History I Never Knew: The Origin of Shampoo

Merrie Olde England wasn’t so merry when it was time to wash your hair. Even the well-to-do had to use harsh, eye-stinging soap. Yecch.

That all changed when Sake Dean Mahomed arrived in London from India around 1782. Orphaned as a youngster and a veteran of the army of the British East India Company, he came to the mother country with his patron, British army captain Geoffrey Evan Baker.

Mahomed was an energetic and learned entrepreneur. He opened the first curry-house restaurant in London. He was author of a travelogue, The Travels of Dean Mahomet, which was the first English-language book written by an Indian. He also worked in the public steam baths at Portman Square, a health spa owned by the wealthy Londoner Basil Cochrane.  

It was there, and later at his own establishment in the seaside resort of Brighton, that Mahomed introduced the technique of bathing and massaging hair and scalp with fragrant oils known in India as “champi.”

“Champi” eventually became “shampoo.” It was a big hit in upper crust England and with the rich and famous from around Europe.  His treatment was billed as "The Indian Medicated Vapour 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."

Mahomed knew a winner when he saw it. He played the part, dressing in traditional Indian garb and extolling the many supposed benefits of his work. He became known as “Dr. Brighton,” and he eventually got appointed as “shampooing surgeon” to King George IV and King William IV.

Personally, I’d rather wash the tresses of American royalty like Connie Britton and Marcia Cross. But you gotta admit, that was a nice little gig that old Sake Dean Mahomed built for himself.  And of course, he made a lasting contribution to Western culture in so doing. Ah, entrepreneurship!