Gasoline cocktail

When Charlie takes a swig of Fatty's hair oil, the intertitle reads "Gasoline cocktail!"

Did men really use petrol to slick their hair? Surely -- quite apart from the hazards of flammability -- it would simply evaporate off in minutes? Or was the petroleum spirit being used, like ethanol, as a solvent for cosmetics?

Or does 'Gasoline' in America not translate directly as 'petrol' (for cars)?

~~Igenlode, English and confused

Gather round, lads and lasses, gather round...