shampoos Slidall’s Soap billed itself as “The Soap for All Uses”, and boy did it

Slidall's Soap 號稱自己為「全用途肥皂」，它是不是

stretch that claim. Not only was it marketed as a cleaner for hair and body, but the ads

誇大了。它不僅標示為頭髮和身體的清潔皂，在廣告上

also suggested using it to clean your toilet, laundry, kitchen counters, babies, dogs, harnesses,

還說可以用它清洗你的馬桶、衣服、廚房流理臺、嬰兒、狗兒、馬具、

carriages, and both natural and artificial teeth. And that’s just the first of many

馬車，以及真牙和假牙。這只是眾多奇怪論點的

FLAKY facts the scientists at Head & Shoulders are helping us clear up. I hope I don't MOUSSE

第一項而已，海倫仙度絲的科學家會幫助我們解開更多真相，希望我不會搞砸它。

this up. This is going to be BUN, I mean, FUN. ‘Cause your hair is in a bun…

這一定會很好丸，我是說，很好玩。因為有種髮型叫丸子頭.....

you know what I’m talking about.

你知道我在說什麼

Shampoos have become way gentler since the 1800s, and the formulas have gotten smarter

自從1880年代後，洗髮乳變得更溫和，連配方在那之後的125年內

in the 125 years since then. But why do people even shampoo in the first place? One of the

也變得更厲害。那人們一開始幹嘛還要用那麼刺激的洗髮乳？我們需要

reasons we need the lathery goop is that human scalps are basically waterproof. Glands underneath

這些泡沫乳的其中一個原因是，人類的頭皮基本上是防水的，我們皮下的腺體

our skin manufacture sebum, an oily substance that coats hair follicles. In the process,

會製造皮脂，那是一種包覆毛囊的油性物質。過程中，

sebum makes hair clump together and appear greasy. But because sebum is so good at waterproofing

皮脂使毛髮聚集在一起，看起來油油的。但因為皮脂防止水滲進

the hair shafts, a phrase I never thought I’d say, a mere shower or bath won’t do

毛幹的功能太好了，從來沒想過我會說毛幹這個詞，單單淋浴或泡澡

much in the way of actually cleansing the scalp.

是無法真正清潔頭皮的。

To get past those waterproofed hair shafts, shampoos contain two-faced chemical compounds

為了通過那些防水的毛幹，洗髮乳包含雙面化學混合物

called surfactants. Half of each surfactant wants to dissolve in water, and the other

叫做界面活性劑，每一個界面活性劑的一半具親水性，

half wants nothing to do with H2O. When hair meets water that has interacted with surfactants,

而另一半完全不想跟水有關係。當毛髮碰到與界面活性劑互相作用的水時，

it creates a party where everyone’s invited, including sebum, dirt, grime, Gary from down

它會開趴邀請大家參加，包括皮脂、灰塵、汙垢、走廊那一頭的Gary

the hall. That’s what the lather is there for. Not only does it make your head feel

這就是要有泡沫的原因。它不只讓你的頭感覺

like a root beer float, it washes away clean, taking all the gunk and previously non-water-soluble

像是漂浮汽水，還能將它洗乾淨，沖走所有油汙和之前不溶於水

matter with it.

的物質。

In 1908, New York’s biggest papers started publishing columns on “How to Shampoo the

在1908年，紐約的最大報開始發表「如何洗頭」的專欄。

Hair.” That’s because most people in the world didn’t know how to shampoo their hair.

那是由於世上大部分的人都不知道如何洗頭

So that was good of them, giving the people what they need. That’s what the media always

他們還真好心，滿足人們的需求，這也是媒體一直在做的事，

does. Always. The piece suggested washing your hair once every two weeks instead of

一直。那篇文章建議你兩週洗一次頭，而非

the more common practice of once every six weeks.

依照當時人們的習慣，六週洗一次頭。

Of course, bathing itself, wasn’t that popular in history. Partially because everyone wanted

當然，洗澡本身在歷史上並不太受歡迎，部分原因是每個人都想

to act royal, and kings and queens HATED taking baths. Louis XIII liked to brag, “I take

表現得像皇室，國王和皇后很討厭洗澡，路易十三愛吹噓說：「我

after my father. I smell of armpits!” Henry VIII could literally be smelled from three

跟我老爸很像，聞起來有胳肢窩的味道！」亨利八世的味道，不誇張，在三個房間外

rooms away. And Queen Elizabeth I proudly declared that she took a bath, “once a month,

就可以聞到了。而女王伊莉莎白一世驕傲地表示她「一個月會洗一次澡，

whether she needed to or not.” We’re guessing she needed to.

