Oh, Shampoo! Where did you come from?

India has always been meticulous about its hair-care routine. A soothing champi with hot oil releases all our tension. Followed by a session of bubbly rendezvous with the shampoo that guarantees shiny, black hair, we are all set to face the world. But have you ever imagined how the practice of shampooing came into existence? Read to know how and when shampooing became an essential part of our daily hygiene.

It’s shampoo time! Image Source- The Legal Examiner

Our mothers and grandmothers continue to nag us to encourage the usage of natural ingredients like amla, reetha and shikakai for the healthy growth of our hair. Some of these ingredients might ring a bell in your mind, but we all hardly know why Ancient and Medieval India used these herbs to make shampoo.

The Indian subcontinent has been using a variety of herbs and flowers to extract their natural benefit since time immemorial. Sapindus or soapnuts (reetha), Indian gooseberry (amla), acacia concinna (shikakai), and hibiscus were boiled and extracted to make a thick hair wash liquid. The soapberries generate lather while the other ingredients ensure to enrich the scalp and hair roots with nutrients, leaving soft, shiny and manageable hair in their wake.

Mahomed's unique and fundamentally Indian style of head massage treatments became an instant success in England. His fame was so far-reaching that he soon became the personal 'shampoo surgeon' of King George IV and King William IV. From hereon, Mahomed's career looked up. He even published books explaining the possible medical benefits of shampooing.

As the years went by, trickling to the 20th century, the rise of synthetic shampoo made using chemical compounds rose to demand. I am sure I do not have to remind you of the harmful effects of these synthetic products. It is, therefore, no surprise how today we are back to chasing these ancient Indian herbal methods to sustain the beauty of our hair.

Both Indian literature and paintings attest to the practice of shampooing. The earliest mention of it goes back to the 16th century. The founder of Sikhism, Baba Guru Nanak, mentioned the soapberry tree and soap for hygienic practices. Apart from this, we all are aware of the elaborate hair-care routine of numerous queens and princesses using a similar concoction to wash their hair.

With the commencement of the British Raj, the British officials indulged in this daily session of cleansing hair and body massage. After witnessing the magical effects of shampooing or hair treatment, the colonisers took this practice back home.

And that is how the word shampoo was invented. Derived from the Hindi word champo (chapayati in Sanskrit), it meant 'to kneed or soothe.'

The story would remain incomplete without mentioning the person behind the process of popularizing the practice of shampooing in England.

Born into the community of barbers, Sake Dean Mahomed spent much of his life exploring and experimenting with herbal potions and soaps. His primary aim was to improve the experience of hair massage for his customers.

Mahomed and his family shifted to England in the early 19th century. With the confidence of perfecting the art of shampooing, he opened the first commercial hair spa in Brighton, named Mahomed’s Baths.

All that is needed for a natural shampoo- amla, reetha, shikakai; Image Source- Health shots

All that is needed for a natural shampoo- amla, reetha, shikakai; Image Source- Health shots