Oddly enough, conditioners can be something of a controversial topic, but there is so much more information out there today. That allows us, as educated groomers, to take everything in and make decisions for ourselves.

A key component is choosing the correct conditioner for the individual pet’s coat or desired effect. To really understand why different conditioners will have different effects on pets’ coats, we have to get a little scientific…

Conditioners work by either loving water (hydrophilic/humectant) and attracting humectants into the hair shaft, plumping the hair and helping it maintain flexibility. Or the conditioner hates water (hydrophobic/emollient) and protects the hair by leaving a film on the hair cuticle, preventing the hair from absorbing moisture, therefore reducing frizz and breakage. Both of those sound good and are necessary in coat care, not only in conditioners but in shampoos as well, and a balance of the two is essential.

A high-porosity (more porous or open cuticle) coat would need more moisture and can tolerate a heavier conditioner than a drop coat with a more closed hair cuticle, or a low-porosity coat. The key is to have a balanced, usually lightweight conditioner that won’t weigh the coat down or take a long time to rinse and dry. The range of products available to us has increased in quality and availability in the past 20 years, making it easier to find a good balance.

When we’re reading an ingredient label and looking for a hydrophilic water-attracting conditioner, ingredients would include Glycerin, panthenol and butylene glycol. For sealing the cuticle and protecting it from getting frizzy, we’d be looking for lightweight water-soluble silicones like dimethicone copolyol or amodimethicone. Other hydrophobic ingredients to look for would be jojoba, flaxseed or avocado oil. If we’re not worried about buildup since we know that we need longer-lasting frizz control that will be taken care of by a deep-cleansing shampoo, dimethicone will work nicely.

However, ingredient lists will not tell us everything. They won’t tell us how much of each ingredient is in the product, and that balance of ingredients is key to how well it will work. Single-ingredient products? Lovely—but they are best used as additives to work together with other conditioners.

For example, if your hands are dry and cracked, just applying baby oil or Vaseline won’t solve the problem of your skin being dry. Similarly, if the coat is frizzy from being dry and damaged, we need to add hydration before we seal the cuticle. Hydrophobic products will add a layer of protection to the hair by sealing the cuticle of a damaged hair shaft, but it won’t hydrate or repair it.

Another reason for balanced conditioners is that after we’ve added moisture to frizzy, damaged hair, the extra “slip” lightweight hydrophobic conditioners (like silicones) create can help in the deshedding or dematting process as well as protecting the coat while brushing.

What all those descriptors have in common is keeping the hair shaft in good condition (pun intended). All of the pets we groom—cats included—will have at least a part of their natural sebum layer removed during the shampoo. Replacing it with a high-quality conditioner that suits the pet’s needs will help repel dirt instead of attracting it.

We’ve generally accepted that harsh dematting of the coat—and often just regular brushing—can damage it and cause matting to return in the same spots. Proper conditioning will help repair the hair shaft, keep the cuticles more closed, and actually speed up drying and styling. Time and science have taught us that those extra few minutes in the bath, with the correct products, actually make the groom faster and the next groom easier.

Mobile and house-call groomers can often feel limited in the products that we can have on-hand or carry into people’s homes. Here is where our finishing oils and sprays come into play. While I’ll use a balanced rinse-out conditioner for every pet, they don’t all get the same finishing spray. What works great on one dog might leave another’s coat limp and heavy.

House-call groomers have to put some extra thought into which sprays we use, or at least extra care in how we use them, as they can leave floors slippery. While that’s not an issue for us wearing our non-slip shoes, you can’t always assume every member of the household will be wearing non-slip shoes at all times.

It’s not always about today’s groom; it’s about the time between grooms and making the next one even easier and faster. However, what should always come first is the best possible care of the pet in front of us. So the next time you have a pet in your van or client’s tub, remember that skipping conditioner is not the key to speeding up the process.