macassar oil

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

Macassar oil is often made with coconut oil or palm oil combined with ylang-ylang oil (obtained by processing the flowers of the ylang-ylang tree, Cananga odorata) and other fragrant oils.

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.