Cher Hair

Cher was a major hair influencer in the 1960s and 1970s. Girls across America took irons to their hair to get long, straight “Cher hair.”

She went from heavy bangs to bangs with wings in the 1960s. Then she went bang-less in the early to mid-1970s. She made striking changes to her hair in the 1980s.

She complemented all of that with wigs made by Renate Leuschner.

 

 

The 1960s

In the mid-60s, Sonny & Cher did an advice column for 16 Magazine. Here are some of the hair-raising questions and answers:

Dear Cher, I think you have the most beautiful hair in the world. I‘d give anything if my hair looked as lovely as yours. I’ve got a real “fright wig.” My hair is dry and bushy, and it looks terrible after every shampoo. Can you give me any suggestions on how I can make it more manageable? Miserable, Atlanta, Ga.

Dear Miserable, I’ve found that a good brushing (with your head down) with a natural bristle (not nylon) every morning and night helps to solve dry hair problems. Try an olive oil or a baby oil massage once a week and then wrap your hair in a towel dipped in very hot water and wrung out. Wash out the oil with a mild shampoo and use a crème rinse afterwards. Try spraying your hair lightly with a lanolin hair spray. Stay away from pronged hair clips and never go swimming without wearing a tight bathing cap. I think it would really serve you well to order 16’s Beauty and Popularity Book. It covers most hair problems in depth. Thank you for the lovely compliment on my hair. Good luck.

Dear Cher, When I look at a picture of you, I just flip. You look so beautiful—your eyes are sparkling and your hair is long and shining. Then I look into the mirror and I just hate myself. Please, please tell me how I can get to look like you! Miserable

[I’ve edited the response to the hair-related content.]

Dear Miserable, I am glad you like the way I look, believe me—but in doing so you are overlooking a most important fact. I am me and you are you! I am quite sure you are just as pretty (if not prettier) than I am, in your own way. So forget about me and let’s concentrate on you…You can keep your hair shining by washing and brushing it regularly. If you want it long, then let it grow. Long hair takes extra brushing, so be sure that you have the time required to take care of it. If you do these things, you will begin to discover your own hidden beauty, and soon you will find yourself liking that little girl you see in the mirror!

Dear Cher, I have very dark, coarse hair on my forearms and on my face. Do you have any suggestion as to how I could get rid of this unwanted hair? Hairy, Ft. Collins, Col. 

Dear Hairy,  If you are under 16, I advise you to try to ignore this excess hair for the time being. It may just be a passing thing and soon gradually begin to disappear. But if you are over 16, it is probably going to be a permanent problem, and you should speak to your family doctor about recommending a good electrolysist. There are people who scientifically remove hairs permanently—one at a time. Do not use “hair removing” creams and plasters on your body or face, as it is very dangerous.

Dear Cher, My hair is at the length where I can’t do anything with it. It almost touches my shoulders, and it flops when it should flip. It also needs straightening (I have a deadly permanent and when the weather is damp my hear gets absolutely kinky!). Any help would be appreciated. Super-Curly, Vacaville, Calif.

Dear Super-Curly, First of all, you must let your perm grow out before you can do a thing. Sorry about that—but it is a must. When your hair is grown out, if it is still too curly (and if it “reverts” in damp weather), then you will have to have it professionally straightened at a beauty shop. They have harmless, easy straightening methods—it’s like you will have the opposite of a permanent. After your hair is straightened you will just have to experiment with a variety of hair styles and ways of setting your hair. Eventually, you are bound to hit upon one that is just right for you.

Dear Cher, How long did it take you to grow your hair? I’m growing mine long and can’t wait until it gets as long as yours. It’s really beautiful. I hope you never cut it! Madeline, Costa Mesa, Calif.

Dar Madeline, Thanks for the compliment. I had my hair cut very short when I was 16, and it’s been growing every since. I keep it about 24 inches long, and cut off an inch or so every three months. If you watch the ends, when yours start to split, cut a little off and your hair will grow in faster and healthier. Good luck!

The 1970s

In Cher Superstar (1975), the magazine says Cher does her own hair and experiments with wigs, curlers and hair pieces.

For the hair on her armpits and legs, she had that all removed with electrolysis so “no tedious shaving.”

