Macassar oil

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Macassar oil is a compounded oil used primarily by men in Victorian and Edwardian times as a hair dressing.

Macassar oil is basically coconut oil or palm oil to which has been added the very fragrant "ylang-ylang" oil (obtained by processing the flowers of the Ylang-ylang tree, aka Cananga odorata) as well as some other fragrant oils. (For details on the tree, as well as the oil extraction process and the oil's use in Macassar oil, see: [1] and [2])

Macassar oil was so named because it was reputed to have been manufactured from ingredients purchased in the port of Makassar in Indonesia.

Due to the tendency for the oil to transfer from a gentleman's hair to the back of the chair he was sitting on, the antimacassar was developed. This is essentially a small crocheted cloth placed over the back of a chair.