History

Shampoo originally meant head massage in several North Indian languages. Both the word and the concept were introduced to Britain from colonial India. The word shampoo in English is derived from Hindi chmpo ( /tpo/. Its English usage in Anglo Indian dates to !"#$. In India the term chAmpo was used for head massage% usually with some form of hair oil. The term and service was introduced in Britain &y a Bengali entrepreneur Sa'e (ean )ahomed in !*!+% when (ean% together with his Irish wife% opened a shampooing &ath 'nown as ,)ahomed-s Indian .apour Baths- in Brighton% England. His &aths were li'e Tur'ish &aths where clients received an Indian treatment of champi (shampooing/ or therapeutic massage. His service was appreciated0 he received the high accolade of &eing appointed ,Shampooing Surgeon- to &oth 1eorge I. and 2illiam I.. In the !344s% the meaning of the word shifted from the sense of massage to the that of applying soap to the hair. Earlier% regular soap had &een used for washing hair. However% the dull film soap left on the hair made it uncomforta&le% irritating% and unhealthy loo'ing. (uring the early stages of shampoo% English hair stylists &oiled shaved soap in water and added her&s to give the hair shine and fragrance. 5asey He&ert was the first 'nown ma'er of shampoo% and the origin is currently attri&uted to him. 6riginally% soap and shampoo were very similar products0 &oth containing surfactants% a type of detergent. )odern shampoo as it is 'nown today was first introduced in the !374s with Drene% the first synthetic (non soap/ shampoo. In India% the traditional hair massage is still common. (ifferent oils and formulations with her&s may &e used0 these include neem% shi'a'ai or soapnut% henna% &ael% &rahmi% fenugree'% &uttermil'% amla% aloe% and almond in com&ination with some aromatic components li'e sandalwood% 8asmine% turmeric% rose% and mus'.

How shampoo works

Shampoo cleans &y stripping se&um from the hair. Se&um is an oil secreted &y hair follicles that is readily a&sor&ed &y the strands of hair% and forms a protective layer. Se&um protects the protein structure of hair from damage% &ut this protection comes at a cost. It tends to collect dirt% styling products and scalp fla'es. Surfactants strip the se&um from the hair shafts and there&y remove the dirt attached to it. 2hile &oth soaps and shampoos contain surfactants% soap &onds to oils with such affinity that it removes too much if used on hair. Shampoo uses a different class of surfactants &alanced to avoid removing too much oil from the hair. The chemical mechanisms that underlie hair cleansing are similar to that of traditional soap. 9ndamaged hair has a hydropho&ic surface to which s'in lipids such as se&um stic'% &ut water is initially repelled. The lipids do not come off easily when the hair is rinsed with plain water. The anionic surfactants su&stantially reduce the interfacial surface tension and allow for the removal of the se&um from the hair shaft. The non polar oily materials on the hair shaft are solu&ilised into the surfactant micelle structures of the shampoo and are removed during rinsing. There is also considera&le removal through a surfactant and oil :roll up; effect.