The dog grooming industry has evolved tremendously over the past decades and so has the available range of coat care products and cosmetics. Twenty years ago, there was only a very small range with a handful of shampoos. The most important thing was that the product foamed, the dog was freshly washed and unpleasant odours disappeared. Dog lovers did not have much knowledge about what exactly a product or brand could do right or wrong.
Today, it is a completely different story. The industry has changed remarkably, the information and knowledge about dog grooming has grown enormously and the range of shampoos available today is gigantic! Nowadays, there are specific cosmetic products for every target group, every breed, every coat and every desired result. In that sea of options, it can be difficult to make the right choice. Let's explore together and turn that vast sea into a pond. That way, it will be easier for you to find the best shampoos.
Choosing is anything but losing
How do you choose the best shampoo? Before you start looking, it is crucial to determine exactly what you want from a product and what your needs and wishes are. This is different for everyone. A show breeder, for example, will need different shampoos than a busy groomer or private person. In order to determine what a coat needs and to give the hair and skin an optimal wash, it is important to be able to read and feel the coat. Do you have a dog and are you not a professional dog groomer? Then be sure to get guidance from a dog groomer or from our team. A professional groomer has had extensive training, knows your pet's coat and can advise you best.
Generally speaking, one cleaning shampoo and one conditioner will not produce a nice quality result. Analysing and reading the coat is essential, especially for professional groomers and breeders. Everything depends on each individual dog. The required coat treatments will always be different. Take for example a Maltese that comes to your grooming salon. Should his or her coat stay long (as the breed standard prescribes)? Then you will have to use different products than when the client wants a shorter haircut for his or her four-legged friend. In the latter case, it is better to choose cosmetics that make sure that the coat does not become heavy but remains airy, so that you can scissor and finish the hair better, easier and more beautifully. Each individual product has a different impact on the final result. There is also a difference between a dog that visits your grooming salon for just a wash or one that comes in for a full treatment. With a regular wash you can use an oil-rich shampoo or conditioner, while you cannot do this for example when you have to model a poodle. Then you will benefit more from a shampoo and conditioner that will open up the coat and give it volume. In this way, the coat can be combed easily and scissored perfectly.
Combining and trying
As a professional dog groomer, it is often not a good idea to choose only one particular brand to put together the shampoo range in your salon. Each brand can have top products that are the ideal choice for you. The message is to combine, try and test different ones in order to get an amazing result. Not every brand or product will immediately give you the result you desire. For example, do you have your own dogs that you like to wash at home every fortnight? Then give the shampoo some time to work its magic. After about 2 months, you should be able to see the desired result and then it is time to evaluate the product.
If you have your own grooming salon, then of course you want to see immediate results. That is why a correct reading of the coat is essential. That way, when a dog comes to you for a grooming session, you can anticipate and use the best products. We recommend that you keep up to date with the market and try out different products from time to time. Try a new shampoo instead of the already familiar one. There are so many good products on the market. The discovery is yours. You will see that it definitely pays off!
Always the best choice
Before we explain the different types of shampoos, we would like to insist on the following: Never, ever wash a dog with a shampoo intended for humans! And no, even a mild shampoo for adults or a baby shampoo is not suited. All too often, dog owners use ordinary human shampoo to wash their four-legged friend, not knowing that they can actually do a lot of damage to the animal's skin and coat. Dog skin has a different pH value from human skin. For example, the pH of our skin fluctuates between approximately 5.5 and 5.6, whereas that of your dog is on average between 6.2 and 7.5. Shampoos made for humans are adjusted to the acidity of our skin and are therefore much more acidic. For a good dog shampoo, it is important that the pH values are more neutral. Washing with a shampoo that is not intended for dogs can therefore provoke all kinds of undesired reactions, such as skin irritation and allergies, especially if the shampoo is used frequently.
But which shampoo to choose? There are an infinite number of options available on the market. Luckily, they can roughly be divided into a few different categories:
- Cleaning:
A good cleaning shampoo thoroughly cleanses the skin without drying out the coat. It removes all traces of sebum, oil, dirt and grease from your four-legged friend's skin and coat. That way, the coat is ready for the next step: a treatment with another, coat-specific shampoo and conditioner. - Nourishing:
By using a great moisturising shampoo, the coat is intensely hydrated. You will be able to restore the hair's natural moisture balance and nourish the coat without making it greasy. A damaged coat will revive and become tangle-free! - Purifying:
Thanks to a purifying shampoo, the coat receives an in-depth detox treatment. A blissful feeling of well-being is created and the dog will shine, inside and out. - Colour enhancing:
A colour enhancing shampoo accentuates the natural colours of the coat and gives the hair a beautiful, deep colour. When the coat is dull and has not been nourished enough, this type of shampoo will help you to restore depth and colour intensity to the coat. Please note, however, that you will not get this result immediately, but only after a few washes. We would also like to mention that a colour enhancing shampoo is not the same as a colour shampoo. - Volumizing:
With an effective volumizing shampoo, you give strength to the hair, make it (even) fuller and provide it with a firm texture. - Antiparasitic:
This type of shampoo is an effective treatment against fleas, ticks and other parasites. The Flea & Tick Shampoo contains no chemical insecticides and is therefore safe for professional and home use. - For sensitive skin:
If the dog's skin is sensitive and prone to irritations and allergies, a neutral, mild shampoo is necessary. You can use a hypoallergenic shampoo daily to wash your four-legged friend.
To get the best results, we strongly recommend that you give each dog or cat two washes. The first wash is a cleaning shampoo that degreases and cleanses the skin and prepares the coat for a second wash with a coat-specific shampoo that is tailored to the needs of the coat or breed in question. We will tell you more about how to shampoo in our next blog post.
It is also important to always use a conditioner after washing with one or more shampoos. Do you have a long-haired dog, for example? Then it is not enough to wash him every few weeks. If you want your long-haired dog to have and to keep a nice healthy coat, we recommend you to wash it weekly, nourish it with good conditioners and brush the hairs carefully.
Are you curious about the types of conditioners and how to use them correctly? You will learn all about that in our next blog post, so keep an eye on our website and social media! We hope you found this blog informative and we are of course very interested in hearing about your experiences with our shampoos. Be sure to let us know in the comments!
