There is no doubt that human shampoo will clean your dog, same as it cleans us, but the real question here is, Can You Use Human Shampoo On Dogs?
A main component of the skin is mantle acid. This is a layer that serves as barrier to protect the porous topmost layer of the skin and covers it. This layer is responsible for keeping the outer body hydrated. Now when we bathe that layer of acidic oil washes way.
For this reason most of the shampoos are formulated with moisturizers to replace this layer, until the skin replenishes itself around 12 hours later.
The acid mantle is what we call the pH of skin. It’s scale ranges from 0 to 14 where levels less than 6.4 are considered acidic and more than that are considered alkaline. The normal range of pH in humans is 5.2 to 6.2 with a tendency on the acidic side, and so even the shampoos are designed to maintain this balance. While on dogs the normal range of pH is 5.5 to 7.5 tending toward the alkaline range.
This is why if we use human shampoo on our dogs it will disrupted the dogs acidic mantel, creating a suitable environment for the growth of bacteria.
When trying to find the best washing product for your dog focus on finding one with a pH balance that will nourish and protect your dogs skin. Make sure it does not contain any artificial fragrances or color added. Look for products that contain vitamin E, honey, tea tree oil and aloe vera. Washing your dog once a month or once in few months is more than acceptable.