In “The special look of all-out glamour, Cher” article (date unknown)

Cher says, “I wash it every day with Milk and Honey shampoo from Jheri Redding and then I use a Pantene conditioner which I found to be the absolute best for long hair. I have it trimmed once or twice a year.”

Cher learned from television that the safest thing for hair versatility was investing in a wig room. Her long-time hairdresser, Renata Leuschner from the Sonny & Cher Comedy Hour, designed many, many wigs for the Cher TV shows and concert tours.

The Cher Makeup Center (1977)

In the late 1970s you could also practice brushing and styling Cher hair yourself with a brush, curlers, ribbon and some barrettes.

The 1980s

In Shake Your Head, Darling (1982) Cher says that she has her hair color done at beauty shop every 6 weeks.

Jose Eber says this about Cher Hair: “Cher can wear anything. She feels more comfortable with long hair, but she has had short hair too. She has extremely straight hair and no perm. We get that volume she likes, and make curls by rolling with tissue paper. The top section of her hair is cut shorter than the rest so we can get volume and shape. Cher loves to look differently constantly, and this haircut allows her to.”

Cher’s pic with Jose Eber from the book (left).

Text: “I heard from Susie Coehlo and Farrah and Kate Jackson that there was a hot new hairstylist in town. Also, Sonny had been having his lovely locks cut by him, and even Chastity was having him cut her hair, so I figured this was a family affair and I might as well get in on the act.

I had my really really long hair cut when I was in London, so it reached about the middle of my back after the cut that was four and a half, maybe five, years ago. When I went to Jose, I trusted him right away. Then we did some photo sessions and TV specials together, and if I wanted my hair cut at one o’clock in the morning because that was the only time I had–since my schedule is crazy–well, Jose came over and cut my hair. We’re both night people. The time we cut my hair really short, it was midnight. It was a spontaneous decision. The next day, I decided to let it grow long again.”

She’s talking about this cut from  the late 1970s (right).

That short cut looked oddly domestic on her. The needlepointing in the picture probably didn’t help the situation.

Anyway, Eber said you have to avoid fasting, crash diets and fast food to have great hair. He commands no long hair after the age of 40 (unless you’re a Blue lifestyle group…or Cher) but nobody is following that rule anymore so thffftt Jose Eber.

In Megastars by Richard Bernstein (1984) there is a page about Cher describing her style change from the 1970s to 1980s (a bit dismissively).

“Today, Cher’s famous claws for nails are clipped. So is the windfall of flossy hair. But in the beginning, there was Cher with the pure silken-like curtain of hair that fell below her waist…”

The Skunk Hair

This is Cher hair after the movie Mask (1985) when she had to cut her hair off due to damage incurred preparing for the movie Mask:

This is Cher getting her hair washed in the makeover scene of the movie Moonstruck (1987).

The 1990s

Tips from Forever Fit by Cher and Robert Haas (1991)

Cher says she has lots of fine hair and has had perms and has bleached and dyed her hair in the past. By her mid-30s, her hair had started falling out and breaking off.

To fix it, she used specialized treatments from Jheri Redding which were recommended by Michelle Pfeiffer who used the same after her movie Scarface.

Meanwhile, Cher continued to use Renate Leuschner for her concerts and wigs for the following movies:  Mask, Witches of Eastwick, Suspect, Moonstruck and Mermaids. She wore her own hair in the movies Silkwood and Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean.

At the time Forever Fit was written Cher was using Philip Kingsley shampoo and conditioner which she said was very gentle. She also recommended products by Aveda, Nexxus, Jheri Redding, Lori Davis and a brand called [Focus 21] Sea Plasma. She says over-the-counter hair products are too drying to hair.

We use too much heat and chemicals, mousses, gels, prays, dryers and curlers, Cher said. But she did recommend Jose Eber’s dry-hair mousse because it was not alcohol based. (This idea will come back again in a few years during the second Lori Davis infomercial.) But it’s interesting that Cher was recommending the Lori Davis brand in her book.

Cher also said she used a non-peroxide rinse to get natural red out of her hair. She said hair could be dried out by weather, (even radiators in winter) or high altitudes (like Christmases in the mountains of Aspen). She said we all should go to Tahiti or the South of France where there is humify and soft water.

The Lori Davis Infomericals

In the early 1990s, Cher did infomercials and print ads for Lori Davis Hair products.

