Shampoo

Shampoo (/ʃæmˈpuː/) is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in bar form, like a bar of soap. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into the hair, and then rinsing it out. Some users may follow a shampooing with the use of hair conditioner. Shampoo (/ʃæmˈpuː/) is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is used for cleaning hair. Less commonly, shampoo is available in bar form, like a bar of soap. Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product into the hair, and then rinsing it out. Some users may follow a shampooing with the use of hair conditioner. The typical reason of using shampoo is to remove the unwanted build-up of sebum in the hair without stripping out so much as to make hair unmanageable. Shampoo is generally made by combining a surfactant, most often sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate, with a co-surfactant, most often cocamidopropyl betaine in water. Specialty shampoos are marketed to people with dandruff, color-treated hair, gluten or wheat allergies, an interest in using an organic product, and infants and young children ('baby shampoo' is less irritating). There are also shampoos intended for animals that may contain insecticides or other medications to treat skin conditions or parasite infestations such as fleas. The word shampoo entered the English language from the Indian subcontinent during the colonial era. It dates to 1762 and is derived from Hindi chāmpo (चाँपो ), itself derived from the Sanskrit root chapati (चपति), which means to press, knead, soothe. In the Indian subcontinent, a variety of herbs and their extracts have been used as shampoos since ancient times. A very effective early shampoo was made by boiling Sapindus with dried Indian gooseberry (amla) and a selection of other herbs, using the strained extract. Sapindus, also known as soapberries or soapnuts, a tropical tree widespread in India, is called ksuna (Sanskrit: क्षुण) in ancient Indian texts and its fruit pulp contains saponins which are a natural surfactant. The extract of soapberries creates a lather which Indian texts called phenaka (Sanskrit: फेनक). It leaves the hair soft, shiny and manageable. Other products used for hair cleansing were shikakai (Acacia concinna), hibiscus flowers, ritha (Sapindus mukorossi) and arappu (Albizzia amara). Guru Nanak, the founder and the first Guru of Sikhism, made references to soapberry tree and soap in the 16th century. Cleansing with hair and body massage (champu) during one's daily bath was an indulgence of early colonial traders in India. When they returned to Europe, they introduced the newly learned habits, including the hair treatment they called shampoo. Sake Dean Mahomed, a Bengali traveller, surgeon, and entrepreneur, is credited with introducing the practice of champooi or 'shampooing' to Britain. In 1814, Mahomed, with his Irish wife Jane Daly, opened the first commercial 'shampooing' vapour masseur bath in England, in Brighton. He described the treatment in a local paper as 'The Indian Medicated Vapour Bath (type of Turkish bath), a cure to many diseases and giving full relief when everything fails; particularly Rheumatic and paralytic, gout, stiff joints, old sprains, lame legs, aches and pains in the joints'. During the early stages of shampoo in Europe, English hair stylists boiled shaved soap in water and added herbs to give the hair shine and fragrance. Commercially made shampoo was available from the turn of the 20th century. A 1914 advertisement for Canthrox Shampoo in American Magazine showed young women at camp washing their hair with Canthrox in a lake; magazine advertisements in 1914 by Rexall featured Harmony Hair Beautifier and Shampoo. In 1927, liquid shampoo was invented by German inventor Hans Schwarzkopf in Berlin, whose name created a shampoo brand sold in Europe.