Rosarita rejoices…Hey, I totally agree with Rob about too many shampoo choices. Those aisles in the big box/drugstores are overwhelming. Even relatively simple choices like soap are crazy. Too many choices in the modern world, but no, I’d rather not return to the days of Prell only. Wasn’t that stuff dishwashing liquid in a different bottle?
The Right Brain responds:
It’s funny that you should mention Prell, Rosarita, because that’s one of our favorite old school shampoo brands.
A passion for Prell
For those of you too young too remember, Prell was one of the top two best selling shampoos in the US for years. (The top seller was Head & Shoulders.) But its history goes back much further: It was introduced by Procter & Gamble in 1947. It was famous for being one of the first products in a plastic tube instead of a glass bottle and for being so concentrated that all you needed was a “finger full.” In 1950s Prell was marketed for “women who wanted their hair to have that radiantly alive look.” But our favorite memory of Prell is from the late 60s early 70s when their TV commercial demonstrated the product’s richness by dropping a pearl in the bottle in will slink slowly to the bottom. You can see another nostalgic, albeit a bit creepy, commercial by clicking the link below. Trust me, it’s worth it.
Unfortunately, modern shampoo users haven’t shown the same passion for Prell and in 1999 Procter & Gamble sold the brand to Prestige Brands International. You can still find it in some stores – if you’re lucky.
Dissing dishwashing soap
But back to your question – was Prell just dishwashing soap in another bottle? While we can’t go back in time and look at the ingredients used in the first Prell formula back in 1947, we can tell that the “modern” version is a pretty standard deep cleansing formulas based on ammonium lauryl and laureth sulfates and cocamide DEA. These have been commonly used for decades and are certainly NOT just a dishwashing formula. Those are based on other surfactants designed for cutting grease and have a different cleansing and foaming profile. So another urban myth bites the dust. (BTW, you could wash your hair with dishwashing soap but it would likely dry out your scalp and leave your hair feeling like straw.)
The Beauty Brains bottom line
Do YOU have any fond memories of Prell or Breck or or any other nostalgic shampoos? Leave a comment and share your nostalgia with the rest of the Beauty Brains community. (And tell us what you thought about the husband washing his wife’s hair in that commercial. Something about that seems just a little bit odd.)
{ 25 comments… read them below or add one }
In Europe, complete ingredients are not listed on dish-washing liquid labels (or other products not for personal care, but with which our skin comes in contact). They just write “anionic surfactants”, usually list preservatives and problematic fragrance ingredients. I have been using some dish-washing liquid “for sensitive skin” containing no fragrance or preservatives without gloves for 4 consecutive days and the skin on my hands started peeling. It never happened again. I now use gloves every time I wash dishes.
We always used Prell Concentrate, in a plastic tube, when I was growing up (I was born in 1960.I don’t know when they started making it, but it was great on my and my father’s oilier hair. I wanted to use Breck — the Breck girls looked so pretty, but my parents were “science-oriented.” We also drove Chryslers because of their superior engineering (hah!).
When I got a bit older, I loved the original Herbal Essence shampoo, which I came across again in the 90s–what a blast of nostalgia that was–scent is powerful!
Creepy is right. For one thing, what was the guy doing at work to learn what “the girls” use. Then having her bend forwards over the sink is weird too. The acting is … well you catch my drift.
Prell was always too drying for me. I do remember Wella Balsam Conditioner — might have been the first mass-marketed instant conditioner. Made a huge difference at that time. I also remember when blow driers came out. Home hair-care sure has changed since I was a kid.
My husband used Prell back in the 80′s before we got married. The funny thing for me is that my hairdresser told him that it would leave a coating on his hair like wax and destroy it. I was a rep for Pantene at the time (it was still considered a high end brand) and she always asked why he wouldn’t use Pantene, because it was better. Every time I read about how Pantene is supposed to wreck your hair, I just laugh. My husband (then boyfriend) said he liked how Prell really cleaned his oily hair. He uses Suave Daily Clarifying now, but every once in a while comments that he wishes you could still by Prell.
What is strange is that he goes around the office inquring after the “girls” beauty routines.
I remember ‘Gee You Hair Smells Terrific’ as a kid – and my hair DID smell terrific! Also, the VO5 hot oil hair treatments used to be really good and also smelled wonderful. Nowadays, they don’t do much & have lost the good smell. And remember the Rula Lenska commercials?
I thought the commercial was funny! Is it an allegorical tale about their sex life? I like the exaggerated quantity of lather on her head.
I fondly remember commercials for the shampoo Pert, which starred the newly famous figure skater Dorothy Hammill. I loved her and her very cute and influential hairstyle, which was short and smooth, in contrast to the already enormously popular Farrah Fawcett haircut. Pert was advertised as being a shampoo specially formulated for short hair. A few years later they added to the line Pert Plus, which is the first conditioning shampoo I remember. I guess they later discontinued the original Pert.
Another one advertised for short hair: Short ‘n Sassy. (Never a popular one with the men.) The companies didn’t keep up with trying to convince women that short hair needed different products.
