Green Clean Your Dogs!

Has the term "Greenwash" become a bad word?


Here's one definition:  Greenwashing is a term used to describe companies that carelessly jump on the eco-friendly bandwagon in an attempt to cash in quick. They may convert some traditionally carbon heavy services to electronic format or offer one or two green products while masquerading as an authority on environmental education. 

Ouch!  Well, we all know they're not talking about us!



Here at DERMagic, we maintain a sense of humor about trends and fads, and this is one we think is really fun, especially because we use it in the complete opposite connotation.

We have another meaning for Greenwash (although no one in the company will allow me to use that word.  So we'll call it "Green Clean"!):


• ·     "The heck with shipping heavy liquids all over the planet!" 
• ·      Give the heave-ho to plastic bottles of shampoo!
• ·      Kick the SLS and other preservatives, texturizers and chemicals out of your dog's bath!
• ·      Embrace Certified Organic Shampoo Bars!
• ·      Hug those recycled cardboard boxes!
• ·      Love the natural essential oil scents!
•     Lather like crazy on both long and short haired dogs!
•     Rinse squeaky clean in a flash, saving the Earth's precious water!
• ·      Chase away fleas and other pests the organic, non-toxic way!
•          Green Clean your dog and we'll plant a tree for every 10 bars we sell!

Now let's get out there and erase that carbon pawprint.  Whether you call it “Green Clean” or “Green Wash”, do the earth a favor and shampoo bar your pets!

Oh, and by the way, our newest shampoo bar, the Skin Rescue Bar (also known as “The DERMinator”), has recently been awarded the Pet Product News Retailers’ NUMBER ONE Grooming Product for the entire year. 


Yes, we're proud.  Have an amazing "clean" weekend, folks!   

Dr Adelia E. Ritchie

President

DERMagic Skin Care for Animals, Inc.

Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble

Soap? Shampoo? Liquid soap?  
Shampoo bars?  

Which is best?  How to choose?
It’s all so confusing.  We just want to get our pets clean, right?  And we want to do it without irritating or drying out their skin, and we want a healthy, shiny coat.  And we don’t want to spend a fortune, and we want to protect the environment while we’re doing it too.  Oh, and we want it all to be made in the USA, and to be organic or all-natural and packaged in something “green.”

But that is the customer’s viewpoint.  What then are the major concerns of the manufacturers?  They need for production costs to be as low as possible (off-shore manufacturing, inexpensive ingredients and packaging), they want high dilution ratios, competitive price points, multiple “flavors” in order to occupy maximum shelf space in retail stores, and high profit margins.  In other words, most shampoos on the market are not the highest quality.  They're not about what we want or need, but about what they want to sell us.

So let’s go a little deeper.  What’s in shampoo and what’s in a soap?  What’s the difference?  

It all started about 5000 years ago when someone in Babylon made a soap-like substance from animal fat (or tallow) and kept it in a clay cylinder.  It was surely an accidental discovery, one for which the entire world should be extremely grateful.  Imagine being stuck in an elevator with a bunch of strangers who had never known soap.

Well, humans are an inventive bunch, evidenced by the proliferation of soaps over the millennia:  Castille soap (made with olive oil), floating soap (whipped full of air bubbles), glycerin soap, French-milled, scented, soap-on-a-rope, and so on.  And then, more than 4000 years later, William Shepphard patented liquid soap in 1865.  

Liquid soap was introduced to the public consumer in 1980 by the Minnetonka Corporation.  For years they had a lock on  this market by buying up the entire supply of the plastic pumps needed for the liquid soap dispensers.  A few years later the Colgate Palmolive company bought the liquid soap business from Minnetonka and a new industry was born.

Liquid hand soap, liquid dishwasher detergents, liquid shampoos, liquid cleaners of all kinds, and the market exploded, including products for shampooing and conditioning our dogs, cats and horses.  There’s a soap for everything... and if you don’t believe me, just visit www.soap.com.

What’s in liquid soap?  Here’s a typical example from a major manufacturer:  Water, Ammonium C12-15 Pareth Sulfate, Magnesium Isododecylbenzenesulfonate, Lauramidopropylamine Oxide, SD Alcohol 3-A, Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Sodium Chloride, Fragrance, Pentasodium Pentetate, DMDM Hydantoin, Sodium Bisulfite, D&C Orange No. 4 (active ingredients: Triclosan 0.12%).  Doesn’t reading this make you want to smear it all over yourself?  Scary.  

So, what’s the difference between liquid soap and liquid shampoo?  You be the judge.  Here is an ingredients panel for a popular shampoo manufactured by this same major company:  Water, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Chloride, Cocamide MEA, Glycol Distearate, Dimethicone, Fragrance, Panthenol, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Cetyl Alcohol, Polyquaternium-10, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Benzoate, Ammonium Xylenesulfonate, Disodium EDTA, PEG-7M, Citric Acid, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone.

