How to Use Healing Season Tallow Dog Shampoo

Our Healing Season Tallow Dog Shampoo is a simple, traditional soap made specifically with washing dogs in mind.

Whether you have our Paw Print Dog Shampoo, Dog Shampoo Bar or Dog Shampoo on a Rope, they're made using the same tallow-based formulation, with a generous 7% superfat, colloidal oats and a blend of tea tree, rosemary and lemongrass essential oils.

Handmade in small batches in Tasmania, it's designed to give you a good, creamy lather, clean a dirty coat well and rinse away easily - without leaving the coat feeling unnecessarily stripped.

And if you've scanned the QR code on your shampoo, you've come to the right place. Here's everything you need to know.

How to Wash Your Dog

1. Wet the coat thoroughly

Use comfortably warm water and make sure the coat is wet right through, particularly on dogs with thick or double coats.

2. Wet the shampoo bar

Give the bar a quick wet under the water.

You can either work up a lather between your hands first or gently rub the bar directly over your dog's wet coat.

3. Work up a good lather

Massage the lather through the coat and down towards the skin.

Spend a little extra time on the areas that tend to collect the most dirt - paws, legs, belly and underneath the tail.

For particularly muddy dogs, a second quick wash may work better than trying to scrub everything away in the first wash.

4. Keep away from the face

Avoid your dog's eyes, nose, mouth and the inside of the ears.

For the face, we recommend simply using a damp cloth rather than rubbing the shampoo bar directly over it.

5. Rinse really well

Rinse with clean water until all of the soap and lather have been removed from the coat.

This step matters. Soap left behind in a dog's coat can cause irritation, so don't rush the rinse.

6. Towel dry

Then comes the fun part - stand back before the inevitable shake!

Towel dry well and allow the coat to finish drying naturally where appropriate.

Using the Dog Shampoo on a Rope

The cotton rope isn't just there because it looks good.

Wet dog + wet hands + slippery soap = a fairly predictable combination.

Slip the rope around your wrist while washing your dog to help keep hold of the bar.

When you're finished, rinse the bar and hang it by the rope to dry.

Allowing air to circulate around the soap between washes will help it dry properly and last much longer.

How to Make Your Dog Shampoo Last Longer

Solid soap doesn't like sitting in water.

For our Paw Print and standard Dog Shampoo Bars, store them on a well-draining soap dish where they can dry completely between uses.

For the Dog Shampoo on a Rope, simply hang it somewhere dry and well ventilated.

The drier your bar stays between washes, the longer it should last.

Why We Make Our Dog Shampoo With Tallow

Beef tallow is the foundation of our Dog Shampoo.

We use tallow because it makes a beautifully firm traditional soap and contributes to the creamy feel and lather of the finished bar.

We combine it with coconut oil, olive oil and castor oil, balancing the different properties of each oil to create a practical soap that cleans and lathers well.

It's simple soap making - but the formulation behind a good bar matters.

What Does 7% Superfat Mean?

You may have noticed that we talk about our Dog Shampoo having a 7% superfat.

So what on earth does that mean?

When traditional soap is made, sodium hydroxide reacts with fats and oils during a process called saponification, transforming them into soap.

Superfatting means we formulate the recipe so that there is more oil present than the calculated amount of sodium hydroxide required to saponify it all.

Our Dog Shampoo is formulated at 7% superfat, leaving a portion of the oils unsaponified in the finished bar.

We deliberately chose this generous superfat because we wanted a milder, less stripping soap for washing the skin and coat rather than the stronger cleansing action we might want from something such as a household cleaning soap.

It cleans - because that's its job - but we didn't want that harsh, squeaky-clean feeling.

Why We Add Colloidal Oats

We also add colloidal oats to our Dog Shampoo formulation.

Colloidal oats are simply oats that have been very finely milled. They're widely used in bathing and skin products and contribute to the gentle feel of the finished bar.

For us, they were a natural addition to a soap intended for regular washing of a dog's skin and coat.

Tea Tree, Rosemary & Lemongrass

Rather than adding synthetic fragrance, our Dog Shampoo contains a carefully considered blend of:

Tea Tree Essential Oil
Rosemary Essential Oil
Lemongrass Essential Oil

They give the shampoo its naturally fresh, herbal scent and have a long history of use in cleansing and grooming preparations.

Tea tree and other aromatic botanicals are also sometimes associated with helping deter unwanted pests. However, we think it's important to be very clear about what our shampoo is - and what it isn't.

Healing Season Dog Shampoo is not a flea treatment.

We don't recommend using it instead of appropriate flea or parasite prevention, particularly if your dog already has an infestation.

Essential oils are also highly concentrated substances, which is why they're used as only a small part of our complete soap formulation rather than being applied undiluted to your dog's skin.

What's Actually In It?

We believe you should be able to understand what you're washing your dog with.

Our Dog Shampoo is made with:

  • Beef tallow

  • Coconut oil

  • Olive oil

  • Castor oil

  • Colloidal oats

  • Tea tree essential oil

  • Lemongrass essential oil

  • Rosemary essential oil

  • Water

  • Sodium hydroxide, used during the traditional soap-making process

Wait - Sodium Hydroxide?

Yes. Proper soap needs sodium hydroxide - commonly called lye - to be made.

During soap making, sodium hydroxide reacts with the fats and oils through saponification, creating soap.

It isn't something we've secretly slipped into the ingredient list; it's simply part of how traditional soap has been made for generations.

Can People Use the Dog Shampoo Too?

Yes.

There's nothing about this soap that makes it exclusively a dog soap.

In fact, we liked this formulation so much that it helped inspire another Healing Season product - our Bush Bar.

The generous 7% superfat, solid tallow base and practical essential-oil blend make it a wonderfully versatile soap formulation.

Our Bush Bar takes that same practical thinking and turns it towards people - particularly for camping, travelling, caravanning, outdoor adventures or anyone who appreciates one simple, hardworking bar.

So if you accidentally use the dog's soap in the shower, don't panic.

Although explaining why you're sharing toiletries with the dog is entirely up to you.

A Few Sensible Precautions

When washing your dog:

  • Avoid the eyes, nose, mouth and inside of the ears.

  • Don't allow your dog to eat or chew the bar.

  • Rinse the coat thoroughly after washing.

  • Discontinue use if irritation occurs.

Every dog is different. If your dog has very sensitive skin, known allergies, broken or inflamed skin, an existing skin condition or ongoing itching, speak with your veterinarian before introducing a new grooming product.

Our Dog Shampoo is a cleansing product, not a veterinary treatment, and isn't intended to diagnose, treat or prevent fleas, skin disease or other veterinary conditions.

When used by people, avoid contact with the eyes and discontinue use if irritation occurs. As with any product containing essential oils, individual sensitivities can vary.

Handmade in Tasmania

Every Healing Season Dog Shampoo is handmade in small batches in Tasmania using traditional soap-making methods.

No plastic shampoo bottle.

No complicated routine.

Just a solid tallow-based shampoo, thoughtfully formulated with a 7% superfat, colloidal oats and pure essential oils, made to clean dirty dogs and then hang up ready for next time.

Simple. Pure. Local.

Our Tallow Products

Start Here: Everything You Need to Know About Healing Season