One more memory: in college, 1984, my roommate Jenny didn’t think much of the conditioner Flex, but she maintained that every guy used it.
I honestly don’t think the commercial is creepy at all. A man willing to shampoo his wife/girlfriend’s hair is romantic and sexy, not creepy.
I recently picked up some Breck in a dollar store cause I was out of shampoo and it was handy. Even though I used Panteen conditioner – sometimes doing it more then once – my hair still felt like straw afterwards.
lol That commercial isn’t so much creepy, but it is rather odd! I don’t think I would let my husband wash my hair lol But anyway, in the Philippines, one of the big shampoo brands is Palmolive! I remember using it, and my hair actually felt muuuuch softer than the stuff I’d been using at home in California! (Yes, even softer than Dove and Johnson’s baby shampoo, and much more gentle than Pantene and Neutrogena!) Sometimes I wish they’d bring the formula here, but the association with household cleaners probably would keep it from selling. Funny how that is!
“What is strange is that he goes around the office inquring after the “girls” beauty routines…”
Carol, my husband works in an office of 4 women. He doesn’t have to ask, he overhears or is included in their conversations — sometimes, they even conferencecall me in when they want to make a point and yes, he knows their makeup brands and where they get their hair done.
For me the commercial was sweet. A bit patronizing, but sweet.
I vaguely remember Prell. I did find that commercial odd, in that he was in such a rush to wash her hair. Umm…couldn’t you eat dinner FIRST?
My favourite shampoo from the 80′s was “Body on Tap”…there was BEER in it. It smelled awesome.
Bonnie – a husband washing his wife’s hair can lead to things more important to a man then dinner. *nudgenudgewinkwink* KnowwhatImean?
Okay, Monty Python really doesn’t translate well into text.
ANYWAY – Oh, in response to the “odd” way he’s having her bend over the sink. Not so odd. My mom, whom I’ve mentioned before used to be a professional beautician, used to wash my hair that way, only over the tub rather then the sink, when I was little and had hair so long it reached my butt. Until one day someone said she should have me lay down in the tub to keep the shampoo out of my eyes.
I think it’s just an old fashion way of doing it. My mom still kneels by the side of the tub and washes her hair while bending forward. She used to do it over the sink that way before the spinal stenosis and the cyst inside her spinal cord were found and her back operated on.
I don’t have any fond memories of shampoos I used to use. All I remember is dryness, limp hair, and irritation. This stopped when I stopped using sodium laurel sulfate containing shampoos. Now I use SLS-free shampoo and my hair is lovely!
We never used Prell; we were a Breck family. Mom used “Condition” conditioner–the old sort that you left in for five minutes once a week (only five minutes? Amazing!).
I remember horrible post-shampoo comb-outs of my crazy-curly hair, because Mom didn’t believe in conditioner or detangler. Awful. She finally whacked my hair off when I was about eight, which helped, but I’ll never forget shampooing with Breck and having my hair form one large lump at the back of my head.
I say it’s creepy as hell! What I find interesting is that it comes across as creepy to me now but I bet I never gave it a second thought when I originally saw it. (Yes, I’ll admit to being old to have seen it.) Why is that?!
And I definitely remember the sinking pearl in the bottle. I wonder how Madison Avenue came up with that? Maybe “Mad Men” could work it into an episode this season. (Can’t wait for Season 3 to start up!!!)
My mom used to wash my hair the same way her husband did in the TV commercial. I would lean over the sink, she would get my hair wet, then lather it up, rub her fingers on my scalp (I loved it!), then rinsed the shampoo out. We used any brand that was on sale when I was young ( I had eleven brothers and sisters, yes, we were an even dozen!), Suave, Prell, VO5, Pert, Breck.
I think some dish washing formulations have a high pH and a high sodium hydroxide level. This would make them pretty unsuitable as shampoos.
He is SO having an affair.
I remember Prell. It looked absolutely georgeous in the TV commercials and in the plastic tube, but it made my hair look like straw. Like one of the other posters, my hair started to look like hair instead of straw when I switched to sulfate-free shampoos. Both SLS and ammonium lauryl sulfate were extremely drying for my fine wavy hair. SLS & ALS are detergents. In fact you can use SLS shampoos to take the grease out of shirt and blouse collars. Pour a small amount on, rub in with fingers or fingernail brush & wash as usual.
Lauri, sorry to heard that your hubby is gay.
I just want to caution everyone against washing their hair with dish soap. My aunt washed her beautiful, bouncy, healthy hair with Dawn dishwashing detergent, and it stripped all of the natural moisture out of her hair, and no number of conditioning and hot oil treatments could bring it back. It just had to grow out, and as it grew, she clipped off the damaged ends.
If you go to Vermont Country you can find Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific and Herbal essence shampoo. I just ordered it!!!
what was weird is how women back then would probably only wash their hair like once a week. There is something gross about that.
Actually California Girl, washing your hair everyday will just create an oily scalp therefore your hair will be more greasy and gross.
Ever use the new prell for color treated hair? It is known as Gentle Care? I got some bc I wanna keep my red n I love how it smells.
{ 4 trackbacks }