You likely know that jojoba oil is a great product to use on your skin and hair. It adds moisture, it heals wounds, and it relieves itchiness and irritation.
You might be wondering then, is it also safe to use jojoba oil on your dog’s skin and fur? Skin allergies and infections are quite common in the canine population, so it would be great to relieve their irritation with jojoba oil.
But can you do it?
Below, I cover whether jojoba oil is safe for dogs and where you can use it. I then discuss the benefits of jojoba oil for dogs before describing exactly how to use it on your four legged friend.
What Is Jojoba Oil?
Jojoba oil is not actually an oil — it’s a wax ester. Because it is a wax and not an oil, it more closely resembles the oil that our skin naturally produces. This results in our skin feeling better more naturally. It also feels better on the skin simply because the consistency is lighter and less greasy.
The oil is extracted from the seeds of the jojoba plant which is found naturally across Northern Mexico, Arizona, and California.
It is rich in fatty acids, vitamins, and antioxidants which make it ideal for use on the skin. It is able to quickly moisturize skin and hair, fight off infection, and relieve itchiness and irritation.
Is Jojoba Oil Safe For Dogs?
As you probably know, jojoba oil is safe for human use and is a very good natural product. When people see themselves getting results, they often wonder if their furry friends can get the same results.
After all, if our itchiness and irritation is relieved by jojoba oil, why wouldn’t we want to provide the same relief to our allergy-ridden pup?
With that said, is it safe to use jojoba oil for dogs?
Jojoba oil is a very gentle product that does not contain any allergens or irritants. This makes it ideal for use on our dog’s.
For Their Skin & Fur
Fortunately, jojoba oil works on dogs much the same way that it works on humans. It is perfectly safe for use on a dog’s fur and skin, and can help with many skin irritations.
Jojoba Oil & Essential Oils
There is a lot of debate around whether you should even use essential oils on your pets. The general consensus, however, is that it’s safe depending on which oil you use. Many people use peppermint or lavender essential oils for their pets (we’ll cover this more later) because it helps to ease their anxiety.
However, essential oils are very potent products, and they can cause irritation to the skin if used in their pure form. It is recommended that you always mix essential oils with a carrier oil — whether you’re using them on your dog or yourself.
This is where jojoba oil comes in. A carrier oil is simply a gentler oil that helps to dilute essential oils which can cause irritation when used in their pure form.
Jojoba oil makes the perfect carrier oil for essential oils because it’s very gentle on the skin, doesn’t contain allergens, is moisturizing, and absorbs easily into the skin.
Can Dogs Eat Jojoba Oil?
There is no evidence to show that jojoba oil would be toxic to dogs if only a small amount is ingested.
This is why it’s safe to apply it on their skin and fur. Jojoba oil absorbs easily and won’t leave much behind on their fur or skin. If your dog happens to lick off the excess, it’s not likely to bother them.
However, jojoba oil is not digestible, and dogs who have ingested too much have experienced vomiting and diarrhea.
Benefits Of Jojoba Oil For Dogs
Just as jojoba oil has a lot of great benefits when we use it, it can do wonders for our furry friends as well.
Allergies & Hot Spots
Hot spots are a type of irritation that is also very common among dogs, especially larger breeds. It starts off as a smaller spot of irritation, often the result of allergies. If left untreated, it develops a bacterial infection that will leave the spot moist, red, inflamed, and irritated.
A study was performed in 2011 and published in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology. The researchers that performed this study found that jojoba oil works wonders on hot spots by getting rid of the infection, promoting healing, and relieving itchiness.
Dry Paws
Many dogs deal with dry and cracked paws as well. Dry paws are very common over the winter months when it’s cold, or during hot summers. Dry paws can be quite painful and irritating to our furry companions — after all, they’re constantly using their feet.
To rectify this, simply massage a bit of jojoba oil into their paw pads. You can do this for them every day, and you should immediately begin to notice an improvement. Simply be sure to watch them after you’ve applied the oil to ensure that they don’t lick all of it off.
Jojoba Oil For Dogs Ears
Jojoba oil is so gentle on skin that you can even use it to clean your dog’s ears. Many dogs develop itchy ears because they have too much wax. The simple solution is to add two small drops of jojoba oil to your dog’s ears and gently wipe them out with a small gauze pad.
Not only will this rid your dog’s ears of excess wax, but it will moisturize the inside of the ears and eliminate itchiness.
Aromatherapy
Jojoba oil has a nice, light, earthy scent to it that can be calming to the senses. You’re not going to use the oil to make your dog smell better — although it can help with that, too.
Many dogs suffer from anxiety, so it’s good to find a way to calm their worries. Of course, there are anxiety medications out there that can help, but using aromatherapy is a nice natural way to help them feel better.
Jojoba oil won’t necessarily make your dog feel more at ease on their own, however. Instead, you should use it in combination with an essential oil like lavender or peppermint. These two essential oils are known to ease anxiousness so that you can have a calmer pup.
How To Use Jojoba Oil For Dogs Dry Skin
Just as there are many ways for us to enjoy jojoba oil, there are numerous ways in which you can apply jojoba oil on your pet.
Directly On The Skin
Many dogs deal with skin allergies and stubborn itchiness. This can be very frustrating for them, as well as distressing to their owners when they have to watch them scratch incessantly.
Fortunately, jojoba oil is very gentle and moisturizing on the skin, so you can apply it directly to your pup’s skin.
I don’t recommend doing this with your bare hands just in case your pup is a bit dirty. Instead, take a damp washcloth or a piece of gauze and apply the jojoba oil to that. Using a washcloth over your fingers will be more gentle on your dog’s skin while helping you to stay clean.
It’s not hard to rub jojoba oil into your pup’s skin because it’s incredibly moisturizing and absorbs easily into the skin. It is a light product that does not leave much excess, so your dog won’t have that extra feeling of greasiness. Because it absorbs so easily, it is safe to use on dogs as they are not likely to ingest it.
In Their Shampoo
If you don’t want to apply jojoba oil directly to their skin, another option is to mix it into their shampoo. Jojoba oil is very moisturizing, and it has antifungal properties, making it perfect for use in a shampoo.
Simply add a few drops of jojoba oil into your dog’s shampoo and make sure to thoroughly mix it. You can then use the shampoo as you normally would. This is a good way to not only soften your dog’s skin and fur, but also to help prevent skin infections.
You usually can’t use natural oils in your dog’s shampoo because oil does not like water and it just washes away. However, jojoba oil is not actually an oil, but a waxy ester, making it great for use in shampoo.
In fact, you may not even need to add it to your dog’s shampoo. You can simply check the ingredients and purchase a bottle that already contains the oil. It is a very popular ingredient in many dog shampoos these days.
Conclusion
So, there you have it. Jojoba oil is just as safe and effective for use on our furry companions as it is for us. That’s great news because there are many dogs that suffer from hot spots, allergies, and dry paws.
Next time your dog seems in need of a little TLC on their skin, feel free to break out the jojoba oil.
Also learn how to store jojoba oil here, use it for hyperpigmentation here, nails here, use it for curly hair here, compare it to castor oil here or check out more jojoba oil guides here. You can also learn about using rosehip oil on your dog here.
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