Care For Your Pet's Skin With Natural Herbs

Caring for our pet's skin to maintain its health can be difficult. Not least because you maybe overwhelmed on what products to choose. There's so many options to choose, with hundreds of different lotions and supplements available.

Following on from my previous blogs looking at skincare, this time I'm looking at some of the most popular herbal approaches to our pet's skin health.

Do herbal preparations actually work for our pets skincare?

Herbal Approaches for Your Pet's Skincare

There's several herbs available to help your pet's skin health. But do they work? In short, yes they can! But unfortunately there's not much (if any!) research readily available stating that herbs do help with skincare (for people or animals).

But it's worth saying that for any veterinary complementary therapies, although there is scarce scientific research. This is not though an indication that none work. It's more due to many other reasons, including the considerable expense of clinical trials. See more information on this at my research for natural animal healthcare page.

Find below an overview of some of the popular herbs available for your pet's skincare:

1. Aloe Vera For Pet Skincare

There are actually in excess of 400 different types of Aloe Vera. The most commonly used type is Aloe Barbadensis Miller. This is also considered to be the most potent and effective type.

It can be taken as a supplement or applied topically to the skin. Aloe vera can be used for dogs, cats, rabbits, horses and virtually any animal.

Does aloe vera really help pet skin health?

This research review at the Natural Medicine Journal provides an overview of some of ways research has suggested it does help. A key point is that not all Aloe Vera preparations are the same.

Note that research suggests stabilisation is vital. This is worth noting when you're seeing a plethora of different products available. They're not all the same!

I can say that I've used Aloe Vera skincare for my dogs, horses and other animals for many years. (And yes I do sell it, but I only do this because I believe in it and enjoy using it!).

Get more info on Aloe Vera at the International Aloe Science Council website

Email me at info @ taranet.co.uk if you'd like more information on my favourite Aloe products for pets and people.

2. Comfrey For Pets

This herb can be used as a supplement or for horses applied to the skin, (it should only be used topically to dogs).

Does it work?

There's research that suggests it does work with people. Click here for info on this medical study.

Comfrey does contain allantoin which is a substance that helps skin cells grow. And maybe partly why comfrey has a reputation for assisting in skincare.

3. Arnica For Animal Health

Arnica's one of the most popular homeopathic remedies. It can be found as a homeopathic "pill" or as a skincare lotion. Arnica's thought to be best for inflammatory skin conditions.

Read more about it in my blog post here.

4. Calendula For Pet Health

This is a member of the sunflower family, and has long been used for treating wounds - in both people and animals.

Calendula is sometimes mixed with comfrey to help with skincare too. It's thought to help with tissue repair and healing, which is why it's got a reputation for helping wounds.

You can get the herbs and make a tea, and once boiled and then cooled and strained, it can be put into a spray bottle and the dilution can be applied to the affected area. You can buy ready made preparations of Calendula too!

Finally…. There's several other herbs that are used for skincare, the above are some of the most popular.
But others to consider include Chamomile - which you can read more about here in my Natural Pet Health Blog Chamomile post.

So there are several options for you to care for your animal's skin health using natural herbal products.

Remember as with any skincare - herbal or otherwise, it's important to get Veterinary advice before using. Especially if your pet has an injury or other ailment. Remember what works with one animal may not necessarily work with another.

Find out more about dozens of natural animal therapies here at Taranet. Or read other articles in this Natural Pet Health Blog. Take a look at the sitemap here to explore!

About the Author

Suzanne Harris is founder of this Taranet website at www.taranet.co.uk, and also provides business coaching to horse and dog care and veterinary professionals.