Clairol Hair Coloring revolutionized the way American women treated their hair. Introduced to the United States in 1931 by Lawrence M. Gelb (1898–1980), Clairol promoted hair coloring as an acceptable, appealing beauty treatment for every woman, not a risqué change for only the very bold. "Does she or doesn't she?" became the familiar ad campaign for Clairol in the 1950s. More and more women began enhancing their hair colors.

Clairol truly succeeded in making hair coloring like other cosmetics in 1956 with the introduction of "Miss Clairol," the first do-it-yourself hair color. The product was sold with images of homemakers, mothers, and everyday women, not pictures of glamorous beauties. Miss Clairol was a hair color for anyone. From the introduction of Miss Clairol to the 1970s, the number of American women who colored their hair jumped from 7 to 40 percent. And by 2002, hair coloring had become such an...