What is the difference between Shampoo and Shower Gel?

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and how do these 3 in 1 products fit in?

In: Chemistry

3 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

Shampoo is more gentle than shower gel so that it removes less the of your hair’s natural oils, and it also contains chemicals that bind to and condition the hair. Shower gel does not have those chemicals. Aside from that… not much difference between the two.

Anonymous 0 Comments

the biggest difference is the pH levels of shampoo vs soap/gel; then you could look at specific additives like vitamins, moisturizers, aloe or whatever.

the 3 in 1 label just says you can use this product everywhere without causing damage. jack of all trades, master of none

Anonymous 0 Comments

Shower gel and shampoo are both the same in the way clothing is all the same.

Clothes all cover your body. Different kinds are made in different ways to cover certain body parts. You *can* use a shirt as a skirt, but not quite as easily/well as using a skirt as a skirt.

So shampoos and shower gels both use surfactants to clean you. (Think basically soap, but there is technically a difference). Certain surfactants are great at cleaning skin, but would be way too rough on hair. And surfactants that are good at cleaning hair aren’t always great at cleaning skin.

As for 3-in-1, they pick a surfactant that is a good middle ground. They aren’t as good at hair as shampoo surfactants, but they’re better at hair than shower gel surfactants. They aren’t as good on skin as shower gel, but they’re better than shampoo.

There is also the ingredients outside of the surfactant. Shampoos have a bit of conditioning in them, ingredients that stay on the hair to make it soft. Those same ingredients would sit on the skin and be kinda filmy. And shampoos have ingredients to adjust pH. The wrong pH on hair makes problems. Shower gel is the wrong pH for hair.

And again for 3-in-1, they strike a middle ground. You won’t get some of the extra ingredients of a shampoo or shower gel, because the ones good for hair are bad for skin, and vice versa.