bar soaps for dogs - good or bad idea?

[green soap]

I googled this and found recipes, tea tree, rosemary, lemongrass, peppermint...but it does not address my questions.

So my concern is that if I use a bar of soap on my hair - have done it when nothing else was available and I needed to get clean - not good results. I did get clean but the texture of my hair was not the best. So the coat on my dogs is closer to my hair than to my skin, this is why I wonder if using soap on them is a good idea. Is it?

So, what I am asking, is CP soap good to wash dogs? Have any of you used your CP soap to wash your poochies? have any of you made soap for dogs other than your own and got feedback? did it dry out your dog's coat, or was it OK?
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And if you did, what EO did you use? rosemary? tea tree? anything else?

 

[AmyW]

I have always, always read not use regular soap on a dog (or any animal) because the ph is way, way too high and it hurts them. I think dogs need ph neutral soap.

 

[opalgirl]

I make a dog soap with colloidal oatmeal, a little tea tree oil, citronella, jojoba oil, castor oil, olive oil, palm and shea butter. I showed all of the ingredients to my vet and she said it looked good.

 

[Lindy]

I make and sell dog shampoo, but the key word is shampoo. You have to work your formulation keeping in mind that you want something that is not going to strip the coat or skin so you want your cleansing number needs to be low and your moisturizing number high. You still need to have oils in there that will create a good lather.

So the long answer is yes you can create a shampoo for your dog, but if it roughs up your hair and leaves it nasty feeling - it's going to do the same to a dog. :wink:

 

[tryanything]

I made a shampoo bar and was using a commercially made one before that. If I didn't follow my washings with an apple cidar vinegar rinse it would feel like straw. Not sure if you could do that with a dog so, yeah, it would probably feel icky also.

 

[PrairieCraft]

I haven't made bar soap for my girlies but someone gave me a pine tar soap to try on our dog with problem skin. It didn't seem to irritate her really delicate skin at all but it did leave a filmy kind of soap scum that didn't rinse away. Exactly how it would be on your hair. I never tried a vinegar rinse (yuck). My doggies are short haired so idk but would bet it would be a pain to brush out a longer coat after using bar soap. I do use a little liquid castile on them to kind of extend the dog shampoo and give a little extra lather, works good.

 

[Lindy]

The dog shampoo is being used now by groomers in town because it does leave the coat really soft.

My people shampoo can be used straight but I prefer using my conditioner with it.

For me the trick, if there is one, is that I don't use coconut or palm kernal oils, but I do have tallow, castor, olive oil and other soft oils like that but I also add some of the hair conditioning products in it too, but no added surfactants since none are needed. The lather is nice and rich.

 

[Jezzy]

I make a dog bar too with pretty much what Opalgirl makes and it is wonderful.

 

[green soap]

Thanks for all the helpful replies!

It sounds like it might be worth a try. I have been rinsing them with a strong rosemary tea after the commercial dog shampoo, perhaps I can add a little vinegar to this if their coat needs it. They are short haired and tiny.

Lindy, is your dog shampoo a solid bar or is it liquid? If it is liquid, do you use KOH (potassium hydroxide)? Also, what hair conditioner products? extra oil? aloe vera maybe?

 

[Sunny]

but I also add some of the hair conditioning products in it too, but no added surfactants since none are needed.

I'm also curious what that means! Thanks Lindy, I really appreciate all of your info

 

[AmyW]

I'm curious if those who use their dog soap, how do you know it's ph is safe for the dog's skin? Test strips or just using it on the dog?

 

[Jezzy]

I just use mine on the dogs. My boston terrier had terrible dandruf and itchy skin. The very first time I used it there was a huge improvement. No dandruf and no more itchy patches. The fur is very shiny and soft.

I make one bar with oatmeal and one without.

 

[opalgirl]

I also made my bar because my dog had terrible allergies. The doggie bar is much better at keeping itchiness away than store bought "allergy" shampoo.

 

[Jezzy]

I agree 100% with Opalgirl

 

[BakingNana]

Me, too. My poor chi looses all the hair on her tummy if I use a commercial dog shampoo. She has chronic doggie dermatitis. Goes away almost completely when I use my doggie shampoo bar. The only caution I would add is to do your research thoroughly as to essential oils appropriate for use on dogs, and NEVER use a shampoo bar on a cat if it contains any essential oils at all. Cats cannot metabolize essential oils and it can cause liver damage, from what I've read.

 

[BakingNana]

...and one more thing for what it's worth. I take a larger lye discount on my doggie bar than on my human bar, and I have two dogs with completely different types of fur. My terrier actually has hair, not fur, like a poodle (which means she doesn't shed at all - yea!) and my chi has short, stiff fur. Both do well. I do use a commercial doggie conditioner on the terrier after shampooing. (is this 2 things or 1 thing?!? )