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Friday, February 18, 2011

History of shampoo

History

The word shampoo in English is derived from Hindi chāmpo (चाँपो [tʃãːpoː]),[1] and dates to 1762.[2] The Hindi word referred to head massage, usually with some form of hair oil.[3] Similar words also occur in other North Indian languages. The word and the service of head massage were introduced to Britain by a Bengali entrepreneur Sake Dean Mahomed. Dean Mahomed introduced the practice to Basil Cochrane's vapour baths while working there in London in the early 19th century, and later, together with his Irish wife, opened "Mahomed's Steam and Vapour Sea Water Medicated Baths" in Brighton, England. His baths were like Turkish baths where clients received an Indian treatment of champi (shampooing), meaning therapeutic massage. He was appointed ‘Shampooing Surgeon’ to both George IV and William IV.[4]

In the 1860s, the meaning of the word shifted from the sense of massage to that of applying soap to the hair.[5] Earlier, ordinary soap had been used for washing hair.[6] However, the dull film soap left on the hair made it uncomfortable, irritating, and unhealthy looking.

During the early stages of shampoo, English hair stylists boiled shaved soap in water and added herbs to give the hair shine and fragrance. Kasey Hebert was the first known maker of shampoo, and the origin is currently attributed to him. Commercially made shampoo was available from the turn of the 20th century. A 1914 ad for Canthrox Shampoo in American Magazine showed young women at camp washing their hair with Canthrox in a lake; magazine ads in 1914 by Rexall featured Harmony Hair Beautifier and Shampoo.[7]

Originally, soap and shampoo were very similar products; both containing the same naturally-derived surfactants, a type of detergent. Modern shampoo as it is known today was first introduced in the 1930s with Drene, the first shampoo with synthetic surfactants.

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