Hair: It’s a natural part of being a human (and typically, a cat). But when the temperature climbs, and skin is exposed, it’s one of those things that a good many of us want to control. This week, we’re tackling hairlessness, not just the process of hair removal (electric shavers and ingrown-hair treatments and aesthetician-approved tweezers) but also what to buy when you’re losing your hair. Here, Lena Dunham on the vet-approved shampoo she uses on her hairless cats Gia and Irma.
Growing up I had four hairless cats (though only ever three at once) and we would wash them all one Saturday a month with Johnson & Johnson baby shampoo. It was by all accounts a challenging day where we’d get scratches and bites but I loved it because it meant holding each cat in a towel for at least 20 minutes while they got their bearings again. Nothing cuter than a hairless cat head sticking out of a towel. It’s literally the definition of pinhead. Their heads are so tiny! And somehow tinier when wet!
Last December, I adopted two new hairless babies, Gia and Irma, but they have crazy sensitive skin and get bumps and lumps and scrapes so I use a vet-approved shampoo called Vetoquinol Vet Solutions Sebozole Shampoo. (The Johnson & Johnson does not help prevent skin infections.) I do have to be careful not to get it in their eyes or butts, but honestly, I avoid washing the butts anyway.
Plus: the shampoo she uses on Good One and Bad One (her hedgehogs)
I also have two hedgehogs (they live in Connecticut because hedgehogs are actually illegal in New York City) and they are the sweetest. Their names are Good One and Bad One (well, their birth names are Margaret and Elizabeth but their nicknames have stuck). Supposedly hedgehogs love water but these sure do not. They do need to be rinsed on occasion and I found a shampoo for them that is truly called Hogwash. It’s the best product name since Not Your Mother’s Jeans. I have to admit I slack on washing them because their prickles prick up and it hurts. Bad One also bites and it’s a bummer.
The cats love the hedgehogs and the hedgehogs do not care for the cats and my poodles love my cats and we are all bouncing between L.A., New York, and Connecticut and it’s a real medley of hairs, furs, and experiences.
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