Not just for cows!

There was a story last month about the latest Tiktok trend. A beauty product known as “bag balm”.

Packaged in a green tin, this ointment was first made for farmers. The “bags” for which it was originally made were cow’s udders. But it’s apparently useful as a face cream, hand cream, anything you want cream.

That this cow cream has become a desirable product is an example of those beauty fads that comes around, often for some cheap item that has been overlooked for fancier options. (Bag Balm ingredients include petroleum jelly and lanolin, common ingredients for many skin creams)

It's also not the only product for animals that has become popular with humans. “Mane ‘n Tail” shampoo is the perfect example, invented for shampooing horses’ manes, but “discovered” by pony club girls as good for their hair too.

(How much of this lore to believe is unclear, and how much to attribute to marketing schtick. While the label still has horses on it, and the bottles are from the kind of sturdy plastic you’d find at a farm supply store, it's quite clear that the bulk of it is sold for human use).

These trends represent a weird genre of life hack: the affordable product from the lower shelf is just as good as the fancy brand! crossed with Hints from Heloise, plus a bonus discovery element. This product was originally made for fancy horses but it's actually good for people too! (Shampoo is chemically pretty similar matter who it's made for or by)

(There is of course a limit to the products for pets we might be interested in trying: few of us would be interested in warming up a can of dog food).

But the air of triumph in finding a hidden bargain, especially one with a unique heritage, is also part of these fads. Something that might've been used by your grandmother is that good, so maybe you don't need that $200 face cream. Look at me on Tiktok putting Nivea cream on my face!

“Rediscovering” cheap(ish) products means all kinds of things have been rediscovered from the lower shelf of the drugstore, for a while it was Egyptian Magic, a cream that’s been on the market since 1991. Its crowded label and low-tech website pitch a certain authenticity against the sleekly designed elite beauty brands.

It also has a bit of an odd mythos written on the label, claiming it is:

“made with the blessings and guidance of our ancestors and with the following pure ingredients: Olive Oil, Bees Wax, Honey, Bee Pollen, Royal Jelly, Bee Propolis & Divine Love.”

(Wacky origin stories and a strange message on the label is a huge part of Dr Bronner’s appeal too, and its a perennial of the “old school bargain”, for the more hippie set).

But cycles of people recognising the value in old-school products mean it’s a recurring theme for coverage. Here’s the New York Times in 1981:

Vaseline? Johnson’s baby shampoo? Have they ever really gone out of fashion? To be “rediscovered” means falling from view for a while. (I’m looking forward to the rediscovery of 4711).

What else I’ve been up to: my post last week got a lot of readers, and I received emails and comments about the real identity of the picture. Several people made suggestions. I hope to follow up when I have proof.

I’m also in The Hill today, with a piece about my uncanny AI experience.