In 1931, Lawrence M. Gelb, a chemical broker, discovered and bought "Clairol" hair color in Europe to market in the United States. From the start, he promoted Clairol with the idea that beautiful hair was every woman's right, and that hair color, then considered risqué, was no different from other cosmetics. With the 1956 introduction of "Miss Clairol," the first at-home hair coloring formula, Clairol hair color and care products revolutionized the world of hair color. The do-it-yourself hair color "was to the world of hair color what computers were to the world of adding machines," Bruce Gelb, who worked with his father and brother at Clairol, told New Yorker contributor Malcolm Gladwell.

The firm's 1956 marketing campaign for a new, Miss Clairol product ended the social stigma against hair coloring and contributed to America's lexicon. Shirley Polykoff's ad copy—which read "Does she or doesn't she...