Clairol is the American personal care-product division of company Wella, specializing in

hair coloring Hair coloring, or hair dyeing, is the practice of changing the hair color. The main reasons for this are cosmetic: to cover gray or white hair, to change to a color regarded as more fashionable or desirable, or to restore the original hair color ...

and

hair care Hair care is an overall term for hygiene and cosmetology involving the hair which grows from the human scalp, and to a lesser extent facial, pubic and other body hair. Hair care routines differ according to an individual's culture and the p ...

. Clairol was founded in 1931 by Americans Joan Gelb and her husband Lawrence M. Gelb, with business partner and lifelong friend James Romeo, after discovering hair-coloring preparations while traveling in France. The company became popular in its home country, the United States, for its "Miss Clairol" home hair-coloring kit introduced in 1956. By 1959, Clairol was considered the leading company in the U.S. hair-coloring industry. In 2004, Clairol registered annual sales of US$1.6 billion from the sale of its hair-care products. , Clairol manufactures hair-coloring products sold under the brand names "Natural Instincts", "Nice 'n Easy", and "Perfect Lights".

Industry makeover

In 1931, Lawrence M. Gelb and wife Joan, along with partner James Romeo, discovered Clairol (a hair-coloring preparation) while traveling in France. They co-founded the Clairol company, and imported the product to U.S. salons. In 1949, the single-step Miss Clairol Hair Color Bath was introduced to the U.S. beauty industry. When Clairol sales representatives gave a live demonstration of Miss Clairol at the International Beauty Show in New York City, thousands of

hairdresser A hairdresser is a person whose occupation is to cut or style hair in order to change or maintain a person's image. This is achieved using a combination of hair coloring, haircutting, and hair texturing techniques. A Hairdresser may also be re ...

s and

beautician Cosmetology (from Greek , ''kosmētikos'', "beautifying"; and , ''-logia'') is the study and application of beauty treatment. Branches of specialty include hairstyling, skin care, cosmetics, manicures/ pedicures, non-permanent hair removal such a ...

s gathered to watch. Bruce Gelb (son of Lawrence and Joan, and a former Clairol executive) described the scene in a ''New Yorker'' article: "They were astonished. This was to the world of hair color what computers were to the world of adding machines. The sales guys had to bring buckets of water and do the rinsing off in front of everyone, because the hairdressers in the crowd were convinced we were doing something to the models behind the scenes". In 1956, after two decades of selling the company's hair tint to beauty salons, Clairol launched an at-home version of Miss Clairol Hair Color Bath and became a household name. The successful advertising campaign used to promote the new version of the product used the

catchphrase A catchphrase (alternatively spelled catch phrase) is a phrase or expression recognized by its repeated utterance. Such phrases often originate in popular culture and in the arts, and typically spread through word of mouth and a variety of mass ...

, "Does she...or doesn't she? Only her hairdresser knows for sure". Within six years of Miss Clairol's launch, 70% of women were coloring their hair. In 1957, the Gelbs sold their company to Bristol-Myers. Sons Bruce and Richard L. Gelb filled executive positions at the

pharmaceutical A medication (also called medicament, medicine, pharmaceutical drug, medicinal drug or simply drug) is a drug used to diagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease. Drug therapy ( pharmacotherapy) is an important part of the medical field and ...

company; Richard became chief executive officer in 1972. Bristol-Myers merged with Squibb Corporation to form

Bristol-Myers Squibb The Bristol Myers Squibb Company (BMS) is an American multinational pharmaceutical company. Headquartered in New York City, BMS is one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies and consistently ranks on the ''Fortune'' 500 list of the lar ...