不論需不需要」，我們想她應該是需要...

How many times a week should you be shampooing? According to experts, two or three times a

你一個禮拜要洗幾次頭呢？根據專家表示，一週兩到三次

week is a good rule of thumb. You should also clean your thumb. According to me. Of course,

是黃金原則，你也必須清潔拇指，根據我的話。當然，

certain conditions demand more or less shampoo. If you’ve got malassezia globosa up there--

在某些情況下，會需要多洗或少洗幾次。如果你頭部感染馬拉色菌，

the scalp fungus that causes dandruff, you might need to scale it up to keep them flakes under control.

那是導致頭皮屑的頭皮真菌，你可能就需要增加洗髮乳的使用次數，好讓那些屑屑受到控制。

Ever wonder why there’s silicone in your dandruff shampoo? Polymers like silicone are

曾經想過為什麼你的抗屑洗髮乳中有矽酮的成分嗎？像矽酮這種聚合物會

added to all sorts of shampoos to safely re-coat the hair cuticles after they’ve been cleaned.

被加進所有種類的洗髮精裡，以便再次包覆清潔過後的毛髮角質層

The coating smoothes them down and adds a lubricating and protective sheath to keep

包覆能使它們更光滑，且增加具潤滑與保護性的防護層，

your hair feeling healthy.

讓你的頭髮保持在健康狀態

Shampoos also get fancy with their polymers—some add volume or weight or increase the shine

洗髮精也可以藉由它們的聚合物而變得花俏，有些增加容量或重量，或增加亮度

and feel, while others protect from things like UV rays—but, in essence, they all work

和觸感，而另一些有抗紫外線功能，但在本質上，它們的作用都像

like waterproofing sealant on a deck. Don’t host barbecues on your hair, okay? Yowza.

甲板上防水的密封膠一樣。別在你頭髮上烤肉，好嗎？哎呀

Ever wonder how astronauts wash their hair in space? NASA gives them a rinseless shampoo

曾經想過太空人要怎麼在外太空洗頭嗎？美國太空總署給他們一個免沖洗的洗髮精

that you simply apply and towel dry. But the no fuss shampoo wasn’t created in a NASA

你只要抹上去然後用毛巾擦乾就好。但是乾洗髮不是在美國太空總署實驗室裡創造的

lab. It was originally developed for hospital patients who couldn’t take showers.

它一開始是為了那些無法洗澡的醫院病患而發明的

That’s not the only shampoo technology invented for the sick. To reduce the burden on nurses

這不是唯一一個為了病患而研發的洗髮科技，為了減輕護士和

and careworkers, Japanese scientists developed a shampoo robot in 2011. The gadget scans

護理人員的負擔，日本科學家在2011年發明了一個洗髮機器人，這機器掃描

the scalp, determines how best to apply pressure to your head, and then works the suds through

頭皮，決定如何對你的頭施力才是最好的，然後用它神奇的八根手指

with its eight magical fingers. That’s awesome!

搓揉出泡泡，好神啊！

It’s easy to overlook how much testing goes into many shampoos. According to one scientist,

洗髮乳實驗的複雜性是很容易被忽視的，據一位科學家所言，

the tools in her lab include a controlled humidity room to analyze whether a new formula

她實驗室裡的器具包含濕氣控制室，分析新的配方是否

will make her hair frizz up, a fragrance center to experiment with how scents are released

會讓她的頭髮毛躁；一個香味中心，試驗氣味如何和水一起

with water, a special comb that measures the force it takes to detangle freshly shampoo-ed

釋放出來；一支特別的梳子，測量梳順剛用洗髮乳洗完的濕髮

wet locks, a friction apparatus that simulates what people feel when they play with the tips

需要多少力道；一個摩擦裝置，模擬人們玩自己髮尾時的觸感；

of their hair, and a lathering center to determine just how many suds your perfectly calibrated

還有一個泡沫中心，決定你完美調配的洗髮乳

shampoo should have.

