During the early stages of shampoo, English hair stylists boiled soap in water and added herbs to give the hair health and fragrance. Kasey Hebert was the first known maker of shampoo, and the origin is currently attributed to him. He sold his first shampoo, "Shaempoo" in the streets of his home, London, England. In the old days, traditionally shampoo is made from rice husk and rice straw (merang). The husks and straws are burned into ash, and the ashes (which have alkaline properties) are mixed with water to form lather. The ashes and lather are scrubbed into the hair. However, this makes the hair dry. Therefore, after shampooing, Indonesians apply coconut oil to remoisten the hair. (See: Kompas - In Indonesian). Originally soap and shampoo were very similar products; both were often made from surfactants, a type of detergent. Shampoo became the logical evolution of personal hygiene products, and targeted the specific needs of hair and not the body in general. Through out the course of the 20th century a number of specifically designed shampoos were released that gently and effectively cleaned a variety of different hair types. Now, synthetic surfactants are primarily used in shampoo.

the really poor used animal lard to wash their hair and body.

My Granny mentioned using lye soap as a girl.

Tiffy's c&p (from more than one site, it seems) offers useful information, but be aware that in antiquity and the Middle Ages, people didn't wash their hair much -- or even bathe -- at all. What soaps existed were too harsh for human skin, such as the scalp. They were meant for heavy-duty cleaning, not skin or hair washing. Often just water was used, with oils applied afterward. Scalp disorders and lice were common.

plain soap id imagine if there was any ,the poor women