The "wet look"

was very popular in the late '50's. As Sammy said, the most popular hair grease (or at least the one that was most widely advertised) was Brylcreem (as in "Brylcreem..a little dab'll do ya..."). But the chi-chi item was Alberto VO5, which I'll bet Michael Corleone would have used. Urban teenagers into R&R used "Dixie Peach," which was like Vaseline with scent.