Shampoo -No 'poo!

Deriving from the discussion in class today talking about "pH Buffered" Shampoos and their possibilities for existing, I thought I might take a little exploration into shampoo as it exists because really, have we spent any time at all thinking about this thing that plays such a present role in our daily lives?

Seriously guys, it's for research sake.

It turns out that early shampoos were really basic (alkaline and rudimentary both!) solutions of ash and water that people would use to strip hair of dirt and grime, but this left hair really dry so natural oils were used to reintroduce moisture to hair.
So what's this all got to do with pH buffering? Well Dr. Vincent posited that it was a marketing ploy to sell more product- and while it very well may be, I think I'll follow a different line of thought. Wikipedia includes a handy little quip that buffers in shampoos are slightly acidic to counteract the basicity of soaps. This would make sense for people with long hair, who have a higher chance of getting soap from their body into their hair which would damage it.

The "No Poo" movement caught my eye while poking around the internet, and it made for an entertaining read at the start. If you don't know what it is, look it up. Just be careful of your search terms haha!

+Joseph Meany