It’s always hard to figure out what the best type of shampoo for your dog is: there are so many brands and styles on the market! Instead of buying dog shampoo, we’ve rounded up a few recipes to follow that help you make your own dog soap at home! These recipes are not only dog-friendly, but the are environmentally friendly too as you avoid using a lot of plastic bottles. Bar soap for dogs is perfect for traveling, easy to use, and make wonderful gifts for fellow dog-lovers.
The main ingredients you’ll need are:
1.) Silicone molds
Try fun dog shapes like paws or bones!
2.) Soap base
You can find bulk melt and pour soap bases online through bulk natural ingredient shops. Alternatively, you can make your own base at home, but this takes a little more effort and careful mixing as lye is part of any soap base.
- Working with lye requires protective equipment such as goggles, mask, and gloves when working with it as it has a very high pH and can burn your skin.
- Once it mixes with the oils, the pH balances out, creating a new chemical compound you know as soap!
3.) 2-3 types of oil
- Castor oil
- Alternate oil such as coconut, olive, safflower, sunflower, or shea oil.
4.) Essential oils
You can use dog-safe, pure essential oil to add scent to your soap. Be sure to use 100% pure oils, use sparingly at the proper dilution rate in your soap mixture, and avoid those that are known to be toxic to dogs such as:
- Wintergreen
- Pennyroal
- Tea tree oil (*note that you may find this in dog shampoos in such a low concentrate that it is not considered to be unsafe)
- Pine oil
Check out these recipes to make your soap at home. For recipes that require you to work with lye and make your own soap base, you can simply use the melt and pour base instead and follow its instructions to prep your base.
Easy Melt and Pour Dog Soap Recipes by The Spruce Crafts
How to Make a Homemade Dog Shampoo Bar Soap by Oh The Things We'll Make
A Homemade and Natural Dog Shampoo Bar Recipe by DIY Natural
Homemade Dog Shampoo Bars Recipe by The Nerdy Farm Wife