By now, we should all know how important it is to have good hygiene. Although, in the grand scheme of history, (personal) hygiene is a somewhat new phenomenon. We’re going to take a trip back in history to figure out when and why certain toiletry products were made.
Humans began using soap in 2800 B.C., with it first being made in Babylonia. It was first used to clean wood in the textile industry. Later on, medical professionals used it for clearing skin disease. The first soap was actually made for cleaning cooking utensils and goods, not hygiene. It wasn’t until the 18th century that soap had actually been commercialized and available.
The first shampoo was discovered in India, 1762. Citizens used Ayurvedic extracts to rinse their hair. The people called this “champo” which was a Hindi word derived from the word soothe. Boiling soapberries with dried Indian gooseberries made the original shampoo. Hans Schwarzkopf of Germany was the first to commercialize to Europe the first bottle of liquid shampoo.
Babylonians were advanced in the way that they had many inventions during their span of time. They are credited along with Egyptians for making the first toothbrushes during 3500 B.C.-3000 B.C. They made these brushes from frayed twigs. In the 1400’s, the Chinese are the one’s that made the first bristle toothbrush. Although, William Addis of England made the first modern toothbrush from pigs hair around 1780.
In 5000 B.C. Egyptians were already using paste to keep their teeth clean. A lot of civilizations were using toothpaste (not the kind we have currently) around 500 B.C. In the early 1800’s, the earliest versions of modern toothpaste were created. In the 1850’s, it was refined to what we use today by the American Dr. Washington Sheffield.
