Aloveen is Dermcare's oatmeal and aloe vera wash for dogs, cats and horses — a soap-free shampoo and a matching intensive conditioner, sold separately or together as a starter pack. It is the wash most often reached for when a coat needs cleaning but the skin underneath will not tolerate a detergent-based shampoo.
Shampoo and conditioner do different jobs
The shampoo cleans without soap, so it does not strip the coat's own oils the way a general-purpose wash does. The intensive conditioner is the part that stays on the skin — it is left in for several minutes and is where the oatmeal does most of its work, so skipping it and using the shampoo alone gets you about half the effect. On a dry or itchy coat the conditioner can also be diluted and used as a leave-in rinse between baths.
How often to wash
More often than you would with an ordinary shampoo: because there is no soap in it, Aloveen is intended to be used as frequently as the skin needs rather than once a month. Wet the coat right through, work the shampoo down to the skin rather than over the top of the coat, and leave it on for a few minutes before rinsing.
When to talk to a vet first
Aloveen is a wash, not a treatment. Persistent itching, hot spots, hair loss or a smell that comes back within days of bathing all point to something — fleas, an allergy, a skin infection — that a shampoo will not resolve on its own.
