And in the early 1900s, hair restorer - a liquid that was used on faded or grey hair - often contained both poisonous lead and combustible kerosene.

Pictures of a man perfectly bald were printed side by side with others of a man with flowing locks, all the result of a few applications of Dr. Quack's Wonderful Hair Restorer, or some other equally good.

When a Washington hospital announced three years ago that it was seeking gleaming pates on which to test the hair restorer, 10,000 eager volunteers called in, jamming the switchboard for three days and forcing the staff to use disaster control lines.

But now comes word that a respected pharmaceutical firm, the Upjohn Co. of Kalamazoo, Mich., is investigating a chemical that could lead to development of the first successful hair restorer.

Among them were obesity powders "to get rid of superfluous fat," a hair restorer and remedies for rheumatism, asthma, heart disease and an "opium and morphine habit."