  

I just have to say that as a kid, I loved TV demonstrations: RONCO knives, Milton Bradley board games, Julia Child stirring up a sauce. I loved to learn how things were used. Which is why there was nothing more frustrating and mysterious to me as a feminine product ad. What does Midol do??

I also loved beauty products and watching them demonstrated. And the mail order kits…the secret package delivered like a decoder ring. So I was primed to be the #1 fan (and only fan) of Cher’s infomercials.

In the article “Losing Pitcher” from May 21, 1993 Ryan Murphy asks, “have Cher’s cheesy infomercials spoiled her future film prospects?…Turn on the TV anytime day or night and catch her singing the praises of Lori Davis’ Hair Products, hawking her own cosmetic line, or appearing in regular TV ads exalting the virtues of Equal. Cher, 47, is now getting ready to resume her film career. But some insiders are saying Hollywood is not eager to welcome the Oscar-winning actress back.  In her quest to rid the world of overweight women with bad hair and even worse skin, Cher may have irreparably damaged her film career. ‘’Why should I pay her millions to star in a movie,’’ says one studio executive, ‘’when I can watch her with Lori Davis for free?’’ Says another exec, ‘’Jack Nicholson doesn’t do TV for a reason. He figures if you see him on the small screen, why would you want to see him on the big one? Cher should learn a lesson from him.’”

Except that movie stars doing commercials is as old as Hollywood itself.

Murphy’s only argument above is that if a movie star stoops to appearing on TV “for free,” no one will want to pay to see them in a movie. Is this what happened to Michael J. Fox back in the 1980s? We saw him every week on Family Ties and yet didn’t we turn Back to the Future into a box office success? Did we love Elizabeth Taylor any less for selling perfume and starting that whole trend? Are these movie stars throwing their careers down the tubes today: Drew Barrymore selling Cover Girl, Gene Hackman doing voiceovers for Lowes, Mark Wahlberg when he modeled Calvin Klein underwear, Jeff Bridges doing Hyundai voiceovers?

Both Saturday Night Live and the show In Living Color did respective spoofs of Cher’s Lori Davis infomercials. And the In Living Color spoof was downright mean-spirited without even having the decency to be funny. They did a low-rent takeoff of the Lori Davis sets and outfits. They had Cher calling herself a slut and saying “money is more important than grinding Boy Scouts.”  Jim Carrey played “Lorie Davies” and said, “with looks like this, what would I possibly have to say about beauty?”  Just being around Lorie Davies makes anyone else look better was their cruel arguement. “Find an unattractive person of your own, at the DMV or Kmart.” Cher’s best friend asks Cher, “Why are we doing this?” Cher responds, “Because the perfume’s not selling.” It was offensive on many levels.

Which brings us back to asking why all the fuss about Cher’s infomercials? No one freaked out when she started to sell Uninhibited perfume. Nobody wrote disparaging essays when Cher or Jane Fonda or Christy Brinkley started pitching health clubs, books and tapes.

Is it shampoo? Plenty of celebrities sold shampoo. Brooke Shields famously sold Wella Balsam shampoo. Andie MacDowell sold L’Oreal. Was it the fact that the commercial format was an infomercial on late-night TV and not your typical 30-second plug? Was it that talk-show format that so thee offended?

I mean, isn’t a 20-minute commercial just the logical extension of a 30-second one? Why is one so much more upsetting than the other? An infomercial is, for some reason, perceived as over the line. Only “out-there” or “has-been” celebrities would slum it for late-night commercial hawking. Cher’s Equal commercials didn’t spawn any spoofs, after all.

For some reason, a long-form infomercial implies a much larger endorsement than hiring out your hair, voice or skin for a primetime commercial. But it’s a false borderline. Actors are, by definition, always for hire and always selling something.

In the infomercial, Cher says, “People tell me, ‘You’re an actress, you shouldn’t be doing commercials.’ Who would I be if I didn’t share it. I’m letting you in on something. I’m sympathetic. If you’re doing it, I’m somewhere doing it.”

Letting you in on something: that’s a little bit Sunshine Sonny’s Elixir. But as typical as all the other beauty commercials out there.

Today, home shopping TV networks QVC and HSN have seen many celebrities pushing their lines of products, including Marie Osmond, Mariah Carey, Fran Dresher (selling “FranBrand” organic skincare), Pricilla Presley, Suzanne Somers, Susan Lucci, Vanna White, Debbie Reynolds, and Dennis Rodman. Since then Victoria Principal and Christie Brinkley have developed skincare systems.

