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Dry Shampoo For Dogs: Should You Use It?

dry shampoo for dogs
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Guests are due to arrive at your house in 30 minutes. Dinner’s in the oven. You’re straightening the cushions on the couch when you smell … your dog.

With time of the essence, you decide to try out the dry dog shampoo you bought for just these emergencies. No water required. It’s fast and easy.

The question is… what price are you willing to pay for this convenience? Is dry shampoo for dogs safe?

How Does Waterless Dog Shampoo Work?

Both you and your dog have sebaceous glands that are attached to hair follicles. Your dog has sebaceous glands in large numbers near the paws, back of the neck, rump, chin and tail area.

The sebaceous glands produce a light, oily substance called sebum that keeps the skin healthy, well moisturized and shiny. Sebum also has natural antibiotic properties that provide the first line of defense against bacteria. The sebum is what gives your dog (and you too, if you admit it!) her distinct scent.

Between washing, the sebum can build up, leaving greasy, dull, unclean looking hair or fur. The more build-up, the stronger the smell.

What Is Dry Shampoo For Dogs?

Used correctly, dry shampoos made of starch powders and clay (also called Fuller’s earth), simply absorb the excess oil from the skin and hair or fur – restoring the shine and giving it more body again.

Dirt and pollutants accumulate daily. Water and soap baths are the only way to remove these from your dog’s skin and scalp … so the follicle remains clear, balanced, breathing and growing.

Caution: Using too much dry powder will absorb more than just the excess oils and will effectively destroy your dog’s natural antibacterial barrier. You also risk clogging the hair follicles and contributing to stunted hair growth and the buildup of environmental toxins on your dog.

Remember, the oils are needed to maintain your dog’s healthy skin and coat.

Is Dry Shampoo Safe For Dogs?

Throughout the 1960s and 1970s women used dry shampoo powders made from talc, magnesium carbonate, and artificial fragrance for quick “touch-ups.” These dry shampoos went out of vogue in the mid 1970s after talcum powder and asbestos were linked to mesothelioma (lung cancer).

Dry shampoo has recently surged in popularity as both a time and water saver.

This trend has of course infiltrated the pet market with a multitude of formulations. These formulations aren’t the clay (Fuller’s earth) powders used throughout the 15th to 18th centuries or the rice and iris powders from the 20th century. They can be anything from starch and talcum powders to sprays, gels, and even foams.

Since the regulation of talcum powder started in 1973, you can be confident that the talc-based dry powders won’t contain asbestos. But there’s ongoing research to determine if talcum powder still has links to cancer (1).

We looked at the ingredients in eight of the top selling dry (waterless) dog grooming products. The ingredients in red have links to known health issues. Products for which we couldn’t find the list of ingredients are also in red.

Ingredients on dry shampoo brands for dogs

While none of these products contain asbestos, some of these ingredients pose real risks of exposure to toxic ingredients.

Dangerous Ingredients In Dry Shampoo For Dogs

Let’s look at some of these risky ingredients to answer the question, is dry shampoo good for dogs?

Linked to Cancer

  • DMDM Hydantoin – a form of slow releasing formaldehyde
  • Preservative
  • FD&C Blue #1 (artificial colors)
  • Fragrance (artificial fragrance)

Often Contaminated

These ingredients are often contaminated with 1,4-dioxane or ethylene oxide (known cancer causing compounds):

  • Ammonium Lauryl Ether Sulfate
  • Polysorbate 20

Greenwashing

Greenwashing means that products are made to sound like they’re natural. The ingredients below are often contaminated with 1,4-dioxane or ethylene oxide, which are known cancer-causing compounds:

  • Coconut based surfactants
  • Mild cleansing agents
  • Moisturizing ingredients

Linked To Immune System Toxicity Or Allergies

  • Cocamidopropyl Betaine

Ethanolamines

Ethanolamines are ammonia compounds that are linked to cancer:

  • Cocamide DEA

Multiple Risks

These ingredients can cause endocrine disruption, cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity:

  • Ethyl Parabe
  • Methyl Paraben

Allergic Reactions And Neurotoxicity

These two ingredients on their own are linked to allergic reactions and possible neurotoxicity. They can also break down in the product to form nitrosamines which have very strong links to cancer:

  • Methylchloroisothiazolinone
  • Methylisothiazolinone

Absorption-Increasing Ingredients

These ingredients may increase the absorption of other ingredients through your dog’s skin. If these ingredients are in the same bottle with a cancer causing ingredient, they increase the chances of it getting through your dog’s skin and into her body:

  • Disodium EDTA
  • Ethanol (also drying)
  • Tetrasodium EDTA

Takeaways

There’s a common theme in dry shampoo that’s also in traditional dog grooming products. Manufacturers mix synthetic ingredients linked to health issues with all natural and likely safe ingredients … to make the overall product appear natural.

There’s also a scale of purity for ingredients including extracts and essential oils. A certified organic steam-extracted white ginger extract may cost $60 an ounce. A less pure white ginger extract may cost $0.42 an ounce … but it may also contain phenoxyethanol, a preservative with links to immune system toxicities and allergies. So, you get what you pay for in terms of purity.

As a general rule, if there are ingredients that look great but are mixed with toxic ingredients, don’t overlook the toxic ingredients. This is a classic form of greenwashing … making a product sound all natural and safe when it isn’t.

RELATED: Read more about dog shampoo ingredients to avoid …

Don’t Believe The Marketing

While we researched the ingredients, we also noted some outlandish marketing claims. Don’t believe everything you read on the product label or marketing:

  • No dry dog shampoo is going to absorb or repel dirt
  • It won’t remove grease or grime
  • It doesn’t mask sweating
  • It won’t even clean your dog

Here’s what dry shampoo will do:

  • The safer dry powders, used correctly, will simply absorb the excess oils but remain on your dog.
  • The sprays, gels, and foams will increase your dog’s exposure to environmental toxins because the ingredients stay on your dog.  If these ingredients are linked to allergies, dry skin or other problems, you also increase your dog’s chances of having a reaction.

You dog will lick, and whatever is on her will then be inside her. This includes the sodium bicarbonate in the powder product. While sodium bicarbonate is overall safe and great to relieve the occasional bout of indigestion, swallowing large quantities could have unwanted side effects. This could be even more risky in puppy dry shampoo, since puppies explore everything with their mouths!

Keep It Safe

If you want a quick DIY dry shampoo for dogs to absorb the excess oils, you can use cornstarch (as long as your dog isn’t sensitive to corn) or a high grade Fuller’s earth. Just use these very sparingly! Remember, the goal is to absorb the excess oils … not all of the oils.

You should also alternate every dry treatment with a water and soap bath to clean the environmental toxins off of your dog. Above all, don’t let the cost of convenience be at the expense of your dog’s health.

I recommend using a certified organic dog shampoo because certified organic products do have regulatory oversight and ingredient integrity. This gives you the highest level of confidence that you’re using something safe and non-toxic on your best friend!

References
  1. Wentzensen N, O’Brien KM. Talc, body powder, and ovarian cancer: A summary of the epidemiologic evidence. Gynecol Oncol. 2021 Oct;163(1):199-208.

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