What is the difference between body wash and shampoo

In fact, shampoos are arguably more similar to detergents. They are also considered as a substitute for detergent and dishwashing liquids. Sometimes it becomes necessary to use a conditioner to keep the hair bouncy, shiny and smooth. And if you find yourself in a situation where you have to use shampoo as a body wash, no worries.

As a rule of thumb, always buy sulfate-free shampoos, soaps, and body wash. Afterwards, use a moisturizer on your skin if the shampoo has dried it. Is shampoo the only product that can replace your body wash? Definitely not! You have a lot of other options when it comes time to wash your body, including:. Soaps without Sodium Lauryl Sulphates are better for your skin. The best soaps are made from organic products and high-grade laboratory products.

They contain essential oils and no synthetic fragrances. Soaps are convenient because of their compact size and portability. Shower oils can be infused with the essences of lavender, lemon, rosemary, and various other scents. Apply the oil all over your body and step into the shower. Brands formulate the oil to take on a milky texture as soon as it hits the water. Shower oil has a therapeutic effect and provides many benefits for your skin.

People wash with these oils to treat bacterial and viral infections, deep cleans, itching, etc. Though some of these changes are no doubt for the better there are those that may be of doubtful benefit to the user. In this article I seek to explain the meaning of some of the major ingredients included in shampoos. This may then give some insight into the nature and purpose of the product and help to de-mystify the ingredients label somewhat.

For all of these formulations the main work of cleaning is done by surfactants. These are molecules that have the ability to be both hydrophobic and hydrophilic. This is achieved by having two very different functional groups attached to each other. The hydrophobic part of the molecule usually consists of a hydrocarbon of variable length.

Common chain lengths are between C8 and C18, the most used being C12 in cosmetics formulations. This strikes the balance between mildness and detergency or the ability to remove grease from the hair. Shorter chain lengths have stronger grease removing properties, longer chain lengths have greater mildness but less lathering properties and a balance has to be achieved in the formulation. The hydrophilic part of the molecule can be of many and varied functional groups and will determine the nature of the surfactant and a lot of its properties.

These include sulphate, ethoxy sulphate, succinates, polyhydroxylates, quarternerised groups and many more. Anionic — carries a negative charge when ionized Cationic — carries a positive charge when ionized Nonionic — has no charge to the molecule, unionizable Amphoteric — carries both positive and negative charges when ionized.

Anionics provide a lot of the lather and detergency in the shampoo. The most commonly used anionics are sodium laureth sulphate and sodium lauryl sulphate. Occasionally ammonium lauryl ether sulphate and ammonium lauryl sulphate are used too.

The increase steric hinderance and lower ionization level of the ammonium group help prevent precipitation in the presence of conditioning agents in a 2-in-1 type formulation. It can also prevent precipitation of surfactants due to the common ion effect if a lot of sodium ions are otherwise present in the formulation. Nonionics are often not included in shampoos now due to the harshness of their detergency.

They can strip the hair and lead to scalp irritation due to excessive defatting. The few that do appear in formulations are very mild and act as foam stabilisers, thickeners and may be more necessary in formulations for greasy hair types. These include laureth-3 or 4, cocamide DEA or coco glucosides. Amphoteric surfactants are used a lot in shampoo formulations now. They are very useful for decreasing the irritancy of a formulation while increasing the active contents level of the product and quality of the lather produced.

Amphoterics are so mild that baby shampoos often consist entirely of them. By far the most used is cocamido propyl betaine, or occasionally cocamido betaine. Cationics are used most in conditioners.

Hair is actually a modified type of skin. The main difference between hair and skin is that skin is basically a living organ that replaces its outermost layer on a frequent basis. In contrast, hair is basically dead material derived from a few live cells deep within the skin surface.

Hair care is much more complicated than body care and will differ according to one's hair type and according to the processes applied to hair. Hair is a manifestation of human diversity. Hair types vary from completely straight to tight wiry curls, and from fine and flyaway to coarse and frizzy, with widely differing behavior patterns.

Shampoos were created because hair became rough and damaged when cleansed with soap. Hair cannot be cleansed well with body wash instead of shampoo. The problem with using shampoo on the body is that some shampoo ingredients are not needed for skin and it can impart a slimy feel.

Shampoo and body wash are formulated differently. The upshot of this is that you can use shampoo to wash your body — you might just need to scrub more to remove dirt — but you should avoid using shower gel on your hair. Looking through the immense range of shampoo and shower gel in supermarkets, both products appear to have the same principal ingredients: surfactants and water. I could find no universal distinction, and some products sensibly claim to act as both.

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