Technically speaking, shampoo is a liquid cleaning agent for your scalp and hair. It removes the excess oil from your scalp, and cleans the dirty and dead skin cells. The word shampoo originated from a Hindi word “Champo” which means massaging your scalp.
Earlier women used to apply soap on their hair to clean it, but traditional soaps were difficult to rinse off due to lack of lathering capability. Later in the 1930s, modern shampoos were introduced specifically for hair care usage.
A conditioner is a hair care product which also comes in liquid form. It is applied after a hair-wash, and helps to finish your regular hair care process. Conditioning agents used in a conditioner can be considered as additives which influence the appearance, thickness and general manageability of your hair.
Shampoos tend to remove the sebum oil from your hair along with the dirt and dust. However, sebum is needed to condition your hair. Production of synthetic sebum started for this reason, and hair conditioners came into existence.[2]
Your scalp produces sebum oil that protects your hair follicles and keeps them healthy. But when the production of sebum oil increases, it accumulates in your hair follicles. This makes your hair strands greasy and extremely dull in appearance.
Pollutants like dust, dirt and harmful bacteria get easily attracted to the sebum oil. This makes your scalp dirty and exposed to many pathogens. Removing sebum oil from your hair cannot be done just with water. Shampoos help to clean off the extra sebum oil.
But many shampoos with harmful chemicals may take away the natural oil and make your hair dry. It’s important to choose a shampoo that suits your hair. You will get gender-specific shampoos as well as shampoos dedicated to children. Also, modern shampoos are made to treat different hair types and hair conditions. For example, if you have dandruff issues, you will choose a shampoo that specializes in treating dandruff.
Hair conditioners have cationic surfactants that provide a positive electric charge. Your hair contains a negative electric charge which attracts the positive electric charge of the conditioner. This allows the conditioner to get into your hair follicles.
When the positive charge of the conditioners and the negatively charged hair meets, it reduces the static electricity of your hair. The conditioner also helps to flatten your cuticle scales over the hair shaft. It reduces the friction between your hair fibres and increases the reflectance of light. Conditioners can prevent split ends as well. Your hair turns smooth, shiny and glowing.
While shampoos help to clean your hair, conditioners work by making hair smooth, soft and shiny. The two products are different in usage and need to be chosen as per your hair type.
However, there may be some similarity in the ingredients used in both. For example, both moisturizing shampoos and conditioners may have common ingredients like sodium PCA, aloe vera and other ingredients.
Shampoo |
Conditioner |
A shampoo is a liquid substance that is used to wash your scalp and hair follicles. |
Conditioner is a thick creamy substance applied on your hair shaft after you are finished washing it. |
Shampoo cleanses the dirt, dust, bacteria that resides on your scalp. It also removes the dead skin cells and extra sebum oil. |
Conditioner moisturizes your hair and nourishes it. It makes your hair soft and healthy. |
Shampoos have cleansing ingredients like Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), sodium lauryl sarcosinate, sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) |
Conditioners on the other hand contain hydrating and moisturizing components such as propylene glycol, sodium PCA, and erythritol. |