"Yucca the Great Mexican Preparation for the Hair," circa 1890

People have sought a cure for hair loss for thousands of years. In the late nineteenth-century, the makers of "Yucca for the Hair" marketed their concoction as a cure for baldness, dandruff, and other diseases of the scalp. The proprietors of this patent medicine claimed the plant-based extract invigorated the scalp, promoted hair growth and rendered hair soft, glossy and luxuriant.