Background:
Many practices and products arrive at the pet grooming industry by way of the human beauty industry. The whole idea of conditioners came to us from hairdressing art. Prior to the late 1970’s most pet groomers, even the top echelon of grooming icons had never considered using conditioners on pet hair. Likewise, some grooming practices originated in the beauty industry. There are several types of pre-shampoo treatments that have trickled down from the human hair care industry. Hot Oil Treatment was one, and many Asian groomers can be seen in videos using a pre-bath mineral soak.
Consider the practice called “Close-Open-Close.” Close-Open-Close originated in the human hair care industry as a practice that accompanied permanent hair coloring in order to achieve a more uniform and thorough color result as well as protecting the client’s hair from damage from the very alkaline and caustic hair dye products. Most often the products used before the hair dyeing were protein-rich conditioners. The name “Close-Open-Close” was chosen because it was easy for hairstylists to remember. Close-Open-Close relates to the cuticle layer of the hair shaft. Step One was to smooth or “close” the hair cuticle before dyeing and to fill in any uneven patches or damage on the cuticle surface. Step Two was to lift the cuticle edges so that the color could be deposited into the inner cortex of the hair shafts to become permanent. This was achieved by formulating the coloring products to be extremely alkaline in pH (ie, 9.0 pH) which actually pulls and lifts the cuticle scales. Step Three was to use an acidic conditioner to tighten the cuticle scales and again create a smooth surface.
Adapting this protocol to pet grooming it translates into “Condition-Shampoo-Condition”. This process was adapted by IV San Bernard and called “Close-Open-Close”. It has been adopted by many groomers who have found it helpful in their grooming.
Science says:
That’s the background. Here are some facts to consider:
• The hair cuticle does not actually OPEN. It lifts or becomes slightly raised or lifted.
• Opening or lifting of the hair cuticle is not a good thing. It is not designed to be forcibly lifted. It does not open and close like a door.
• The cuticle layers are held in place by lipids and proteins. Repeated lifting by chemical or mechanical means erodes the “mortar” that holds the structure together.*
• When we shampoo hair, the water breaks the hydrogen bonds and swells the hair shafts. This slightly raises the hair cuticle.
• Also contributing to lifting of the cuticle are the anionic surfactants in the shampoo. Hair naturally carries a negative charge. When the negatively charged anionic cleansers meet the negatively charged hair, it can pull on the surface causing lifting. This is all the more reason to use a well-balanced shampoo that has been mindfully formulated.
• Most current-day products are formulated to a slightly acidic pH, 5.5-6.5, pretty much the same range as human shampoos.
• High pH products, such as hard soaps, hair dye, and aggressive degreasers can also cause excessive lifting of the cuticle and erode the cuticle "mortar". These are the products that most benefit “Close-Open-Close.”
• A lifted hair cuticle does not necessarily allow beneficial ingredients to penetrate into the cortex or body of the hair shaft.
• Penetration of ingredients is determined more by the chemistry and molecular size of the ingredients. We do not just open the door and put good stuff inside the hair shaft.
• Also, the most recent hair science suggests that penetration of substances into the cortex of the hair does not happen through the cuticle, but through the mortar that holds the cuticle layers in place.
•
Discussion
Okay. So here's my take-away from my reading on this subject: It seems to me that the issue is the lifting of the hair cuticle that causes damage not the smoothing. Not all shampoos are potentially damaging. A shampoo is much more than a single surfactant, or single cleansing agent. In a well-formulated product, the secondary, co-surfactants (foam builders, emulsifiers, thickeners) team up with the primary detergent(s) to form a complex matrix that is the shampoo. One important effect of the co-surfactants is to reduce the irritancy of the primary cleanser, e.g., a sulfate. We still have a powerful cleanser, but it is more friendly to hair and skin. Another formulation practice that makes for less lifting of the hair cuticle is the use of cationic polymer conditioners in the shampoo. Polyquats, such as Polyquaternium 10 and Polyquaternium 44, play well with anionic surfactants and neutralize the negative charge of the detergent(s) and smooth the hair cuticle during the shampoo process. Polyquaternium 10 is ubiquitous in human hair shampoos (it's everywhere) and we are seeing more and more in pet shampoos. Truth is…shampooing can be a smoothing process not necessarily lifting or opening the hair cuticle. What isn’t opened does not need to be closed.
When to Condition Before Shampoo
While I don't believe that all professional pet groomers should condition before every bath, there are some situations where this protocol can be helpful.
Badly damaged coat that is not to be clipped. An example is the 10-year old Bearded Collie in full coat that we groom every 2 weeks that has accumulated considerable damage throughout the coat from constant de-matting. She is always very dirty because her owner doesn't care and lets her wander into any dirt or undergrowth that she wants to. Conditioning before the shampoo with a product with plenty of hydrolyzed protein such as Chris Christensen Thick n' Thicker Foaming Protein is a way to imitate COC.
Funky old dog skin. I have been amazed at how a protein treatment will bring the skin of old dogs to a healthier appearance. I am not talking about treating a skin disease, with broken skin.
Fine, non-porous coat. In this case you might want to simply condition before the bath and not after. Less porous hair and fine non-porous hair do not absorb conditioning ingredients in the same thirsty way as do porous and/or damaged hair.
Deshedding ultra thick double or triple coats. These challenging jobs can be made easier by relaxing the coat with application of a good anti-static conditioner before the shampoo, especially if you do not use a recirculating system.
Is "Closed-Open-Closed" a Good Thing?
Groomers have been doing pre-bath treatments for years. COC is another option in your toolbox. One can choose to treat the hair and skin with an oil, a mineral soak, a protein treatment or a cationic conditioner. Some groomers like to simply reverse the traditional order and condition before the bathe and that's it. Reverse conditioning has its place, especially with non-porous hair or when you do not want to soften the coat. Conditioning before the bathe as well as after gives us a means to protect skin and coat from the aggressiveness of the shampoo.
However, not all shampoos are damaging. Let me say that again, please: not all shampoos are damaging. Almost all our contemporary shampoos contain co-surfactants that function as foaming and thickening agents and significantly reduce the harshness of the primary detergents. Many modern shampoos also contain a cationic surfactant, such as Polyquaternium 10. And there are some shampoos, such as iGroom Charcoal+Keratin, that contain hydrolyzed protein along with a mild surfactant, and are much less likely to cause damage to hair than traditional shampoos.
What I don't like about Closed-Open-Closed is that the concept oversimplifies the biology of the hair cuticle. The cuticle scales that protect the hairshaft cannot be repeatedly open and closed like a cupboard door. What the pre-bath treatment often does is to prevent the lifting of the cuticle scales during the shampoo or cleansing process and protects the intercellular cement from degradation.The desirable process is one that minimizes the lifting of the hair cuticle.
REFERENCES:
C.R. Robbins, Chemical and Physical Behavior of Human Hair, 329 DOI 10.1007/978-3-642-25611-0_6, # Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012
Chapter Six, Interactions of Shampoo and Conditioner Ingredients with Hair.
http://www.thenaturalhavenbloom.com/2013/03/junk-science-opening-hairs-cuticle-for.html (this link has been removed)
Posted 7th August 2019 by bbird Revised March 16, 2025
"Shampoos and hair conditioners have generally been perceived as products that do not damage hair. However, there is increasing evidence that these products, particularly shampoos can contribute to hair damage through abrasive, erosive actions combined with cyclic actions involving bending, compression and extension, both during and after the shampoo process. These actions produce degradation of both the keratin and the important non-keratin components of the hair surface, the cell membrane complex and the cuticle layers." Robbins. pg 330