Home-made dry shampoo for dogs: recipes, doses and limits
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A home-made dry shampoo for dogs is made with an absorbent powder: cornflour or very fine white clay. The recipes doing the rounds add bicarbonate of soda, sometimes olive oil, cider vinegar, aloe vera or a few drops of lavender essential oil. Here we set out the recipe, ingredient by ingredient, what works, and above all what must not go on a dog's skin.
The most widespread home-made dry shampoo recipe
Two ingredients are enough, the rest is optional. The proportions below are the ones found most often in natural grooming recipes. We report them because you will find them everywhere; we do not prescribe them.
- Four tablespoons of an absorbent base: cornflour, or very fine white clay.
- One tablespoon of food-grade bicarbonate of soda, for the smell. Optional.
- Mix, then sift to break up the lumps. This is the step everybody skips.
- Keep it in a dry, closed jar, away from bathroom damp.
- In use: brush the coat, dust the powder on, work it in with your fingers down to the skin, then brush vigorously to take it all out.
Ladybel tip: always sift your mixture before use. A poorly sifted food powder makes lumps that stay in the coat and show up immediately on a dark dog. A simple flour sieve is enough.
The ingredients doing the rounds, and what they are really worth
| Ingredient | What is said about it | Our view |
| Cornflour | Absorbent base | Useful. It is the real active principle of the recipe: it absorbs sebum. |
| Fine white clay | Mineral absorbent base | Useful. Closer to a grooming powder, provided it is very finely ground. |
| Bicarbonate of soda | Neutralises odours | Occasionally. Effective, but alkaline. Repeated over the whole body, it wears down the dog's skin barrier. |
| Olive oil | Nourishes the coat | Counterproductive in a dry shampoo: an oil adds grease where the powder is meant to take it away. |
| Cider vinegar | Makes the coat shine | Beside the point here. It is a rinse, so water, so the opposite of a dry wash. |
| Aloe vera | Soothes the skin | Not in a powder. A gel dampens the mixture and makes it stick to the coat. |
| Essential oils, lavender in particular | Perfumes and sanitises | To be set aside. See the warning below. |
Not to be done: essential oils are not harmless on an animal. A dog metabolises them poorly and its sense of smell, far keener than ours, tolerates them badly; several of them are reported as toxic to pets. Always ask your vet before applying any essential oil to your dog.
Does it really work?
Yes for absorbing, no for cleaning in depth. A powder absorbs grease and part of the odour: that is a physical principle, and it works. What a home-made recipe does not do is lift ingrained dirt or treat the coat. On a dog back from a walk covered in mud, it will not be enough, and brushing will do more than it will.
On a light coat it gives a decent result. On a dark one, the residue shows. And it does not make the coat shine, contrary to what some recipes promise: a powder mattifies, it does not polish.
The three limits of a home-made preparation
| Limit | What it changes in practice |
| The fineness of the powder | A food powder does not have the particle size of a grooming powder. It brushes out less well and leaves visible residue in the coat. |
| The absence of control | A grooming product is checked bacteriologically. An open jar in a kitchen is not, especially if it takes up damp. |
| The pH | Bicarbonate is alkaline, whereas a dog's skin is close to neutral. Occasionally that passes; in regular use it works against it. |
The precautions not to overlook
Three reflexes, whatever powder you use. Apply in a ventilated place and keep the animal from inhaling the cloud of powder, particularly if it has a short muzzle or breathing problems. Never go near the eyes. And test on a small area before covering the whole coat, especially if your dog has already reacted to a product or has sensitive skin.
If your dog scratches, or shows redness or dandruff after an application, stop and speak to your vet. A skin problem is not treated with a kitchen recipe.
When the ready-made product becomes simpler
When you need it often, or on a large dog. A professional grooming powder rests on the same principle as your recipe, carried out with a raw material made for the job: finely ground, dosed, controlled, and brushing out completely.
See our range of dry shampoo for dogs, made in France from a natural mineral material of French origin and formulated in the laboratory under the supervision of vets, ethologists and biochemists.
If your starting question was rather that you had nothing to hand, we have listed everything you can, and cannot, wash a dog with. And to find out how often a bath is necessary, see how often to wash your dog.