In China, locals applied cedar extract to hair to improve hair growth, which not only strengthened the hair but also gave it a pleasant aroma. In Indonesia, rice straw ashes and husks were used as shampoos and mixed with water to form foam. However, after that, the hair became very dry.
Coconut oil, which has moisturizing properties and is still used as one of the components in the manufacture of natural hair masks, helped them to return their natural shine. Arab women took care of the hair, brewing quince skin, and Filipino women replaced the hair balm with water, which was soaked in aloe stems.
In Europe, the first shampoo appeared at the end of the 19th century and was a powder that included soap powder and herbs. The invention of the first shampoo is linked to the name Casey Herbert. But Hans Schwarzkopf was the first to patent hair care products in 1903, constantly improving the composition of the powder. Schwarzkopf added herbal extracts to it, thanks to which the hair got a healthy look.
Hans initially sold various perfumes and pharmaceuticals in a small shop. However, the talented man wished to invent a product that would be specially designed for washing hair. And he managed to do this - numerous chemical experiments eventually led to the creation of shampoo. However, that shampoo has been improved every year. Hans Schwarzkopf became the owner of a real cosmetic empire, and the world-famous logo - a black profile - first appeared in 1905.
Then in the composition of shampoo appeared panthenol and essential oils, which took not the last place in cosmetology, due to the fact that the effect of their use can be compared with the effect of hair balm. In some years an assortment of shampoos numbered more than five kinds among which there were camomile, yolk, grass and other shampoos. And only in 1927, there was a liquid shampoo.
In the happy 30th situation in Europe, it was very suitable for the cosmetic business - people began to think more about their appearance. The market for toiletries developed rapidly. Already in 1931 competitors Schwarzkopf - a group of companies Hamburg Beiersdorf Group - managed to develop own chemical formula of shampoo.
And in 1934 the French factory L'Oreal also presented in the market not containing soap composition for hair washing. Six years earlier, Eugène Schüeller, founder of L'Oreal, had bought Monsavon, a small toilet soap company. This acquisition allowed L'Oreal, a hair dye manufacturer, to enter the toiletries market.
L'Oreal's first liquid shampoo was called Dop. But the Dop shampoo was hard to get used to in the market. Then, to find out the reason, Eugene Schueller ordered a study, which showed that 30% of the French never washed their heads at all.
The great marketer Schueller found a way out: in his advertising, he addressed to children and their parents. It is he who deserves the credit that the next generation of French soaps will only shampoo their heads. In the future, this technique was used and uses a lot of companies to promote any products that can somehow be associated with the younger generation. The only obstacle to the worldwide dominance of shampoo was the high price.
The Americans were the first to remove the price barrier. It was in America that the first successful mass shampoo was produced. The composition of this hair cleaner was developed by the American John Breck. He started his research during the Great Depression in his clinic in Massachusetts. After a decade of work in 1930, the optimal ingredient ratio was achieved.
The new shampoo was affordable to many. In addition, for the first time, consumers were offered a shampoo line for dry and oily hair. The new shampoo sold well, but there was no effect that Breck could count on. It seemed easier: "If you want to become rich, work for the poor! This was done. It seemed like what else if the price is not an obstacle? But America faced the same problem as Europe: most people are not accustomed to spending (albeit small) money on special products for washing their hair.
A new culture and a new cult of purity were needed for real success everywhere. This was not the case. America would not be America if enterprising Americans on the road to commercial success could be stopped by this circumstance. And Brack remembered that there is a trade engine. Clearly: advertising. From now on, the history of Breck shampoo no longer belongs only to the cosmetics industry.
The company's triumph surpassed the most daring expectations and became a classic example described in the advertising course textbooks. Advertising Breck Shampoo was almost the first, where in addition to the text appeared a quality image, which carried no less semantic load than the text. Cosmetic companies adopted the method: since then, the cosmetics industry has been developing itself and still enriching the advertising industry and the art of advertising
This success story began with Edward Breck, son of Breck Shampoo founder, taking over the business. In 1936, he hired commercial artist Charles Sheldon to draw girls to promote shampoo. And the first "Breck Girl" appeared. Sheldon's early works for Brek are made in pastel, with a halo of soft light around the model.
Brek's advertising slogan promised that the hair would become shiny and soft like a child's. Thus, the invention of French marketers continued its development. Sheldon created feminine romantic images. The idea of purity appeared as a perfect image, as an ideal combination of chastity and accuracy, ie, the purity of the internal and external. Sheldon preferred ordinary women to professional models. Half a century of Breck's posters represented the ideal of an American woman - a desirable, but pure natural beauty.
Since then, many years have passed and there is no shortage of shampoos, as well as in their manufacturers.
The competition in this market is just the toughest. In pursuit of the consumer, companies spend millions on advertising and development of new products. It is impossible to make a wrong choice. After all, our hair is at stake - one of the main human jewelry.
But still, it is sometimes useful to remember the curious story of creating shampoo - the means without which we now do not think of their lives.