For some reason, the couch talk-show format didn’t seem to work as well for selling as the counter-top demonstrations have.

For my time, I’d much rather watch Cher’s performance in infomercials than watch her in the movie Faithful, which had no beauty paraphernalia, no ritualistic, quasi-spiritual, ceremonial beauty cult and no supercalifragalistic fairy dust.

No, I get it. Commercialism is tyrannical in our lives, Americans spend too much money on crap and not enough attention on their communities and their own neighbors. But still…a Cher informercial is not a sign of the apocalypse.

The Inaugural Lori Davis Hair Products Ad (1991)

The infomercials were called Focus on Beauty as a framing device. It gave everything the air of an informative lecture.

As a poor, young college student, I sent away for the press kit. The brochure stated, “Nobody and I mean NOBODY can make your hair look better than Lori Davis can.” Cher spoke of Davis’ “special treatments” and how Davis was a “miracle worker.” Celebrity clients were listed: Julia Roberts, Michelle Pfeiffer, Winona Ryder, Ted Danson, Arnold Schwarzenegger. (Those people received zero flack, by the way.)

This advertising tactic is called “bandwagoning.” You are tempted to “jump on the bandwagon” when you hear who else is already using the product.  The brochure also told me that the “studios pay her $3,000 a day: great looking hair doesn’t come cheap.”

If I joined the Hair Care Club, my Hair Necessities Kit would have cost me two payments of $24.95 for one kit or two payments of $19.95 every two months for receiving replacement sets. That’s a $113 value! And I would receive my seventh kit free. Plus, I would also receive a VHS tape called “What the Heck Am I Gonna Do With My Hair?”                                    .

The infomercial started with Cher with curly hair in a tan suit asking us if we “ever look at our hair and wanna cry?” She explains how eight years ago, her hair was ruined on the set of Mask when the hair stylist for the movie colored her hair and instead of turning it red, they got polka-dots. The studio sent Cher to Lori Davis. Cher calls her the hair doctor whose products are “pure magic.” Cher signed up for this infomercial because she “wanted to be a part of it.”

Supposedly we are at Lori Davis’ studio. The place is full of gray animal statues, bland walls with gold trims, and large celebrity photos.

We are now introduced to Lori Davis in a blue suit. She’s a large woman with long blonde hair.  Her hair station in the background is full of her products in thin purple bottles. Lori tells us that Cher is known for her hair.

Lori, Cher and Cher’s friend Paulette Betts (her name when she was married to Allman Brother guitarist Dickey Betts) all sit in a living room area. An array of Lori Davis products sits on a silver tray. Lori promises to sell them to us for “half of what Cher has been paying,” But Lori insists, “my quality wasn’t based on keeping costs low” and she explains how she was able to maintain a high quality product at a low price by devising the club system of distribution.

Lori says she’s spent years perfecting her products and she is “so excited.” She calls Cher “one of her guinea pigs.” Davis says, “products out there don’t live up to their claims” and this made her at first frustrated and then angry. Other products have to keep their costs down and she felt, “I can do better than this.”

They show before and after pics of Paulette’s hair. Paulette’s after-hair does look very shiny.

• They discuss The Clarifier. This product removes pollutants like smog and gets the residue out of the hair. You rotate this product with your shampoo. It comes in a small bottle.
• Perfection is Cher’s favorite product. She says it has a great smell. They call this the ten-minute miracle because it “heals and seals.” Cher asks Lori what the difference is between the hair cuticle and the hair cortex. Lori does not answer her question. She shows pictures of dirty hair. Cher says the hair looks like snails. It’s a picture of Paulette’s hair. They all gasp. Use this product once a week to smooth out the hair. It also adds body and thickens the hair. It’s a deep conditioner and comes in a small bottle.
• The Shampoo is for everyday use and has “extra emollients” or moisturizers. Davis tells us never to use a combo shampoo-conditioner. She says it’s “counter productive” and that “you don’t get the benefit of either.”
• The Daily Conditioner Lori calls her “baby Perfection.” Paulette and Cher talk about how heavy other conditioners are and how they resisted using a daily conditioner. Lori says she has to sometimes force her clients to try this product. “I get pushy.” They all agree her conditioner does not weigh hair down and that it’s very lightweight.
• Paulette loves The Crystalline Shine. Cher agrees. She says her black hair doesn’t really shine and is hard to light for the cameras. “It looks like a big block.” Lori says it only takes “six drops” and that “Ted Danson loves this stuff.”
• Finally, they discuss The Memory Hold. It’s not really a hairspray, Lori says. Hairsprays are tacky. But you can take a brush through your hair after using the Memory Hold.  (The whole tackiness issue would take on a life of its own in the follow-up Lori Davis Infomercial.)