Well, what about the ingredients in good, old-fashioned bar soap?  Here’s one of the top-rated soaps:  Saponified Coconut and Palm oils, Sage Extract, Rosemary Extract, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Lemongrass Oil.  Bearing in mind that most commercial bar soaps contain many ingredients that no one would consider “natural,” good-quality soaps are simple, containing just a few ingredients, most of which are instantly recognizable.

In my next blog, I’ll continue this discussion, delving a little deeper into terms like detergents, surfactants, and saponification, plus a little organic chemistry!  Bottom line?  If you’re going to put stuff on or in your pet, you should feel obligated to understand what those things are and what they do.  We’ll make sure you have all the information you need to make an informed decision about the care of your furkids.
Until then, keep it clean, folks!


Dr Adelia Ritchie
www.dermagic.com

How to shop for dog shampoo bars!

Want to convince your dog that a bath is something he will actually enjoy? Here’s how!

Take your dog shopping. First, check our growing list of retailers for a location near you, and take Rover over there! Not only will the adventure will be a treat for him, you can get him to select his personal favorite scent of shampoo bar!

DERMagic Certified Organic Shampoo Bars for Dogs come in three incredible herbal aromatherapy scents: Peppermint/Tea Tree Oil (like our shampoo and conditioner), Rosemary/Lavender, and Lemon/Eucalyptus.

All three combinations are very beneficial for dogs and their coat and skin, but the fun part is that dogs actually have a preference for aromatherapy scents and they will tell you which is their favorite. Just hold each bar near your dog’s face to let him get a sniff, and then repeat (still in the box… a dog’s nose is vastly more sensitive than ours and he won’t need any help!).

Let him think about it for a moment, and then present all three at once. Your dog will clearly show you which scent he likes the best, either by trying to eat the box or by licking it.

Bath time may still not be a walk in the park, but having your dog choose his own aromatherapy scent usually means that he will be much more relaxed in the bath. 

Enjoy! Send us your bath time photos! The sillier and messier and more fun the better! We’ll publish as many as we can right here.

Best wishes, always…
Dr. Adelia

EPA Alert for Flea and Tick Control Products

Folks,

When we talk about skin allergies in dogs, we recognize that many allergic reactions stem from a flea bite, no matter how careful we are in keeping them away from our dogs.  

However, flea control products have the potential to be quite harmful too.  The EPA has recently issued a special alert for spot-on pesticides (http://dogtravelnetwork.com/dog_travel_news/?p=456).  Please read this report if you use the monthly flea control drops.

A natural alternative to get rid of fleas and discourage them from approaching your pet between baths is to use aromatherapy from organic essential oils.  Our certified organic shampoo bars are wonderful for this purpose.  Plus, they lather very well, rinse very quickly and easily, and are an excellent value.  One bar lasts longer than a 16-oz bottle of shampoo, is easier to use, and is less than half the price.  (Read a Secret Shopper review here.)

Please use caution with any flea and tick treatment that is applied topically.  Check the ingredients and go online to find out how these things really work and what the risks are.  Almost in every case, a natural solution will be much more pleasant and certainly safer.

Health, happiness and dog love...

Dr Adelia

New! Certified Organic Shampoo Bars for Dogs!

What could be more fun than washing your dog with DERMagic Peppermint and Tea Tree Oil Shampoo? We have the answer! And it’s brand new: Certified Organic DERMagic Peppermint and Tea Tree Oil Shampoo Bars! Also available in Lemon/Eucalyptus and Rosemary/Lavender, all three are scented with organic essential oils and contain no sulfates.

Our customers have been asking us for these for a long time, but it has taken us time and effort to find a manufacturer whose quality ingredients and high manufacturing standards met our strict requirements. Our very popular SLS-free shampoo and conditioner are still available at your favorite local pet supply shop or groomer (check our website for a location near you), or online at www.DERMagic.com.

Here are just a few of the advantages of our shampoo bars compared to liquids:

· A shampoo bar is small but oh-so-powerful. We find that they last longer than a 16-oz bottle of shampoo!

· When you have a wriggly pup in the sink, you need at least three hands to deal with the dog and the shampoo bottle and the hand that’s doing the washing. With a bar, one hand does double duty!

· Shampoo bars are lightweight, compared to liquids, and cost much less to ship.

· Our shampoo bars are Certified Organic!

· Bars are portable… and perfect for travel. No spills!

· We can ship shampoo bars anywhere in the world without feeling guilty about the environment. Compared to shipping shampoo, which is mostly water, the carbon footprint is reduced at least 75%!

· Our bars are packaged in natural cardboard boxes, which are post-consumer recycled and recyclable, with the added benefit of allowing the shampoo bar to breathe (which makes your home smell like heaven).

• And, my favorite, for every 10 shampoo bars sold, a tree is planted!  Totally green...

· We’re sure there are more benefits! Send us your thoughts and we’ll post them here!

Best wishes,

Dr Adelia