The assortment of cosmetic products is extremely wide. Fortunately for cats and dogs, most frequently, owners of animals use the specialized shampoos for care of wool and skin. Shampoos were developed for domestic animals' special skin needs. They were designed with regard for the length and structure of wool, type of animals' skin and the color. So, before buying anything for your little family member, you may want to read special literature which describes what are the specific characteristics of your dogs and cats' wool and how they should be treated.
Shampoos containing special components are intended for care of long-haired cats and dogs. These animals shampoo ingredients cover wool of animals with a special thin film, which facilitates combing. Besides, special animals shampoo ingredients make the wool shine. For animals with light color of the wool, it is recommended to use shampoos which contain substances strengthening the natural color of wool.
It is only natural that the skin of both people and animals requires special care. An irrational feed and influence of external factors can have a negative impact on the skin of animals. To prevent skin diseases and provide regular skin care, experts recommend applying shampoos containing special ingredients for animal skin. Cats and dogs' skin has fewer cell layers than human skin. Cats' skin is 2-3 cell layers thick, while dogs' skin is 3-5 layers. Compare that to human skin, which is 10-15 cell layers thick. This is a clear example of why you should never use baby shampoo on a cat or dog.
To number of the basic animals shampoo ingredients include special formulas for animal skin, namely the anionic surface-active substances, amphoteric surface-active substances, emulgents, fixers and humidifying components. Most frequently, the humidifying animals shampoo ingredients incorporate purcellin. This substance belongs to the category of lipide substances. Purcellin creates a fatty protective film on animals' skin, which keeps natural biological balance of the integument and the wool. Besides, this film allows preventing penetration of harmful microorganisms into deep skin layers and hair follicles.
For animals with sensitive skin and those who may have allergy to certain substances, special shampoos were created. They contain no preservatives, dyes or aromatic substances. If you washed your pet once, you probably know how the dog/cat reacts to certain detergents.
To prevent occurrence of parasites in the animals' wool, it is possible to use shampoos with insecticides. These insecticides include ingredients which destroy parasites and their brood. The majority of shampoos with insecticides have the protective film smell, which frightens off parasites from the skin of animals
However, it should be noted that some insecticides can cause occurrence of allergic reactions. Therefore, before applying shampoo with insecticides on your pets' skin, it is desirable to test it. To take the test, put a small amount of shampoo on an open skin site. If in 15-20 minutes the skin has not reddened, the shampoo can be used safely.
It is important to note that while most human shampoos are appropriate for animal use, products that contain active ingredients/drugs such as zinc in antidandruff, are potentially toxic when ingested in large quantities by animals and special care should be taken to avoid use of those products on animals.