Cher decides it’s time to take a break so we can learn how to order these amazing products. Actress  Mary Kate McGee (from Falcon Crest) with curly hair takes over. Holly Hunter and Larry Hagman give their endorsements. We see other before and after photos. Everyone has huge hair and everyone goes from looking very uncoiffed (no hairstyling or makeup) to full makeup and hair styled. (Such a common beauty sales tactic, I’m surprised it still works.) We see the PowerPoint slide: join the Club for two payments of $19.95; get a replacement every two months; seventh kit is free; you can cancel anytime; you can get extra products for discounts of 60% off.

They offer a 30-day refund “if you are not delighted.” The company lists a Malibu address for orders. One of the testimonials looks like the blonde model for the Aquasentials’ Saving Face video.

After the testimonials Lori says, “I didn’t tell them to say that. I’m really pleased.” Cher says, “you should be. You’ve worked hard on this.” “Twenty-six years,” Lori exclaims.

“Well, we’re just about out of time,” Cher starts to say when Ted Danson walks in. “If I didn’t show up, my career would be over,” he says. Cher rolls her eyes. He continues, “I could lose my agent, my lawyer…” and he kisses Lori.  Cher says, “It’s always nice to see you, Ted” confirming my childhood fantasy that all celebrities hang out together. Ted pretends to steal some product. By the way, Ted Danson hadn’t revealed he wears a toupée yet by then.

Cher does the camera switch to signal the end of the show. She expresses gladness that Lori is finally “bringing her products to the public.”

The Second and Final Lori Davis Hair Products Ad (1993)

This is the second Lori Davis commercial and Cher’s third infomercial program (Aquasentials being the second). Therefore, this one is called Focus on Beauty, Edition III.

Lori Davis is dressed in green and blue this time and Cher is wearing jeans and a maroon jacket. And both she and her friend Paulette now have straight long hair with bangs. They’re also wearing more makeup. And Cher’s sister Georganne now joins them.

This time the girls sit around a square glass coffee table. The coffee table is set with flowers and many purple bottles.

Cher says the Lori Davis’ company is the “fastest growing hair care line in history” and that 400,000 men and women have started using her products. To further entice us, Lori is now offering the first month of the hair care club for free, “That’s how confident [she] is.” In fact, this program is “the best news your hair will ever hear.”

Lori Davis does not spend any time re-acquainting us with the full product line. This segment will zoom in on the new product: the miraculous new hairspray.

The blow-by-blow dialogue of this infomercial is most important because it will be famously parodied pretty much verbatim on Saturday Night Live:

Georganne: Is this aerosol?
Paulette: Aren’t aerosols bad for the environment?

Cher says she has never worn hairspray. “I don’t like it.” But Lori’s is “not tacky, not sticky.” Cher tests the new hairspray and likes it.

Paulette: And it’s not tacky.
Georganne: And it’s not sticky.
Lori Davis: And it holds the hair.
Cher: How? (They all laugh.)
Georganne: That’s the secret!
Lori Davis: That’s the miracle, We’ll have Brad explain everything. [He does not explain the miracle, by the way.]
Cher: My hands are not sticking to my hair.
Lori Davis: It’s a fine mist, no alcohol.
Georganne:  (swings her blonde hair around) There’s a lotta spray in my hair but you don’t get that helmet look.
Lori Davis: All things you want a hairspray to do…
Georganne: Without all the bad things.
Cher: (without emotion) That’s pretty amazing.

We watch a video of models using the hairspray on one side of their heads and Lori Davis’ non-alcohol Memory Hold on the other side. They can’t get their fingers through the regular hairspray side. And when they do, their curls get pulled out of shape. They have aggravated and angry looks on their faces.

