We all want the best for our pets, including the grooming products we use on them. When you’re applying a product to your pet, you’re going to want to be sure that it’s safe, effective, and good for them.
Hypoallergenic shampoo is one of these products. We especially love it for its ability to reduce itchiness and help relieve the symptoms of allergies in your pet.
We’ve rounded up everything you need to know about the itch and allergy relieving properties of hypoallergenic shampoos.
What Is Hypoallergenic Shampoo?
A hypoallergenic shampoo is a shampoo that contains lower levels of allergens than your typical pet shampoo. An allergen refers to any substance that can cause an allergic reaction, so you can be more confident when using a hypoallergenic shampoo on your pet that they are less likely to react to it.
What Does an Allergic Reaction Look like in Animals?
Animals experience allergic reactions much as we do - some can have intense reactions to an allergen, while others might not experience any type of response.
Allergic reactions in animals can also be far-ranging, from a small patch of inflamed skin to a full-blown anaphylactic reaction resulting in death. Fortunately, serious responses like this are relatively rare in animals.
Common signs that your pet might be having an allergic reaction include:
- Facial swelling
- Hives or a raised rash on the skin can often be hard to spot in long-haired animals.
- Dry, red, flaky skin
- Persistent itching
Allergies Can Drive Your Pet Mad
Even just a small allergy can drive your pet crazy. As we know, allergic reactions often come with itchy, inflamed skin, so if your pet is exposed to an allergen, they’re likely to feel uncomfortable and frustrated.
Another reason to make sure you treat your pet’s itchy allergy symptoms as soon as possible is that over itching can lead to tears in your pet’s skin that can make them more vulnerable to infection.
Choosing a hypoallergenic shampoo is a significant first step to ensuring that your pet is exposed to the least amount of allergens as possible, helping them to keep itchiness and allergic symptoms at bay.
Ingredients to Look for in a Hypoallergenic Shampoo
Aside from keeping allergens away from your pet, an excellent hypoallergenic shampoo will also contain soothing ingredients. These ingredients will help calm down the itchiness and other allergic symptoms if your pet does happen to come into contact with a substance they have an allergic response to.
Calming ingredients to look out for include:
Omega-3
Omega-3 is an excellent treatment for dry, itchy skin thanks to its ability to trap moisture into the coat, improve the skin barrier’s functioning, and reduce common allergy symptoms like scaling and skin redness (1,2).
Omega-6
Omega-6 is also thought to play an important role in skin and hair health thanks to its potential anti-inflammatory effects. One study found that a type of omega-6 may reduce the symptoms of inflammation and inflammatory conditions (3).
Reducing inflammation is a significant benefit to look for in your pet shampoo ingredients because of how prominent inflammation is in allergic reactions. Getting your pet’s inflammation under control is an effective way to help manage their itchiness and allergies.
CBD
It may sound odd, but we highly recommend CBD oil as an ingredient in hypoallergenic pet shampoos.
CBD, or cannabidiol, is a compound that comes from cannabis and hemp plants. While it is an active compound in cannabis, there’s no need to worry - CBD doesn’t induce any psychotropic effects. THC, another compound, is instead responsible for the “high” of cannabis.
We know from research that CBD contains several therapeutic properties that could improve the symptoms of your pet’s itchiness and allergies.
The first is CBD’s impressive anti-inflammatory properties, which could relieve inflammation, itchiness, and dry skin in your pet. One way CBD might reduce inflammation is by activating a type of receptor called GlyR. Activation of this receptor can induce the suppression of inflammation (4).
CBD has also proven itself as a skin aid, with one study finding that CBD could stop the overproduction of skin cells, which is the cause of the common skin condition psoriasis (5).
CBD is an impressive skin-care ingredient that could do wonders for your pet’s health and possibly help them keep the symptoms of allergies at bay.
Hemp Extracts
Aside from containing CBD, hemp’s essential oils may also do wonders to help protect your itchy, allergy-suffering pet from infection.
Keeping out bacterial infections is key to managing your pet’s itch and allergy symptoms. A 2019 study evaluated the antibacterial effectiveness of hemp’s essential oils and found that, impressively, six hemp essential oils showed good antibacterial activity against a bacteria called Gram-positive bacteria. This study suggests that hemp may be able to inhibit bacterial proliferation, helping to keep your pet safe from pathogens (6).
Where Can You Find Hypoallergenic Pet Shampoo?
All good grooming and pet stores should stock a hypoallergenic pet shampoo.
If you’re looking for a hypoallergenic pet shampoo that also comes with soothing and preventative ingredients, try using CannaLove™ Allergy & Itch Relief Shampoo.
This hemp-infused product will give your pet an extra boost against allergies and itchiness thanks to its antimicrobial and vitamin-enriched formula.
The Bottom Line
If your pet is experiencing allergies or itchiness, it’s essential to take care of it early to keep them comfortable and safe.
Hypoallergenic shampoos help to reduce your pet’s exposure to allergens that could lead to itchiness and allergies, keeping them safer. You can also go the extra mile and make sure your pet’s hypoallergenic shampoo contains soothing and preventative ingredients, like hemp extract, to keep them extra protected.
