From Muddy Monsters To Designer Doggies (Pet Head Dry Cleans Waterless Spray Shampoo)

Member Name: FourPaws

Product:	Pet Head Dry Cleans Waterless Spray Shampoo
Date:	20/06/09 (146 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great at removing dirt/sand, adds shine, gorgeous scent

Disadvantages: It's £9.99 a bottle

*What is Pet Head Dry Clean Waterless Spray Shampoo?*
This grooming spray is produced by the Pet Head company- made by the same people who make the highly popular Tigi Bed Head products. The range, aimed mainly at dogs, includes a variety of various products such as shampoos, conditions, detangling sprays, waterless shampoo, scented sprays and grooming wipes.

*The product itself*
Grooming is perhaps the one aspect of dog ownership that I dislike the most! It is boring, time consuming, goes on forever and is something I could quite happy live without doing. So, it has to be said, that I probably didn't choose my choice of breed very well! As what breed did I go for? The Bernese Mountain Dog, of course! These guys have an amazingly thick, rather long, easily matted coat with large patches on white, which needs an hour a day spent on it to keep it looking nice- and an hour is really the bare minimum!

As most of you will know, the dog that I am talking about is Benson, my lovely boy who has an addiction to all things wet and muddy- the thicker the mud and the dirtier the water, the better in his eyes! Now, couple this obsession with that coat of his, and his uncanny ability to find the muddiest, most overgrown, wettest route that exists on walks, and you'll have some idea just how much attention his coat needs. Oh, and take into consideration it is now moulting season, so he is loosing practically whole clumps of fur on a daily basis.

It may surprise some to find out that never, in the four years I have owned Benson, have I given him a bath, nor have I ever bathed Grace, my other dog. Because they have never been bathed, their skin has retained healthy levels of natural oil to keep their coats reasonably clean unaided, so all that is really required from me, is good brushing everyday for Benson, and a quick going over a couple of times a week for Grace.

However, there are times of course, when perhaps they have got particularly grubby, that they need a little helping hand to get their coats looking smart again, and this is where my army of grooming products come in handy! I like to try out new things often, much like I do with my own hair care bits, so when I came across this Pet Head range whilst browsing online, I decided to have a closer look.

The range has been created by the same people who make the hugely popular Tigi Bed Head range for humans, but of course, these bits are designed for use on dogs. They offer a selection of various items, mainly shampoos, but it was this particular product that caught my eye, and I ordered a bottle to try.

The product in question is the Pet Head Dry Clean Waterless Spray Shampoo, bit of a mouthful, I'm sure you'll agree! Also, just to add, it doesn't have the 'S' on the end of Clean like stated in the dooyoo product name- I'll apologise, that was probably a mistake on my part when suggesting this item.

Anyway, the spray has been designed to provide an option to quickly and effectively clean and refresh your dogs coat, helping to revive it and remove dirt and grime without the need for water or a proper bath, and what's more, absolutely no rinsing is required either, you simply need to spray on and comb out.
The blueberry scented spray is pH balanced, making it suitable for even the most sensitive of skins and is free of paraben (a chemical preservative), petroleum, sulphate and DEA (another chemical preservative). It is suitable for use on all coat types and colours and can be used on dogs of all ages, although obviously care needs to be taken when using around the eyes, face and ears.

*Packaging*
The Dry Clean Spray comes packaged in a rather attractive and funky looking lime green bottle with a white trigger action spray nozzle. Around the neck of the bottle you will find a small tag which is the guarantee that it is an genuine Pet Head product and then on the bottle you'll find all the usual information such as directions for use, a couple of safety warnings (all basic common sense stuff), ingredients and contact details for Pet Head, should you have any questions or comments. The bottle may be recycled once empty.

*Price & Availability*
I've yet to see Pet Head products stocked anywhere other than online but they are pretty widely available from various places on the internet, so you shouldn't have too much trouble sourcing a bottle.

I purchased our 450ml bottle online from Kyra & Luna's Pet Boutique (www.kyraandluna.co.uk) for £9.99.

