Origins of Shampoo

• Shampoo came into common use in the 1920s. Prior to that, most people just used soap. Soap was used to clean just about everything: clothes, kitchens, bodies and floors. But soap does not make suds or work well in hard water. As long as most people used well water, this was not a problem. By the end of World War I, however, a large number of homes had indoor plumbing and received their water from city and municipal sources. Shampoos became popular as a way to get hair clean in hard water.
  
  

Function of Shampoo

• Shampoos are designed to remove dirt and oil from the hair. They do this through the use of mild detergents. These detergents are combined with sudsing agents, fragrance, thickeners, acidic compounds, some moisturizing agents, preservatives and color. Some brands add amino acids and proteins or herbal extracts, and place them in a fancier bottle. A shampoo has to clean well, but not completely strip all of the moisture out of the hair and off the scalp.
  
  

Shampoos and Ph

• Under a microscope, hair is covered with what looks like overlapping scales called the cuticle. Alkalines, like the metals and minerals found in hard water, raise these scales. When the cuticle of your hair stands up, your hair looks rough and dull. Many types of dirt contain alkalines as well. The acidic compounds in shampoo help to balance out the alkalines, so your hair's cuticle lies flat and smooth.
  
  

Conditioners

• Because shampoos strip vital moisture from the hair as part of the cleaning process, unless your hair is quite oily to start with, you will need to use a conditioner afterward. Conditioners are made up of moisturizing agents in a base of fragrance, thickeners, silicone oils and proteins. These combine to make hair soft and smooth, with good combability. They also help to reduce friction and prevent breakage, as well as static.
  
  

Evolution of Conditioners

• Hair conditioners have become a bit more complex, blending different ingredients in different concentrations to find combinations that deal with hair issues such as frizziness, heat damage, oiliness, chemical damage and limpness. The base ingredients in most conditioners are the same. Some more expensive brands add exotic extracts and tout the latest science.
  
  

Safety of Ingredients

• Many of the scary-sounding names on the ingredient list are actually things you have probably heard of before or use in other products every day. Some you would never think you would use on your hair. The basic slate of elements that make up shampoos and conditioners, however, has not changed for the last 80 years and everybody uses them, so they have shown themselves to be safe and effective.