, and Richard Gelb remained the merged company's CEO until 1993. Procter & Gamble purchased the Clairol division from Bristol-Myers Squibb in 2001 for $4.95 billion. In 2016 Clairol was acquired by

Coty Coty may refer to: *Coty, Inc., an American beauty products manufacturer *Coty Award, the Coty American Fashion Critics' Awards (1943-1984) by Coty, Inc. *COTY, abbreviation for Car of the Year awards People * François Coty (1874–1934), perfum ...

from P&G as part of a $12.5 billion acquisition of beauty brands. On December 1, 2020, Coty completed sale of Wella, Clairol, OPI and ghd brands stake to

KKR KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strateg ...

for $2.5bn in cash whilst retaining 40% stake in the standalone company. On October 1, 2021, Coty announced that it would sell approximately 9% of its shares to KKR for $426.5 million. The deal cuts Coty's stake in Wella, Clairol, OPI and ghd brands to around 30.6%. On November 8, 2021, Coty agreed to sell an approximate 4.7% stake in Wella to

in exchange for the redemption of approximately 56% of KKR's remaining convertible preferred shares in Coty. The deal reduces Coty's total shareholding in Wella, Clairol, OPI and ghd brands to approximately 25.9%. KKR will continue to have a 2.4% ownership stake in Coty on an as-converted basis.

Advertising history

Clairol's one-step home hair color was a breakthrough in the beauty industry, as was its

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

campaign. Clairol hired the advertising firm

Foote, Cone & Belding Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB), is one of the largest global advertising agency networks. It is owned by Interpublic Group and was merged in 2006 with Draft Worldwide, adopting the name Draftfcb. In 2014 the company rebranded itself as FCB. Parent ...

, which assigned the account to junior copywriter

Shirley Polykoff Shirley Polykoff (January 18, 1908 – June 4, 1998) was a pioneering woman in American advertising, rising from an entry-level copywriter to a senior executive. Her "Does She... Or Doesn't She?" branding slogan accompanied by "Hair Color So ...

, the only female copywriter at the firm. Polykoff's future mother-in-law inspired the "Does she...or doesn't she?" slogan. After meeting Polykoff for the first time, she took her son aside and asked him about the true color of his girlfriend's hair. "Does she color her hair, or doesn't she?" the embarrassed Polykoff could imagine her mother-in-law-to-be asking. Although Polykoff did color her hair, the practice was not something to which women openly admitted during the Depression, when her future mother-in-law first asked the question. In 1956 when Polykoff was assigned the Clairol campaign, hair dye was not considered to be something used by genteel women. To counter the stigma of hair color and create a wholesome, sentimental image for Clairol, early print ads—some of which were shot by fashion photographers

Richard Avedon Richard Avedon (May 15, 1923 – October 1, 2004) was an American fashion and portrait photographer. He worked for ''Harper's Bazaar'', ''Vogue'' and ''Elle'' specializing in capturing movement in still pictures of fashion, theater and danc ...

and

Irving Penn Irving Penn (June 16, 1917October 7, 2009) was an American photographer known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. Penn's career included work at ''Vogue'' magazine, and independent advertising work for clients including Iss ...

—featured girl-next-door models accompanied by children with hair the same color. "Does she...or doesn't she?" became an effective slogan; within six years, 70% of all adult women were coloring their hair, and Clairol's sales increased fourfold. In 1967, Polykoff was inducted into the Advertising Hall of Fame. The company's "If I've only one life to live, let me live it as a blonde" slogan was recorded for the ad campaign by actress Rosemary Rice. The company achieved notoriety in the late 1990s and early 2000s for its ads for Clairol Herbal Essences shampoo. Said to be "a totally organic experience", some ads featured women washing their hair and making

orgasm Orgasm (from Greek , ; "excitement, swelling") or sexual climax is the sudden discharge of accumulated sexual excitement during the sexual response cycle, resulting in rhythmic, involuntary muscular contractions in the pelvic region chara ...

-like sounds.

Additional slogans

Clairol continued to market its hair-color products with advertising slogans. As early as 1956 and during the 1960s, ads for Lady Clairol asked, "Is it true blondes have more fun?"; those for Loving Care asked, "What would your husband do if suddenly you looked ten years younger?" When the company introduced Nice 'n Easy, the first at-home shampoo-in hair color, women were told, "The closer he gets, the better you look". Radiantly Red was advertised with "Some lucky girls are born red. Others catch up". Clairol's "Does she...or doesn't she?" legacy continues; it was one of the brand campaigns featured in 2008's "The Real Men and Women of Madison Avenue and Their Impact on American Culture" exhibit at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

's Science, Industry and Business Library.

