Want to make your own economical Doggy Shampoo + Insect Repellent?
The ingredients you will need are purchased from a health food store or on line. Price info below.
An empty clean shampoo bottle
1/2 Cup Castile Soap (the mildest of human soaps. I used a scented one)
1/2 Cup Vegetable Glycerine (human moisturizer)
1 Cup Water
10 to 20 Drops Essential Cedar Oil (or your choice-see below)
10 to 20 Drops Essential Geranium (Geranium Rose) Oil (or your choice)
Using a funnel, measure and pour Castile, Glycerine and water into the empty shampoo bottle. Add drops of Essential Oils (your discretion as to how much) directly into shampoo bottle. Turn bottle upside down slowly a few times before each use. Keep out of eyes during use.
For a rinse: mix 1/4th cup apple cider vinegar (not other vinegars) to 1 quart of water. Vinegar is also an insect repellent! Organic vinegar from the health food store is the best as it contains live enzymes, but grocery store vinegar will work too! Keep out of eyes during use.
Popular Doggy Shampoo runs about $13 for 16 ounces
Castile Soap: 32 Ounces – approx. $14
Vegetable Glycerine: 32 Ounces – approx. $18
That’s $32 for 64 ounces!
The essential oils are about $15/per .5 oz. bottle for mid ranged price. Inexpensive ones do not have strong properties. You would only use approximately 15 drops per 16 ounce mixture AND in-between baths you can put a few drops of the essential oils on your dogs’ collar once or twice per week to repel insects!
Here are the essential oils that repel insects:
Geranium Cedarwood Citronella
Lavender Lemon Grass Lemon
Rosemary Eucalyptus Tea Tree
Niaouli Cinnamon Yarrow
Catnip Peppermint
I didn’t know lemongrass was an insect repellant! I put a few drops on my vacuum HEPA filter just because I like the smell. When I vacuum, which I did 4 times today (German shedders!), the air is scented with lemongrass.
Thanks for the recipe and the tips, Karen. Your wealth of knowledge never fails to amaze me.
Thanks little Girlfriend! 🙂
I love it, thank you Karen. Tell me what you think of this, make the recipe without the Castile soap and use it as a spray between baths. spray it on and brush it in. I bet it would help with coat growth and removing lose hair, besides the obvious point of the scent being a bug repellent. What do you think?
I used to make this batch for Zeus as I hated putting chemicals on him. I’m doing this for Koda, thanks for the reminder Karen. You rock!!
Ya know……that just might work! Bravo Martha….I mean Julie! 😉
Let us know if it works!
so where is your favorite place to buy essential oils?
These are the mid priced ones. The way they are processed determines the quality of the product. I have another site at home, (can’t remember name…..sometimer’s kicking in!) that carries the very purest ($40/bottle) you don’t have to use quite as much and they last longer.
Auracacia.com: click on shop, click on auracacia, click on essential oils, click on 100% pure.
Also, Naturesalchemy.com: click on essential oils, scroll down and click on on line store, then click on shop for essential oils.
Just FYI….the health food stores carry them too, but usually they’ve been sitting on the shelf for a year or so!
Hope this helps. 🙂
I buy mine at Whole Foods. They are reasonably priced there. I think the vial of lemongrass was $5 or $6.
The less expensive ones don’t have the potency the mid-priced ones do, so they won’t last long enough to get the effect you need for a repellent. They are probably fragrance oils or perfumed oils which are artificial oils. Essential oils are extracted from plants. Also, the different distillation methods determine the price of essential oils. Some companies market essential oils that have been cut with synthetic chemicals or blended with cheaper ingredients, which is another reason for price differences. An example of the very purest form? It would take 5000 pounds of rose petals to make 1 pound of essential rose oil which would cost over $100.00! WHOA 🙂
“For a rinse: mix 1/4th cup apple cider vinegar (not other vinegars) to 1 quart of water. Vinegar is also an insect repellent! Organic vinegar from the health food store is the best as it contains live enzymes, but grocery store vinegar will work too! Keep out of eyes during use.”
Couldn’t you use this formula, add your selected oils and use as your bug spray?
ABSOLUTELY! Now you’re getting your “Martha On” Girlfriend! 🙂
Pick out 2 or even 3 essential oils such as Peppermint, Geranium, and Eucalyptus, and start with about 8 drops each to test out, then add more if you AND the dogs tolerate them ok! They will smell like a delicious salad! LOL
la conservation du produit est de combien de temps
While some of these essential oils are great to use as repellents I think it is important to clarify which oils can be used on dogs and which can be poisonous such as tea tree and peppermint.