Regularly bathing your pet helps to remove dead skin, control allergies and skin conditions, and keep your fur baby clean and healthy.
Unfortunately, if you use the wrong shampoo for your pet, bath time could be a very unpleasant experience, or worse, the products could damage their fur and irritate their skin.
One of the most common mistakes pet owners make when it comes to shampooing their pet, is using products that are intended for humans. These shampoos often contain harmful chemicals, and are much harsher than pet shampoos. This is because humans have a different pH levels and are generally less sensitive to certain ingredients than our furry friends are.
Shampoos specially formulated for pets are crucial when it comes to bath time for our pets. We also recommend avoiding certain chemicals, and aiming to buy shampoo that is as natural as possible.
What To Avoid
To be honest, there are a lot of harmful chemicals that can find their way into a pet shampoo. Here are some of the most common:
- Dyes and colorants, g. Tartazine
- Unnatural fragrances and perfumes
- Parabens
- Ionic Surfactants
- Whitening agents
Unnatural and harsh chemicals can cause allergic reactions in your pet, as well as headaches, nausea, and other health problems. Instead, try to find shampoos that use essential oils for fragrance, and citrus extracts and vitamins A, C, and E for preservatives.
The general rule of thumb is that natural is always best. That’s why all of our pet shampoos are natural, and enriched with Dead Sea Minerals, vitamins, plant extracts and essential oils so they can be used frequently, at full strength and left on the coat for an extended period of time without stripping away natural oils.
General Shampoo Or Specialty?
We know that the best choice for pet shampoos is a natural-based product made specifically for use on your pet.
The next question to ask is whether you should choose a general shampoo for your pet, or a specialty shampoo to treat a specific condition. This will depend on your pet’s skin and coat needs.
Moisturizing Shampoo: If your dog has a smooth coat, dry coat, dry skin or a porous coat you’ll need something that will impart extra moisture. This it is especially important if your pet is suffering from dry and itchy skin. All of our shampoos help to lock in moisture, but our most moisturizing shampoos are out Two-In-One Shampoo and Conditioner, our Tearless Puppy and Kitten Shampoo and our Anti-Itch Shampoo. Our Two-In-One is a great one-step solution, our Tearless Shampoo is great for using around sensitive areas (like eyes) and our Anti-Itch is ideal for pets that have dry and irritated skin. In fact, a lot of people like to use our Anti-Itch as a day-today shampoo just so that they have all their bases covered.
Hypoallergenic Pet Shampoo: Some pets have contact and environmental allergies that can cause severe discomfort, skin conditions and even hair loss. Allergies are also often caused by a poor reaction to the harsh chemicals found in non-natural shampoos. A Hypoallergenic Shampoo is designed for pets that have sensitive skin or chronic skin conditions. It instantly relieves symptoms, helps your pet to recover and often removes the cause of the outbreak – the allergen in the chemical based shampoo.
Puppy & Kitten Formulas: Puppies and kittens are generally very sensitive in terms of their skin, fur, and eyes. A puppy and kitten formula is specially designed to be as gentle as possible, prevent irritated eyes and other sensitive areas, maintain pH balance and to impart additional moisture as their growing skin expands with their growing body. A Puppy & Kitten Shampoo is also great to use on full-grown dogs with dry hair and skin when it comes to washing around their eyes and sensitive areas.
Extra Strength Shampoo: If you haven’t washed your pet in a while, they have medium to long hair, an oil prone coat or they are muddied up after a day in the park, then you need an Extra Strength Shampoo. It will get them extra sudsy and lift stubborn dirt.
Deep Cleanse Shampoos: To clean on a cellular level, detoxify and encourage healthy skin growth you need a deep cleanser. Generally, deep cleansers is where chemically enhanced shampoos can get nasty, but if you choose the right sort of natural pet shampoo, then you can don’t need to worry about deep cleansing your pet’s skin and coat often.
Mud Shampoo: Dead Sea Mud Shampoos are designed for achy joints, chronic skin issues (like acne or yeast), arthritis, aging dogs and highly active dogs. They decrease the amount of pressure on joints and help to regenerate cell growth, which, in turn, treats skin issues. They’re also exceptionally gentle so they can be used very frequently, as a general use shampoo.
To summarize, we recommend using natural shampoos that are formulated for what your pet needs.
Need more information?
Check out our handy-dandy chart to find exactly which product is right for your pet:
