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PATRONIZED BY THE ROYAL FAMILY,
RECOMMENDED BY THE FACULTY,
And adopted at the Toilettes of most Ladies of Fashion.
ATKINSON'S CURLING FLUID,
A PREPARATION of balsamic vegetable ingredients, stands unrivalled for beautifying and nourishing the hair, gives it a gloss equal to the finest silk, and conveys, even to the weakest hair, such a tone of strength and elasticity, that it will retain its curl in exercise or in damp weather: it eradicates the scurf, &c.; and by its subtle, nutritive qualities, it gives such stimulus to the natural moisture which nourishes the hair, as occasions it to grow on Eye-brows, Whiskers, and Mustachios, with the most beautiful luxuriance; it preserves the hair from ever changing colour, or falling off, to the latest period of life; and where the head is actually bald, it will, in most cases, regenerate it in all its pristine youth and beauty. Sold in bottles 3s. 6d.; 6s.; and one Guinea each, by the Proprietor, Jas. Atkinson, Perfumer, 43, Gerard-street, Soho-sq. London; and, by appointment, by Mr. Smyth, perfumer to his Majesty, New Bond-street; Bayley and Blew, Cockspur-street; Rigge, 63, Cheapside; Davison, 59, Fleet-street; and by most Perfumers, Hair-Dressers, and Medicine Venders in the United Kingdom.RECOMMENDED BY THE FACULTY,
And adopted at the Toilettes of most Ladies of Fashion.
ATKINSON'S CURLING FLUID,
ATKINSON'S VEGETABLE DYE.
The only innocent and effectual article ever invented, for changing the colour of the Hair on the Head or Whiskers, from a Red or Grey, to a permanent and beautiful Auburn or Black. Price 5s; 10s 6d. ; and one Guinea.*** Inclosed with each Bottle of the Fluid and Dye, is "An Essay on the Hair," describing its nature, and pointing out the means to recover and preserve it to the latest period of life, &c. with numerous respectable testimonies of the efficacy of the Curling Fluid, and various information relative to the Hair, well worth the attention of all who value the ornament of a " fine head of Hair."
Caution.—Ask for Atkinson's Fluid or Dye, and observe the Signature, as there are various servile Imitations, of a most noxious quality.
— The Repository of arts, literature, commerce, manufactures, fashions and politics, Advertisements for February 1814, Rudolph Ackermann
Illustration: Mrs. Isaac Cuthbert, by Sir Thomas Lawrence, 1816. courtesy WikiGallery.
One of us -- 
7 comments:
Patronized by the Royal Family...with the most beautiful luxuriance...eradicates the scurf...servile Imitations...
A golden age of advertising.
Wouldn't it be great if this stuff actually WORKED?
Is Mr. Atkinson still in business? I could swear I've encountered his ads recently. Perhaps on late-night television or in the back pages of magazines or possibly on the subway.
Kind of makes me wonder what kind of noxious things there were in that concoction. Arsenic comes to mind...
What I love is how closely the claims match claims made today about shampoos. I have to wonder whether ours are more effective. And every day we seem to hear more about an ingredient suddenly discovered to be noxious. OTOH, these might have actually been pretty good products. See? This is why I love history. I've found ads for Atkinson's miraculous fluid in later decades, and I'm going to look around to find out if he's still around, like Pears & some other soap/cosmetic businesses.
Once you start researching shampoo ingredients and their functions, you realize how much of it is just slick marketing. 'Shampoo is made by lying liars who lie' is an apt one-sentence description of the situation, no matter what era we're talking about.
I love the way these old adverts are written. Better than my box of Clairol.
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