Cher: That’s why I don’t like hairspray.
Georganne: It’s very sticky.
Cher: It’s very clunky and drying. If I put it on wet hair, it goes into little shards.
Georganne: What I don’t like, it’s really drying.
Lori Davis: That’s the alcohol in it. Let’s talk to Brad.

They all retire to the lab where Bradford Rope from BioScreen Testing Services is waiting to tell us about the beauty breakthrough. His lab is filled with trays, bottles, tanks, certificates, test tubes and charts. It’s like science prop heaven! Brad explains how aerosol products are bad for the ozone layer and that most products have had their dangerous CFCs (or chlorofluorocarbons) removed long ago. However, in California aerosols still emit 33 million pounds of VOCs (or volatile organic compounds) yearly. Brad brings out the charts. One says “Sales weighted average VOC content for hairsprays currently marketed”

Lori Davis: Forty percent of aerosols are at 94 percent VOCs.

The chart shows Lori Davis’ product at 40 percent. How does Lori Davis get her 40%? Bingo! No alcohol. The second chart says “VOC Analysis of Pump Hairsprays.” Lori Davis hairspray is shown at 40% VOC and the “major brands” (unnamed) are shown at between 80-96%. VOCs. Brad says in January of 1993, California law required aerosols to be at or under 80% VOCs. Loris Davis is already ahead of the game.

Isn’t all this science boring and yet still fascinating?! (Well, it is to me!)

So to recap, there’s also the private club allure, the ivory-tower teacher-student allure, the carnival elixir lure, the exotic recipe from Timbuktu allure, and now the mad scientist angle! Or the slight variation of the European-alternative-doctor angle. Geniuses, think tanks, laboratories, all cracking the formula for beauty here, folks!  This sales pitch is infused with all the smarty-pants jargon I love.

But there’s more!

Brad: Pollution isn’t the only problem with alcohol-based hairsprays. Watch this demonstration.

(A warning pops up on the bottom of the screen: alcohol-based hairsprays are extremely flammable. KEEP AWAY FROM CHILDREN. Do not attempt this demonstration.)

Brad lights a tall candle and sprays the flame with a typical aerosol product. Flames shoot out about a foot from the candle wick. The women all shout out and jump back. Then Brad sprays the candle with a typical pump-style hairspray. A shorter flame shoots out. For the coup de grâce, Lori Davis puts out the flame entirely with her non-alcohol aerosol miracle product.

Cher: That’s pretty amazing. Alcohol causes that flame?
Georganne: Doesn’t your pump spray still have alcohol?
Lori Davis: The pump spray needs it. Otherwise it would take forever to dry. But I’m working on a 100% non-alcohol pump spray.
Brad: Thank you for coming to the lab.

They all leave the fake lab and go sit back in the pseudo living room.

Lori Davis: Now my next breakthrough, Lori Davis says, is my 6-way Spray. It’s not a hairspray. You use it after you shower. Used on towel-dried hair, this is Lori Davis’ version of the leave-in conditioner. The product “lightly conditions, detangles, adds shine and sunscreen.”

Cher: Unbelievable.
Lori Davis: Isn’t it exciting?

When they take a short break to show you how to sign up, Mary Kate McGeehan is back, still with straight hair. West Chester, Pennsylvania is listed as the ordering address now. It’s a $125 value and you get a free trial.

Cher: How can you get away with that?
Georganne: I heard about this last night and I said how is she doing that?
Lori Davis: I am so confident. I have confidence in my products.

Lori predicts that you will feel good because your hair looks good.

Georganne: For all of us, were not gonna go a day without these products.

Similar to the boyfriend who appreciated the Aquasentials products on his girlfriend, Cher tells a boyfriend story for Lori Davis products: “Remember we talked to that woman with a boyfriend and for a million years he never said anything, She starting using them and one day he said, ‘sweetheart you have really beautiful hair.’”

Paulette: Unbelievable. Before my hair was so embarrassing. Now I can have straight hair.
Georganne: It’s a big dream for people with naturally curly hair. They like to do that.

Lori Davis sent producers out to film customers and their amazing experiences.

Cher: Unbelievable. Well, we’re just about out of time. You have nothing to lose except bad hair days.

The infomercial ends on one final testimonial from a girl who obsessively takes her Lori Davis products out of the shower each day so her roommates can’t steal a single drop of these miracle elixirs. Mr. Cher Scholar overhears this and says, “just try to leave them out once and see if anyone would steal them.”

