Denny and Bobby Coughlin Invent Hair Gel

Denny and I invented hair gel in the summer of 1961--a hot muggy Sunday in July. At the time Denny and I sported what was then called a "butch" or "flattop" hair cut (you probably couldn't or wouldn't call it that any more!).

We wore our hair that way because Dad was good at cutting our hair short: it was quick; it was easy; and it was cheap. It was even, believe it or not, sort of cool--so many of the World War II GI's and sailors wore butch or buzz cuts, and we wanted to be like them (of course a few of us wanted to be like Elvis--Jim Talty and Tommy Fitzpatrick of St. William's, for example). To make your butch haircut stand up just right, you had to use some thick substance called "Butch Wax"--a kind of "pomade," it was a pinkish color and thicker than vaseline. And it smelled . . . good!

That particular hot July Sunday we were fresh out of Butch Wax--so Denny and I improvised. What would be the approximate consistency of Butch Wax? Well, why not try Crisco? I tried a dab of Crisco--and voila, it worked perfectly. Unfortunately, I used the last of the Crisco, so Denny decided he'd use a dab of oleo-margarine. And it too worked just fine!

That day Denny and I went to a hot 9:30 mass at St. Williams. This was before the era of air-conditioning, and the church was hot, stuffy, and very crowded that day. We came up the middle aisle and found the only seats left. It turned our that the seats were right in front of the family of the prettiest girl in St. William's. During that mass, flies discovered our criscoed and buttered hair-do's, and buzzed our heads for the entire hour. I was so mortified I hoped that I would die right there.

The crisco and butter idea was stolen years later by the hair gel people, who made a fortune on it. But let it be known for now and forever: Denny and I invented that awful stuff!

The product called "Butch Wax" does not seem to be availalbe anymore. So if you are unable or unwilling to go the crisco/butter route to make the front of your flattop stand up just so, try the product called "Stix Fix," available at http://www.folica.com/STIX_FIX_Hair_D_d171.html. That's a free advertisement!

One little postscript: another unique use of crisco and butter that Denny and I invented was to polish shoes. It works just fine in an emergency.

POST POSTSCRIPT: I talked to Denny on the phone [June 1, 2008] and he told me he remembers where the idea of crisco/butter as a substitute for Butch Wax came from. He remembers watching Davy Crockett, the Walt Disney production starring Fess Parker. One day Fess needed some "pomade" for his hair. All that was available was axle grease from the covered wagon or horse cart. Denny translated that into modern (as in 1950-modern) times and came up with the crisco/butter alternative. So Denny is the real inventor!