Agriculture, Botany & Everyday Tech
Herbal shampoo and hair cleansing
ancient (herbs); term from 1762Indian traditionAyurvedic practice; Banawali findsHaryana
1762
Hair washing with soapnuts (reetha), shikakai and amla; the word 'shampoo' comes from Hindi 'champo'.
- Dated
- 1762
- As scholars put it
- ancient (herbs); term from 1762
- Originator
- Indian tradition
- Source text
- Ayurvedic practice; Banawali finds
- Region
- Haryana
- Discipline
- Agriculture, Botany & Everyday Tech
- Evidence
- Documented
- Confidence
- High
- Verification
- Reference-cited
Meanwhile in the West
Introduced to Britain, where 'shampooing' baths became fashionable in the early 19th c.
Fair to say
The English word and commercial product are later; the herbal practice is ancient.
Path to modern innovation
Shampoo is a global personal-care product.
Transmission
Colonial-era traders carried the practice and word to Europe.
References
- 1Wikipedia: Shampoo etymology
- 2Ayurvedic sources
Further reading
Corrections and additional sources: edit IND-109 on GitHub.