Elvis’ hair-care and skin-care secrets combined with stage make-up, deliberate tanning and a simple but consistent skin routine. He used heavier stage foundations and eyeliner for performances, took tanning pills and sun exposure to deepen his tan, and favoured basic cleansers and emollients (Noxzema, Neutrogena soap, Vaseline) plus careful hair and brow tinting.
Could you even envision Elvis as a natural blond, sandy blond hair that is? It’s hard to picture it when we are accustomed to his mid-night black hair shade. Elvis would dye his hair black every two weeks because blonde hair has difficulty to absorb colour. Elvis first relied on shoe polish early in his career before switching it out for more luxurious, professional hair products.
Before Black Velvet:
The Shocking Homemade Secret Behind Elvis’ Iconic Pompadour
When you picture Elvis Presley, where does your mind instantly drawn towards? His fashion? His make-up? His sharp, jet-black pompadour gleaming under the ever so blinding Hollywood studio spotlights? The pompadour became the definitive visual trademark of 20th-century rock-and-roll masculinity.
In the early 1950s, long before he had access to elite studio stylists or professional salon colourists, a young Elvis was fiercely determined to engineer a bold, high-contrast visual brand that would shatter the conservative, grey-flannel norms of mid-century style. Early in Elvis’ career when his finances were tight he turned to an extremely un-conventional and some may add dangerous home-made grooming alternative. He would dye his hair with black shoe polish.
He would meticulously massage the dark shoe polish directly into his sandy-blond strands, blending it with thick layers of petroleum jelly to force the hair into that signature pompadour of his.
While the shoe polish created the high-contrast illusion that was needed at the time, despite it being volatile, drying formula that wreaked havoc on his scalp. Once he had established himself, Elvis’ routine evolved into a multi-step regimen centered around a highly specific salon formula. Elvis replaced shoe polish for Miss Clairol 51N (Black Velvet) hair dye. Elvis then would balance the hair dye with intensive Vitamin E oil treatments to restore his hair’s natural moisture barrier under hot stage lights.
Elvis understood that your image is an important aspect to your personal brand which is why he was strict on producing and executing his brand.
Elvis’ Skincare Routine:
Vitamin E & Deep Hydration
The Complexion Focus.
Long before it became mainstream for men to openly discuss skincare, Elvis was incredibly meticulous about his skin-care routine to combat the heavy stage make-up he wore.
The Formula.
He relied on an intensive, daily multi-step regimen centered around heavy hydration and pure Vitamin E oil to keep his skin looking perfectly smooth and clear on camera. He frequently used a custom blend of moisturizing creams to prevent dehydrated skin under intense studio spotlights.
There you have it, Elvis’ Beauty Secrets! Hope you enjoyed it.
I’m Stacey Hobbs, thanks for reading. Until next time!
do you feel fabulous today?
Face by Stace 