hen I was a newbie pet groomer working in the very first pet grooming salon of my career, I had a highly skilled mentor. She was the owner of the salon, a graduate of the same school I had attended and she was extremely knowledgeable about the pet grooming industry. I would watch her, wide-eyed and obsessed, as she would scissor the dogs she was grooming. And in my mind, I could only hope that one day I would harness the skills to achieve the smooth finish that she seemed to effortlessly pull off on each of her grooms.
I learned a lot from her, and I credit much of my skill to her relentless combing of my own grooms to find every little hair that was out of place which she would make me fix over and over until it was perfect. Besides the skill of scissoring itself, she taught me about the importance of the coat being in the proper condition to attain such perfection in the scissor work—everything from the shampoos and conditioners you choose to the drying techniques you apply to straighten and stretch the coat, all the way from the skin to the tip of the hair. I was always keen to retain any information about skin and coat care that she mentioned, and one of her lessons that I have never forgot was the use of grooming sprays. Grooming sprays were one of her absolute musts when brushing, combing and scissoring dog hair.
But why are grooming sprays such an important part of the grooming process?
The first and most important rule of brushing any dog is that you should never brush dry hair. Brushing hair without the use of a grooming spray can be extremely harsh on the coat, causing damage to the cuticle layer which is the outermost layer of the hair that provides protection and helps to retain the moisture of the individual hair strands. Moisture is key to keeping the coat healthy during brushing, drying and combing.
The cuticle of the hair is made up of overlapping layers that, when healthy, lay flat and tight, slightly overlapping one another similar to the way shingles on a roof lay down to create a barrier to keep moisture out. However, the cuticle does the opposite by creating a protective barrier to keep moisture in. When the cuticle becomes dried out or damaged from the friction of brushing, those layers that normally lie flat can become raised at the edges, allowing moisture to escape and also make the hair more prone to matting.
Grooming sprays come in a variety of formulas and functions. Some are formulated as a moisturizer to both add and retain moisture and nutrients to the hair shaft to help keep the hair healthy and to seal the cuticle. Others are formulated as a detangler with ingredients that help to loosen and detangle knotted or matted hair. And some are formulated as a scissoring spray, helping the comb to glide smoothly through the hair, aiding in fluffing the coat which allows the groomer to achieve a crisp and plush finish that is trimmed neatly and free of stray hairs extending beyond the profile.
My preference for a scissoring spray is a formulation that is water based, light weight and sprays easily as a mist. I love to spray above the coat and allow the mist to fall on the hair as I comb it through. I can feel a marked difference in how the comb glides through the coat with ease. When you can comb through the coat with ease and fluff the hair up without the product weighing the coat down, you can create a smoother and crisper scissor finish.
De-matting sprays that are formulated specifically for loosening tangled or packed coat are a completely different formulation. Detangling sprays typically have ingredients that help to lubricate the hair so the tangles can be more easily brushed out with minimal damage to the hair. These ingredients make detangling matted or packed coat much easier with less strain on the delicate hair and skin, but sometimes those ingredients can be oily. Some detanglers even contain high-grade silicones which can leave the coat looking weighed down or even greasy, so they’re best used before the bath to work on the matting, and a lighter water-based spray can be used during the drying and finishing stages of the groom.
Finishing sprays are also commonly used as a scissoring spray. Typically, a finishing spray is a light formula that doesn’t weigh down the hair. These sprays often contain ingredients that reduce and control static and don’t leave any heavy buildup, leaving the coat plush and manageable. Some can even add a glossy sheen to certain coat types. The lightweight formulas with static-control ingredients are especially helpful as a scissoring spray and tend to be the best choice for soft, curly coats. Misting the coat before and during scissoring helps manage and fluff the coat, and reduces static so you can get the best possible scissor finish.
Grooming sprays are an important part of proper grooming for both the health of the coat and the overall look of the finished groom. Experiment with a few on a variety of coat types and unleash the power to level-up your grooming game. I’m confident that you and your pet parent clients will notice a difference. Happy grooming!