All in a Lather

The 1970s gave us Herbal Essences, Flex, and Lemon Up shampoo. But 50 years later, we can’t stop thinking about the one scented with musk and bubble gum

By Christa D'Souza

Summer 1976. That was the year of the American Bicentennial and the Queen’s Silver Jubilee. That was the year “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart” was at the top of the charts, and I turned 16. That was the year my sister and I got to escape the heat wave in the U.K. and spend two weeks with our Auntie Pauline on Cape Cod.

That was also, crucially, the year I discovered a hair product called Gee, Your Hair Smells Terrific. I vividly remember unscrewing the cap off its fuchsia bottle in the South Wellfleet General Store and inhaling that heady mix of musk and bubble gum.