Boomers Everywhere Will Remember These Hygiene Products From The '60s

It's no secret that there are plenty of millennial hygiene habits that boomers just don't understand.  From many millennials' decision to forego antiperspirant and deodorant, embrace their body hair, and even ditch their top sheets, boomers everywhere have been left scratching their heads for quite some time. Conversely, however, there are a lot of hygiene products from the 1960s that boomers remember that millennials never even knew existed. Cases in point: Prell shampoo, Rayette Aqua Net, Ipana toothpaste, Dippity-do setting gel, and the ever-popular Ivory bar soap; these hygiene products serve as a walk down memory lane and even a warm hug for many boomers.

According to marketing expert Peter Hubbell, boomers — also known as the "TV generation" — remain especially fond of the brands that shaped their youth, most likely due to the way they were targeted by the advertising industry directly through their televisions. "A generation of consumers who grew up in an era of unprecedented optimism (the boomers), and is already prone to being positive, is subconsciously bolstering their positive outlook on life every time they recall the most potent memories of their lives," Hubbell said on Next Avenue, explaining the generation's tendency to view their favorite old brands through rose colored glasses (via Forbes). And yes, that goes for their hygiene products, too. Let's discuss, shall we?

Are you even a boomer if you didn't use Prell shampoo? Prell shampoo first burst onto the scene in 1947 by way of Procter & Gamble's advertising it as a product that made hair come "radiantly alive." But it wasn't until the 1960s that the thick, translucent green shampoo — with an imitation pearl in the bottom of the bottle, to boot — became a household staple. "As a kid growing up in the 60's my mother always bought Prell Shampoo. I am not sure why she bought this particular brand. The amazing thing was when I would go to friends house they would have Prell in their bathrooms too," one Facebook user recalled about the vintage hygiene product. Pure [Prell] nostalgia in a bottle! 

Rest assured, all the boomers know and love their Rayette Aqua Net. But honestly, how could they not? Neither rain nor shine nor sleet nor hail had anything on this hairspray! The story goes that the tough-as-nails aerosol hairspray first started showing up in retail stores in 1961. Only a few short years later, in 1964, it had already become the top dog of all hairsprays in the United States. But don't just take our word for it. "In [a] house of 4 girls, in the 60s and 70s, it was used a lot. Lol," one Boomer lovingly recalled on Facebook. Meanwhile, another joked, "Best Hair Glue!" 

Ipana toothpaste first came on the market in 1901. But it didn't really become a household name until the 1950s, thanks to its mascot, Bucky Beaver, who starred in its commercials and even sang a snazzy jingle that kept the product at the forefront of everyone's mind. Earworm, anyone? The jingle became so popular that it even earned a spot in "Grease," the famous 1978 classic film. "My mom used to sing this to us when we were brushing our teeth (in the early 60's)," one Instagram user recalled about the blast-from-the-past toothpaste. Meanwhile, another wrote, "I still sing this to my GrandBears while they brush their teeth. BRUSHA BRUSHA BRUSHA."

Long before electric rollers became mainstream, women used heatless hair rollers on damp hair and then slept in them to achieve the perfect bouncy curl. Alas, the long, laborious process was all for naught if you didn't have the proper product to set the style. Enter: Dippity-do setting gel. "I can still see my mother dip her comb in the green jar and comb that mess through her hair, " one Facebook user recalled fondly about the Jell-O-like product. Another wrote, "My mom used it. I loved dipping my fingers in the jar." File that one under hygiene rules for women in the 1950s that would leave Gen Z baffled.

Hope Soap floats? It's no secret that boomers love their bar soap, the same outdated shower tool millennials can't stand using. However, one particular brand reigns supreme in the hearts and minds of the boomer generation: Ivory. Curiously, the brand's claim to fame was its ability to float and being "99+44⁄100% Pure" — whatever that means. "Even if you've not used Ivory Soap you know about it and you remember it," branding expert David Placek told CBS News in 2022 about the brand's strategic marketing campaign centered around its buoyancy.