I just don’t get it, I was trying to not use shampoo or use less of it, but when I train I really need it the same with soap, I don’t understand how our ancestors clean themselves without chemicals that now we have, and I don’t know if it’s a thing like washing your teeth that actually increase your life expectations.
In: Biology
There’s three benefits to hair care: cosmetic oil control, pest control, smell control. Speaking on America’s history of shampooing:
In the 1700’s, lice was absolutely rampant, especially in the wigs men wore. The powder in wigs was partially supposed to act as insecticide but it rarely worked. Women’s hair was also regularly lice infested. Women took care of their hair cosmetically by brushing their hair. This distributes the oil evenly from scalp to tip, and since women didn’t cut their hair, there was plenty of hair to take the oil. They washed their hair perhaps once every other year. Hats were also huge!
In the late 1800’s and 1910’s, with the advent of plumbing, white ladies would get their hair washed maybe every other week and set in style at a salon. Otherwise they would brush the oil out. Men’s hair was short and oiled or waxed. This controlled the scent and made it harder for lice to get ahold of ladies.
African ladies were sometimes forced, by law, to wrap or cover their hair. Sometimes they were also forced to relax their hair. Kinky hair is dryer than straight hair, so oil buildup is not as much of an issue. The harsh chemicals that relaxed hair would deal with bugs, but at this time fleas and lice were common issues for all poorer folks.
Once World Wars happened, mass produced shampoos became the norm, since lice is a big deal with massive armies. After World Wars, soldiers took the habit home, plus home plumbing was more common so frequent hair washing could be done more often.
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