Harmful Ingredients In Dog Shampoo to avoid
Dog shampoo/soap plays an important role in the lives of pet owners. It is an ideal product for cleaning and maintaining your pet's coat. However, the we have to be mindful of what ingredients go into making dog shampoo, and the effects those ingredients have on your dog.
The Chances Are You're Being Mislead
Is your dog still suffering from itchy skin and red blotches despite the fact that you're now on your fifth or sixth variation of what you believe to be natural dog shampoo, shampoo for sensitive skin and so on?
The truth of the matter is clever advertising and marketing, fun images and packaging are simply masking what's truly inside. I challenge you to look beyond the beautiful bold text that highlights the words made from natural ingredients or derived from plants.
Are You Ready To Take The Challenge?
We've extensively scoured the internet to provide you with all the relevant information on those ingredients you can't even begin to pronounce. Are you ready to be shocked?
If so grab the shampoo you currently use on your dog. Then please turn your attention to the ingredients listed on the back.
Or better still, open a browser and look for natural dog shampoos and scroll down to the ingredients listed (if in fact they are listed). Then compare them to our list of harmful ingredients in dog shampoo to avoid.
Dog shampoo ingredients to avoid
Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate
A synthetic foaming agent that has links to organ system toxicity.
Ammonium Laureth Sulfate
Strips the hair of its natural oils and may cause cancer - but it starts out as a coconut!
Artificial colours
Synthetic dyes are generally produced from petroleum. Links to organ system toxicity. Artificial colours aren’t “pure” chemicals. Many of them are contaminated with byproducts and are purchased by the manufacturer to visually enhance the product.
Benzyl Benzoate
A synthetic chemical that's used as a preservative and fragrance ingredient. Linked to skin allergies and irritation.
Cocomide MEA/DEA
Coconut that's been chemically altered almost beyond recognition into a foaming producer that has links to cancer, hormone and thyroid disruption (usually labelled as derived from coconut or naturally derived from).
Cocamidopropyl Betaine
Synthetic surfactant associated with allergic contact dermatitis. An environmental toxin that affects the immune system and is derived and altered from coconut oil.
During processing, it's mixed with chemicals amidoamine and 3-dimethylaminopropylamine, which can remain in the final product. These contaminants can form nitrosamines (carcinogens that produce cancer) under certain conditions - High temperatures or acidic PH levels.
Fragrance
Derived from thousands of ingredients, (synthetically produced in laboratories) none of which have to be listed on the label. Some synthetic fragrances have been linked to cancer as well as reproductive and developmental toxicity.
Isopropyl alcohol (SD 40/ Alcohol 40)
Mild antiseptic cleaner and disinfectant that rapidly dry out your dog's skin - causing irritation. Enhances skin absorption resulting in other toxins entering through the skin. Very common in dry shampoos.
Mineral Oil
Provides a protective barrier on your dog's skin, which prevents it from releasing its own natural oils and eliminating toxins.
Polyethene glycol (PEG)
Used to contain moisture, has links to system toxicity. While it is a known skin irritant, the scarier side of PEG is that it is a “penetration enhancer” – meaning it’s a carrier for other chemicals, helpingthem cross through the skin and into the bloodstream. It gets worse … it may also be contaminated with dioxane and ethylene oxide!
Propylene glycol
Used as a skin conditioner, has links to skin irritation and organ system toxicity. Like polyethene glycol, it’s a penetration enhancer. It’s also a suspected immune system toxin, neurotoxin, reproductive toxin and skin toxin.
Polysorbate
A fragrance component, a surfactant, and an emulsifying and stabilizing agent. This ingredient starts out as sorbitol – harmless sugar alcohol usually derived from corn syrup. It’s then treated with ethylene oxide.
Depending on how much ethylene oxide was used, the polysorbate has a number behind its name. For example, Polysorbate 20 is treated with 20 parts ethylene oxide. If the ethylene oxide isn’t completely cleaned out of the final ingredient, it’s contaminated with a known carcinogen
Propyl Paraben
A preservative that can mimic estrogen and likely act as a system disrupter.
Surfactant blend derived from natural ingredients (usually coconut base)
Marketing ploy - a statement used by manufacturers that don't want to tell you the exact ingredients - confusing the consumer.
Sodium Benzoate
A preservative that has links to the endocrine system (glands that make hormones) disruption.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
A synthetic cleaner that can be derived from petroleum and plants. Has links to skin irritation.
Plus any other SLS, SLES and parabens.
Always be sure to check the ingredients listed especially if the product is advertised as 100% natural, derived from and plant-based. Contact the company and ask for their ingredient datasheets.
At Bag And Boop, we pride ourselves on using cruelty-free 100% natural ingredients and pure 100% Natural essential oils.
Our shampoo bars don't mask odours as they're naturally deodorising, hypoallergenic, antimicrobial and PH balanced for your dog.
We scent the bars based on your dog's delicate sense of smell - the essential oils used to equate to no more than 1.25% of the overall amount of ingredients used to make each batch.
As a thank you for reading our blog post feel free to use the code blogpost for a 10% discount, and be sure to check out our other blog posts.