Clairol products

The Clairol hair-coloring line includes permanent hair color, semipermanent hair color, and highlighting and blonding products. As of 2014, Clairol's hair-color products are sold under these brands: * Nice 'n Easy * Natural Instincts * Perfect Lights * Balsam * Hydrience * Ultress The company's website includes a link to discontinued products.

Corporate timeline

* 1931: Founding of Clairol * 1949: Miss Clairol Hair Color Bath launched, the first one-step hair color product for professional (salon) use * 1956: Miss Clairol Hair Color Bath—the first at-home permanent hair color—debuts. * 1959: Pharmaceutical company

purchases Clairol from the Gelbs. Sons Richard L. and Bruce fill executive positions at the company. * 1960: Luis Quinga, born in Quito, Ecuador, is hired as International Master Mechanics Ambassador, forever changing the face of Clairol. * 1965: Clairol launches Nice 'n Easy—the first shampoo-in hair color—with the slogan, "The closer he gets, the better you look". * 1967: Richard Gelb becomes president of Bristol-Myers Squibb. * 1972–1993: Gelb becomes CEO of Bristol-Myers Squibb. * 2001: Procter & Gamble purchases Clairol division from Bristol-Myers Squibb. * 2003: Procter & Gamble acquires Wella for its P&G Professional Care division, continuing its expansion into the professional sector of the hair care-products business. * 2007: P&G Beauty announces it will close its Stamford, Conn. site. Plant operations in Stamford's Cove neighborhood will be split between Massachusetts and Mexico by 2010, with administrative offices in Cincinnati. * 2016: Clairol is acquired from P&G by Coty as part of a $12.5 billion acquisition of beauty brands.

Popular references

According to writer

Malcolm Gladwell Malcolm Timothy Gladwell (born 3 September 1963) is an English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for ''The New Yorker'' since 1996. He has published seven books: '' The Tipping Point: How Little ...

, Clairol captured the

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

sensibilities of the day with a shampoo-in hair color and memorable advertising slogans. Author of

social psychology Social psychology is the scientific study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the real or imagined presence of other people or by social norms. Social psychologists typically explain human behavior as a result of the ...

bestsellers (''

The Tipping Point ''The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference'' is the debut book by Malcolm Gladwell, first published by Little, Brown in 2000. Gladwell defines a tipping point as "the moment of critical mass, the threshold, the boiling po ...

'' and ''

Blink Blinking is a bodily function; it is a semi-autonomic rapid closing of the eyelid. A single blink is determined by the forceful closing of the eyelid or inactivation of the levator palpebrae superioris and the activation of the palpebral portio ...

''), Gladwell wrote in "True Colors" (a 1999 ''

New Yorker New Yorker or ''variant'' primarily refers to: * A resident of the State of New York ** Demographics of New York (state) * A resident of New York City ** List of people from New York City * ''The New Yorker'', a magazine founded in 1925 * '' The ...

'' history of hair dye), "In writing the

history of women Women's history is the study of the role that Woman, women have played in history and Historiography, the methods required to do so. It includes the study of the history of the growth of woman's rights throughout recorded history, personal achieve ...

in the

postwar In Western usage, the phrase post-war era (or postwar era) usually refers to the time since the end of World War II. More broadly, a post-war period (or postwar period) is the interval immediately following the end of a war. A post-war period ...

era, did we forget something important? Did we leave out hair?"

References

External links

*{{Official website, https://www.clairol.com/en-US/ Hair care products Former Procter & Gamble brands Companies based in Fairfield County, Connecticut American companies established in 1931 Coty Inc. Bristol Myers Squibb 1959 mergers and acquisitions 2001 mergers and acquisitions 2016 mergers and acquisitions