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McNett's Hair Restorative
Sally Maria McNett, of Topeka, Kansas, registered a Patent for a hair restorative called "Mrs McNett's Cresco" in 1872 (Patent #125,066). It was intended to promote the growth of human hair, prevent disease of the scalp, remove dandruff, and keep the scalp clean. It was composed of 1 pint of alcohol, 1 gill of caster oil, 1/2 ounce of bay rum, 1/4 ounce of ammonia, 1/4 ounce of cantharides (Spanish fly), and 1/2 dram of tincture lobelia. Mrs McNett indicated that at the time of the Patent she had assigned one-half of her right to Thomas F. Parrish, of Washington, DC, and J. A. Johnson, of Topeka, Kansas. One of the witnesses on the Letters of Patent was an L.F. McNett.