Shampoo

Shampoo (/ʃæmˈpuː/) is a hair care product, typically in the form of a viscous liquid, that is formulated to be used for cleaning (scalp) hair. Less commonly, it is available in solid bar format. ("Dry shampoo" is a separate product.) Shampoo is used by applying it to wet hair, massaging the product in the hair, roots and scalp, and then rinsing it out. Some users may follow a shampooing with the use of hair conditioner.

Shampoo is typically used to remove the unwanted build-up of sebum (natural oils) 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. The sulfate ingredient acts as a surfactant, trapping oils and other contaminants, similarly to soap.

Shampoos are marketed to people with hair. There are also shampoos intended for animals that may contain insecticides or other medications to treat skin conditions or parasite infestations such as fleas.

Texts from Akkadian period show that Mesopotamians dealt with a wide range of skin diseases. Their culture emphasized personal hygiene to prevent illness, and there is frequent reference to their use of both medicated and regular soaps and shampoos as methods of prevention and treatment.

Ancient Mesopotamian tablets from the Neo-Assyrian period document the use of medicated shampoo to treat scalp eruptions.

In India, a variety of herbs and their extracts have been used as shampoos since ancient times. The first origin of shampoo came from the Pre-Harrapans site belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization. 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 the 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. The word shampoo entered the English language from the South Asia during the colonial era. It dated to 1762 and was derived from the Hindi word cā̃pō (चाँपो, pronounced [tʃãːpoː]), itself derived from the Sanskrit root chapati (चपति), which means 'to press, knead, or soothe'.