The Saturday Night Live Spoof was with guest-host Christina Applegate, Chris Farley, Julia Sweeny,  Melanie Hutsell and Phil Hartman. The SNL skit was popular and widely seen. It effectively, officially made a joke out of Cher’s infomercials.

Eventually Lori Davis’ purple bottles showed up on the shelves of discount stores like Target (where I finally picked up my bottles). Neither the infomercials, the hair care club or the skin care club were destined to last very long beyond 1993.

These days I regret not buying a single hair or skin club kit. I didn’t fully understand that you had the option of making a one-time purchase. Seriously, these people “had me at hello.” Had I been out of college and gainfully employed, I’d have been a club member in good standing. At the time, the idea of being locked into a club scared me. Getting charged every two weeks scared me. Getting products every few months scared me. What if I started to drown in shampoo bottles? What if I became an unwilling beauty product hoarder!

The 2010s

When the movie Burlesque came out in 2010, there were beauty promos released including this Sebastian hairspray.

In the article What Cher Has To Say About Beauty (2019) from Into the Gloss, there are Cher comments about hair:

“My hair is not that important… when I did Mask, they asked me to change my hair from black to red. The guy that turned it from black to red, I don’t know, didn’t have two brain cells to rub together, and he did a really terrible job. It started breaking and I went into a wig. From there, it went short because my hair was really terrible… I went to my hairdresser and just said, ‘why don’t we do this: we’ll do it black on one side, black on the other, and leave it blonde in the middle. He said, ‘no, that would be terrible’ and I said, ‘well the worst that can happen is I won’t like it.’”

The 2020s

The YouTube video “I tried Cher’s Favorite Shampoo and Conditioner for a Week!” (2022) has an influencer going through recent Cher product plugs.

Fekkai was the hair product mentioned in the video.

The book Style Codes: Cher by Natalie Hammond (2025) deconstructed the history of Cher hair through the decades and talked about Cher wigs in all colors and lengths and styles.

• 1960s fringe very full and straight hair
• 1970s hair “parted down center in sheets of black silk past her waist”
• 1980s big “spider” wigs, big curly hair, mullets, her “actress hair”
• 1990s and beyond, both wigs and natural

The Garnier Diamond Sleek Hair Ad and Q&A (2026)

Garnier Diamond Sleek, or Garnier Fructis Diamond Sleek Shine-Coat Smoothing Spray (the long name), is a “heat-activated anti-frizz and heat protectant spray.” Cher did a commercial  with  Xochitl Gomez that came out on 4 June 2026.

Cher was talking to People Magazine about the 2026 Garnier Diamond Sleek ad and she said “I couldn’t scrunchie to save my ass.” She uses small clips to hold up her hair, she says.

To launch the commercial, Cher also did a Q&A session. The Q&A mostly covers hair but also general beauty advice, celebrity life and fashion. Here are the hair questions:

1. Your sleek, straight hair has been part of your signature look for decades. What does it represent for you personally?
   Cher: I don’t know. It’s always what I’ve felt. You know my mom had long hair. My sister had long hair. My mom used to threaten to cut my hair [chuckle] if I was bad. It’s kinda crazy.
2. At what point did your hair stop being hair and more like a cultural icon?
   Cher: You know I didn’t plan it that way. I just had it long. it’s just what I feel, how I feel. You know, it’s how I feel.
3. What’s a beauty rule you completely ignore?
   Cher: Almost everything. I just don’t believe in rules. I just don’t. It’s like I don’t want it, you know. Tell someone else.
4. What is the secret to Cher hair?
   Cher: I blow dry it upside down. My mother did the same thing.
5. You had so many iconic hair looks. Which was your all-time favorite?
   Cher: My own, you know. Just my own plain.
6. Down and sleek or bouncy blow-out?
   Cher: Both
7. Bangs or never again?
   Cher: Always fabulous. Just depends on how you feel.
8. Do blondes or brunettes have more fun?
   Cher: I don’t know! You’re asking me all these questions and all I think of is both. They’re both. It doesn’t make any difference. It’s how you feel.

Other Stuff

Years ago Robrt Pela and I did a review of the major Eras of Cher Hair from the 1960s to the early 2000s.