In the heydey of men’s facial hair, the nineteenth century, barbers offered all kinds of ways to grease, pomade, and wax one’s hair, whiskers, moustaches, and sideburns.
Macassar oil was popular for giving hair a glossy sheen, but it tended to rub off on the furniture (hence the arrival of antimacassars). Bear’s grease was also a good way to groom one’s moustache, so villains everywhere could give the ends a dastardly twirl.