970s in the UK, "A little dab of Brylcreem on your hair gives you the Brylcreem bounce".
Cultural references
Its popularity with Royal Air Force pilots in World War II led to their nickname, The Brylcreem Boys. This is the title of a 1998 film about downed pilots interned in the Republic of Ireland. Ironically, Tony Gibson, the model shown in RAF uniform to advertise Brylcreem during World War II, was an anarchist and conscientious objector.
In 1961 Brylcreem sponsored a television special on ABC television starring singer Connie Francis titled Kicking Sound Around. During the special Connie sang and acted alongside Tab Hunter, Eddie Foy, Jr. and Art Carney while providing jingle commercials for Brylcreem between acts.
A notable user of the product was co-founder of Pink Floyd, Syd Barrett. It is reported that Barrett piled so much Brylcreem on that he resembled "a guttered candle" as the hot stage lights were beating down on him, melting the cream. At a show in 1967 he reportedly crushed a tube of Brylcreem over his head.
The jingle is sung by Jimmy Buffett near the end of the song "Pencil Thin Mustache" from the 1974 album Living & Dying in 3/4 Time.
In the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Randall P. McMurphy (played by Jack Nicholson) says "a little dab'll do ya," as the nurse applies conductant to his temples prior to his receiving electroshock therapy.
It is referenced by the Southern Gothic rock band Th' Legendary Shack Shakers in their song Piss and Vinegar.[2]
A number of British Cabinet Ministers in the Conservative governments of the 1980s wore Brylcreem, long after it had ceased to be widely worn among the general male population. Two examples were Cecil Parkinson and Kenneth Baker - who was satirised as a slimy snail by the programme "Spitting Image". Both men ceased to use the product after leaving office.
In 1995, a Belgian film producer made a film, Brylcream Boulevard, misspelling Brylcreem.
In an episode of Seinfeld The Conversion, George mentions that he still has Brylcreem in his medicine cabinet.
In Episode 33 of The Sopranos (originally aired April 8, 2001), Uncle Junior says, "Federal Marshals are so far up my ass I can taste Brylcreem."
In Episode 1 of Season 3 of Scrubs (originally aired October 2, 2003), Dr. Cox says, "Kelso is so far up my ass that I can taste Brylcreem in the back of my throat."
In Episode 7 of Season 1 of Mad Men after eating oysters, Roger Sterling says, "What the hell. It's the GOP; they'll never smell it over the stench of brylcreem."
Finally, in episode 5 of the "new" Top Gear's season 5, Richard Hammond talks about the Morgan Aero 8, saying that it was designed with '40 style in mind and that he should have been filmed "(...) in black and white, with Brylcreem in my hair."
References
- "Tony Gibson: Conscientious objector who became the smooth image of the RAF", Donald Rooum and Rufus Segar, The Guardian, April 30, 2001.