Bear's grease was a popular treatment for men with hair loss from at least as early as 70 CE until about the First World War. The myth of its effectiveness is based on the belief that as are very hairy, their fat would assist hair growth in others.[ Hildegard of Bingen (1098–1179), Benedictine mystic, composer and woman of letters, also recommended the use of the substance in her Physica (repeated in her Causae et Curae).]
Preparation
In the Roman Empire, according to Dioscorides, bear fat was removed from the around the kidneys of the bear then manually rubbed in cold rain water. The rinsed bear fat was then set in a ceramic jar with water and heated and stirred over a coal fire. It was then strained, placed in a second jar, melted for a second time, and then had the "filth" removed from the bottom. After being melted for a third time and placed in a mortar, it was stored in sealed or corked jars.
Bear's grease was made from the fat of the brown bear mixed with beef bone marrow and a perfume to disguise the smell. Before the start of the twentieth century, manufacturers were substituting pig,
It was speculated that 99% of “bear grease” in 1850s England actually contained pig fat, and unscrupulous manufacturers would sometimes keep a bear skin, which they would attach to a dead pig carcass. The purpose of this display was to convince customers that they were selling genuine bear grease.
Europe
During the Roman Empire, various parts of the bear were recommended for both cosmetic and medicinal purposes. Greco-Roman physician and writer Dioscorides describes uses of bear grease and gives specific instructions on obtaining and storing the substance in his 1st century pharmacopoeia De Materia Medica. Dioscorides writes that bears' fat is "thought to make hair destroyed by Hair loss grow again, and is good for chilblains."
The general public believed that grease from Russian bears was the best available.
Professor John Strachan in his book, Advertising and Satirical Culture in the Romantic Period notes that Atkinsons of London were best known for their bear's grease product, which remained in production until after the First World War.
Among the members of the Ursari community, a group of nomadic Romani people bear trainers, who manufactured objects of bone, it became widespread to treat the material with bear fat, a luxury good which, they believed, helped make the products in question more durable.[ Delia Grigore, Curs de antropologie şi folclor rrom , hosted by Romanothan, retrieved 24 June 2007] The fat was also being sold to Romanians as medicine to combat rheumatism and skeletal disorders, together with bear hairs that were a popular amulet.[ Eugen Şendrea, "Distracţii de tîrgoveţi", in Ziarul de Bacău, 26 May 2007; retrieved 24 June 2007]
Native American use
The use of bear's grease among the Native Americans on their hair to make it shinier was widespread. Other popular substances included deer marrow and raccoon fat. In the Northeast tribes of the Sauk people, Huron tribe, and Delaware tribe, the daily use of bear grease on their hair was popular among both men and women. Men in the Dakota Sioux and Crow people tribes also regularly used bear's grease.[ Music and Art: West and Antes , Cathy Fuller, WGBH, 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2014.]
