Etymology[edit]

The word shampoo entered the English language from the Indian subcontinent during the colonial

era.[1] It dates to 1762 and is derived from Hindi chāmpo (चाँपो [tʃãːpoː]),[2][3] itself derived from
the Sanskrit root chapati (चपति), which means to press, knead, soothe.[4][5]

History[edit]
Indian subcontinent[edit]
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)[6] 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).[7] It leaves the hair
soft, shiny and manageable. Other products used for hair cleansing were shikakai (Acacia
concinna), hibiscus flowers,[8][9] ritha (Sapindus mukorossi) and arappu (Albizzia amara).[10] Guru
Nanak, the founder and the first Guru of Sikhism, made references to soapberry tree and soap in the
16th century.[11]
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. [12]

Europe[edit]
Swedish advertisement for toiletries, 1905/1906

Sake Dean Mahomed, an Indian 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". [13]
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. [14]
In 1927, liquid shampoo was invented by German inventor Hans Schwarzkopf in Berlin, whose name
created a shampoo brand sold in Europe.
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 using synthetic surfactants instead of soap. Shampoo is
also more beneficial for the hair roots.[15]