要有多少泡沫。

The shampoo you get in the US is probably a little different from the same stuff you

你在美國拿到的洗髮乳可能和你在其他國家拿到的

get in other countries. Shampoo makers adjust their formulas because water quality fluctuates

有點不一樣，洗髮乳製造商會因為你居住地的不同，造成水質波動

depending on where you live. Hard water, for example, has higher mineral and deposit content

而調整他們的配方，例如，硬水有較高的礦物和沉澱成分，

that can overwhelm a surfactant, so other chemicals have to be added to the shampoo

可能會破壞界面活性劑的作用，所以必須在洗髮乳裡加進其他化學物質

to counteract the ions that make the surfactants ineffective.

來對抗使界面活性劑失效的離子。

Since the 1960s, scientists have been fascinated with shampoo’s fluid dynamics. It was those

從1960年代起，科學家對洗髮乳的流體動力學著迷，就是那個

crazy free-wheelin’ fluid dynamic ‘60’s. Like many fluids, shampoo coils up as you

瘋狂無禁忌流體動力的60年代，跟許多液體一樣，當你把洗髮乳倒在表面上時，

pour it onto a surface and the liquid slowly moves downward. But then, every once in a

它會聚集成一團，然後慢慢向下移動。但是，在偶然的情況下

while, the shampoo stream will bounce up like a rubber ball. BOING! That uncanny behaviour

洗髮乳的流動會像橡膠球一樣彈起，ㄉㄨㄞ～ 那種不尋常的現象

is called the Kayes Effect, and it took scientists about 40 years to explain the mechanism.

稱為凱伊效應，科學家花了40年來解釋這個物理現象。

You want another strange and wonderful thing about shampoos? Because shampoos are good

你想知道另一個關於洗髮乳怪異又驚奇的事嗎？因為洗髮乳善於

at breaking down body oils, putting a dab on the inside of your shirt collar can help

瓦解身體油脂，放少許的洗髮精在你襯衫領子的內側，能夠幫助

clear away your greasy collar stains.

清潔你領子上的油汙。

Recently, American scientists discovered that by using a tweaked shampoo recipe on old woolly

近期美國科學家發現，使用改良過的洗髮乳配方在

mammoth hair, they could remove the extraneous bacteria from the strands and get clean DNA

長毛象的毛髮上，可以消除毛髮上外來的細菌，並取得乾淨的DNA

samples. The discovery has helped them to declare a new species of woolly mammoth, and

樣本。這項發現幫助他們宣布長毛象的新品種，

they’re eager to use the shampoo on other museum animals. I mean, I’ve been doing

他們非常願意在其他博物館動物上使用這種洗髮乳，我是說，我多年來都在

that for years. But I got kicked out. I discovered some stuff. I’m not going to tell you about it though.

從事這項工作，卻被開除了，我發現了一些東西，但我不會告訴你的。

Finally, I return to the salon to tell you that baby shampoos are just shampoos that

最後，我回到會客室，告訴你嬰兒用的洗髮乳只是

use milder surfactants and don’t have special polymers or moisturizing agents, as a matter

使用較溫和界面活性劑的洗髮乳而已，沒有特別的聚合物或保濕媒介，就界面活性劑

of surfact. Babies’ glands create sebum at a much slower pace than adults’, so their

來說。嬰兒腺體製造皮脂的速度遠低於成人，所以他們的

hair is usually less oily and greasy. Also they’re wittle babies who have no say in

頭髮通常沒那麼油，而且他們只是小嬰兒，對於父母要幫他們用哪種洗髮乳 (註：在此 wittle = little)

what their parents put in their hair, so the joke’s on them. HA. You got no options, kid!

他們也無從反抗，所以開個他們的玩笑：哈，孩子，你別無選擇！

Thanks for watching Mental Floss on YouTube, made with the help of these flaky people.

感謝你在YouTube上收看Mental Floss，由這些瘋子們的幫助而完成的

And thanks again to Head & Shoulders for helping us make this episode possible. And to Sofia

並再次感謝海倫仙度絲，協助我們完成這集，還要感謝Sofia

Vergara, whose flake-less flowing hair was an inspiration for every single fact in this

Vergara (一位演員)，她那柔順秀髮啟發我們對於這集所有真相的靈感

episode. Except the one about Baby Shampoo. That was inspired by a dandruff-free baby.

除了嬰兒洗髮乳啦，那是被一個沒有頭皮屑的嬰兒啟發的

A random one… you know which one you are.

隨機的一個....你知道你是哪個