system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
ELI5:What is the difference between regular soap and shampoo? Is that long list of chemicals actually doing a better job of cleaning my hair?

Thanks for all your comments! My hair and scalp shall be cleaned accordingly.
gpt
Short answer? No. At the most basic level, soap and shampoo both do exactly the same job and can be used in place of each other - your hair will be equally clean using shampoo or hand soap. In fact, the first commercial shampoos were just shavings of soap that had been boiled up and had had herbs added, turning the bar of soap into a nice-smelling liquid.

Nowadays, the two products are chemically very different, but main active ingredient is still a "emulsifying surfactant" - a chemical that allows oil and grease to bond with water and wash away easily, taking any dirt with it.

However, your hair may not look very nice or feel very nice if you wash it with hand soap. Most of the extra chemicals are there for other purposes - to make the shampoo pearly-white and foam up, and to make your hair look glossy, feel smooth and smell nice.