*My opinion*
I have to admit, my first reaction on discovering these products, was to laugh out loud! I really did find it amusing that Tigi Bed Head were now doing pet products, packaged in bottles so similar to their normal stuff and I had visions of people in top salons up and down the country unknowingly having these Pet Head products tested on them! But regardless, after my initial little giggle and after taking a proper look at the products, I really liked the sound of this waterless shampoo and thought it would be perfect for Grace and Benson, so I placed my order.

Initially, I did think they were a little expensive, I wouldn't even dream of spending £10 on a single bottle of something for my hair, but here I was buying designer doggie hair care! Even so, my order had been lodged and I waited eagerly for its delivery. A few days later, when the package arrived, I felt a little bit happier with the fact I had paid £10 for it- the bottle in the picture looks quite small but in reality, it's a reasonably large bottle, filled to the brim, so you are actually getting a decent amount of product for your money.

We weren't back from the beach long, so with Grace and Benson a bit muddy and full of sand, it was the ideal time to put the product through its paces. I started with Grace first- the bottle directed me to spray the product liberally all over the coat, taking care to avoid the face, then dry with a towel and brush out. So that is exactly what I did, the trigger action nozzle was very easy to activate, the bottle was an ideal shape to comfortably hold and the product sprayed out in a fine, even mist which gave good coverage to Graces coat. I sprayed Grace until her fur was moderately damp to the touch, which took around 8 or 9 sprays, then gave her a good rub down with a towel.

The scent which wafted up was fantastic- I can't say it particularly smelt like blueberries as claimed, it was more floral I thought, but even so, it was incredibly fresh and absolutely gorgeous. The spray appeared to penetrate her coat quite well, reaching right down to the skin and after a vigorous rub with the towel, her coat was left smelling brilliant, the majority of sand had been removed and the small particles of dirt on her had been removed too. After a good going over with a brush, the remainder of the sand and dirt fell easily from her coat and she was left with an incredible shine to her fur, it was smooth, sleek and soft too. Top marks!

Now it was time to try it on Benson, who has a coat very different to Grace. I sprayed him with the product, although it took 10-12 sprays to get his coat damp enough and then rubbed him down with the towel, exactly as I had done previously with Grace. The spray didn't appear to penetrate his coat no where near as well as it had done with Grace and it only really damped the surface of his fur, but even so, after a brush through, he too, was left smell pleasant, with a lovely glossy coat and the vast majority of sand and dirt had been removed. Although, it has to be said, I did fell a bit guilty using this on Benson- it really does have a very floral scent, not ideal for a big macho male dog!

After use of the spray, I'm pleased to say that neither dogs coat was left in the slightest bit greasy or sticky and the scent lasted pretty well, I used it on the dogs around 11am and at 9pm that night, the scent was still pretty prominent, but more so on Benson than Grace, so I suppose it all really depends on the type and thickness of your dogs coat. Flyaways were tamed with ease and it helped tease out small tangles too, which were a couple of nice extra benefits.

I used it again a couple of days later when the dogs really were quite muddy, with lesser, but still relatively pleasing results. I left the mud to dry on both dogs, and then brushed the majority out and used the spray to help me tackle the couple remaining more stubborn patches of dirt and although it did help make slightly lesser work of removing the dirt, there were still some traces left behind, which required wiping out with a damp clothe. But once again, it left both dogs with deliciously scented fur and an incredible glossy finish.

All in all, I'm really very pleased with this product and it is now a regular buy. At £10, yes, it is an expensive product, but I get around 12 applications (6 on each dog) from one bottle and it really does work, so to me, that justifies the price. It is universal- my dogs both have very different coat types but it works brilliantly on both of them, it effortlessly removes light soiling and helps me tackle more persistent dirt, conditions and smoothes the coat aswell as leaving behind a brilliant scent and shine, with no stickiness, greasiness or discolouration to the white parts of fur on Benson.

Summary: G & B get £10 hair products, whilst mine cost a couple of quid tops. Hmm, spoilt?!