The English word "shampoo" began as a Hindi/Urdu verb. Champō (often anglicised as chaampo) is the imperative form of the verb champna, meaning "to press, to knead, to massage." It described the head and body massage offered in Mughal bathhouses across the Indian subcontinent.
A Word from a Bathhouse
British soldiers and administrators in 18th-century India encountered the practice in the public bathhouses of cities like Calcutta and Lucknow. The massage was vigorous: the masseur worked the bather's head, neck, and shoulders, sometimes pulling and twisting the hair as part of the treatment. Returning Englishmen brought the word home with them.
The Brighton Bath
One key figure in popularising the word in Britain was Sake Dean Mahomed, a Bengali-Irish entrepreneur who in 1814 opened "Mahomed's Indian Vapour Baths" in Brighton. He advertised "shampooing" — the therapeutic head massage — to wealthy English clients, and was eventually appointed "Shampooing Surgeon" to King George IV. By the 1830s, "shampoo" was a familiar word in genteel English circles.
From Massage to Soap
The shift from "head massage" to "hair washing" happened gradually over the 19th century. As the practice spread beyond bathhouses to ordinary domestic use, it was simplified: the massage became a hair wash with soap and water. By the late Victorian era, "to shampoo" had narrowed to mean "to wash the hair," and "shampoo" as a noun referred to the soapy preparation used for the purpose. The original kneading hands were replaced by foam.