Where Does a Beautiful Coat Really Begin? The answer may surprise you...

By Rosemary Sutton

Founder & CEO

SummerWinds® B.I.S. LLC.

You can't build a skyscraper without a good foundation.

Or, to put it another way...

What comes first—the chicken or the egg?

One of the most common questions I'm asked is:

"What coat care products should I use?"

It's a fair question—but it isn't the first question we should be asking.

Maintaining your animal's health has to be your top priority.

Without health... nothing else matters.

A beautiful, healthy, shiny coat is simply one of the visible signs of a healthy animal.

Just as you can't build a skyscraper without a solid foundation, you can't expect to grow a beautiful, healthy, shiny coat without first nourishing healthy skin and supplying the blood with the nutrients needed to feed the hair.

Blood delivers oxygen and nutrients to every hair root through tiny capillaries surrounding each hair follicle. Healthy blood nourishes healthy skin, healthy skin produces healthy hair, and healthy hair produces beautiful coats.

A nutritious diet supports the body from the inside out.

Understanding How Hair Grows

To understand why nutrition is so important, it helps to understand how hair grows.

If you'd like to learn more about the science of hair structure and growth, read our companion article, "Anatomy of Hair and Your Pet's Coat." Anatomy of Hair and Your Pet's Coat

Hair is an appendage of the skin.

Each hair begins deep within the skin inside a tiny structure called the hair follicle. At the base of the follicle is the hair bulb, where tiny capillaries continuously deliver oxygen and nutrients through the bloodstream. These nutrients nourish the cells that produce new hair.

As new cells are formed, older cells are pushed upward, gradually becoming the hair shaft we see above the skin.

Hair is composed primarily of keratin, a strong structural protein that gives hair its strength and resilience.

Once the hair shaft grows beyond the surface of the skin, it is no longer living tissue.

Dead hair cannot heal itself.

It can often be conditioned, protected, reconstructed, and made much more manageable with quality grooming cosmetics.

At SummerWinds®, we've helped restore the appearance and manageability of countless dry, dull, brittle, and damaged coats using reconstructive conditioning agents.

However...there comes a point when hair is simply too damaged.

When the cuticle has been destroyed, the hair shaft is badly split, elasticity has been lost, and the ends continue to break...

No cosmetic can resurrect dead hair.

Sometimes the best solution is to remove the damaged hair and allow healthy new coat to grow in its place.

Healthy new growth will always outperform damaged old growth.

Why Some Coats Shine...and Others Don't

The hair shaft consists of three layers:

• Cuticle – the protective outer layer.

• Cortex – provides strength, elasticity, pigment, and much of the coat's structure.

• Medulla – the innermost core found in many types of hair.

The cuticle is especially important.

Healthy cuticle layers lie smooth and flat, reflecting light evenly to produce the rich shine we all admire.

When the cuticle becomes rough, lifted, or damaged, light scatters instead of reflecting evenly, leaving the coat dull, dry, and lifeless.

Understanding the cuticle helps explain why proper grooming cosmetics are so important—but only after healthy hair has first been produced.

Nutrition Builds the Foundation

Today's companion animals rely heavily on us for their nutrition.

More than 90% are fed dry kibble. While quality kibble provides a convenient source of nutrition, it is also a highly processed food. The heat used during manufacturing destroys naturally occurring digestive enzymes, and although vitamins and minerals are added back, I prefer knowing exactly what my animals are receiving rather than simply hoping they're getting everything they need.

Throughout my years of breeding, showing, and studying animal nutrition, I've always believed that health begins from within.

Carnivores were designed to eat meat, organs, fat, cartilage, and bone. Those foods naturally provide proteins, essential fatty acids, vitamins, minerals, digestive enzymes, and countless nutrients that support healthy blood, healthy skin, and healthy hair growth.

That is why I recommend supplementing a good-quality diet with targeted nutritional support.

At SummerWinds®, our nutritional foundation begins with three products that work together.

Health-E-Coat®

Rich in Omega-3 and Omega-6 Essential Fatty Acids to nourish healthy skin, support the development of a beautiful coat, and promote overall health and well-being.

Xtraordinary En-Z-Ymes®

Digestive Enzymes with Prebiotics and Probiotics that help support a healthy digestive system so nutrients from the diet can be better utilized.

Trav-L-Stress Relief®

Contains Lactobacillus acidophilus and L-Tryptophan to help maintain digestive balance and support animals during travel, showing, breeding, and other stressful situations.

Together, these products help create the healthy foundation from which beautiful coats can grow.

Now...Let's Talk About Grooming Cosmetics

Once your animal is producing a healthy, beautiful coat from within...

Now it's time to protect it.

This is where proper grooming cosmetics become essential.

The right 6.5 pH balanced, low sulfate shampoo gently cleans without stripping the coat's natural oils.

The right conditioner helps smooth and protect the cuticle while improving manageability.

The right oil conditioner helps maintain moisture, reduce breakage, and protect the hair shaft from environmental damage.

Grooming cosmetics don't create healthy hair.

They protect the healthy hair your animal has already grown.

There is an important difference.

Beautiful Coats Don't Just Happen...They Are Cultivated.

A beautiful coat is never created by one shampoo...

One conditioner...

Or one supplement.

It is the result of consistent nutrition, thoughtful management, proper grooming, and understanding why each step matters.

Healthy animals grow healthier coats.

Healthy coats are easier to maintain.

Well-maintained coats become beautiful coats.

And beautiful coats don't just happen...

They are cultivated.

According to Rosemary

"Without health...nothing else matters. Grooming cosmetics help protect and maintain a beautiful coat, but true beauty begins with a healthy animal."

Whether your animal is a beloved family companion, a working partner, a performance animal, or a show champion...

My hope is that every article in the SummerWinds® Learning Center helps you understand not only how to care for your animals...

...but why to.

— Rosemary Sutton

Founder & CEO

SummerWinds® B.I.S. LLC.

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