Homemade Dry Shampoo for Dogs: Easy Non-Toxic DIY Recipe

QUICK SUMMARY

This homemade dry shampoo for dogs is ½ cup baking soda, ½ cup cornstarch or arrowroot powder, 3 drops of lemongrass and 3 drops of lavender essential oil, shaken together in a cheese shaker. Sprinkle it from the neck down, rub it in, let your pup shake, and brush out the excess. It freshens fur between baths without talc or synthetic fragrance. Keep it away from your dog’s eyes, nose, and mouth, and never add extra drops.

Dogs need pampering too, and this Homemade Dry Shampoo for Dogs will help you do just that! When outdoor adventures leave your pup smelling less than fresh, this quick DIY soaks up coat oils without a full bath.

Sometimes time doesn’t allow for a soak with our all-natural dog shampoo. This dry shampoo will refresh your dog’s fur and leave them smelling clean. If you’re short on time, you’re going to love this simple hack!

Make Homemade Dry Shampoo for Dogs

This dry shampoo comes together in just a few minutes! We like to keep ours in a glass shaker bottle for easy application.

Dry Shampoo for Dogs With Essential Oils

Author Mama Z

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Quantity

2x4x6x

Ingredients

• ½ cup baking soda
• ½ cup organic corn starch or arrowroot powder
• 3 drops lemongrass essential oil*
• 3 drops lavender essential oil

Supplies

• Glass jar with shaker lid
• Dog brush or a mitt brush

Instructions

 

• Add baking soda and cornstarch or arrowroot powder to a glass jar.
• Pour essential oil drops into the powder mix. Shake well.
• Sprinkle dry shampoo on your dog, starting at their neck, being careful to avoid their eyes.
• Work your way down their entire body and rub in well.

Notes

*Click here to learn more about using essential oils with pets.

Step One: Add Dry Ingredients

Add the baking soda and cornstarch or arrowroot powder to a glass jar. We prefer using one with a shaker lid.

Jars like this are usually called “cheese shakers.” If you don’t have one on hand, you can use a glass mason jar and poke holes in the lid.

Step Two: Add Essential Oils

Add the essential oils to the jar, replace the lid, and shake until there are no clumps. You want those few drops spread through all of the powder, with no wet spots.

Step Three: Sprinkle on Dog’s Fur

Lightly sprinkle the dry shampoo on your dog’s body from the neck down. Be careful not to get it in their eyes, nose, mouth, ears, or genital area.

Using your hands, work it into the fur. Allow your dog to shake off the excess, then brush the coat thoroughly. This simple process is enough to get your pup looking good as new!

Mama Z Pro Tip: If insects and fleas are your bigger concern, use a product made for that job rather than adding more essential oil to this dry shampoo. Try our flea and tick spray made with essential oils.

Natural Dog Shampoo Ingredient 101

This simple DIY uses familiar ingredients to make your dog smell amazing! Here’s what each one does.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is a fantastic odor neutralizer. It absorbs nasty odors, it’s inexpensive, and you may already have a box in your pantry. A light dusting is all you need.

Cornstarch or Arrowroot Powder

Instead of talc, we use cornstarch or arrowroot powder. These soak up the excess sebum that makes fur look oily, without stripping the natural oils that keep your dog’s coat shiny and soft.

Lemongrass Essential Oil

Lemongrass essential oil brings a bright, fresh scent, and its antimicrobial power is well documented in the lab. A 2023 systematic review of laboratory studies found that lemongrass was the most studied oil in its plant family and gave the best antifungal results of the species tested. (1)

It is one of my favorites in cleaning DIYs because it leaves everything smelling perfectly clean. Lemongrass can irritate sensitive skin, so stick to the recipe’s 3 drops.

Lavender Essential Oil

Lavender is the classic calming oil! In a 2023 study from the University of Nebraska Omaha, kenneled shelter dogs were offered different enrichment items during the daily stress of morning kennel cleaning, and lavender scent did more than anything else to calm their body language. (2) That builds on a well-known 2006 study in which 32 dogs that got worked up in the car spent significantly more time resting and sitting, and less time moving and vocalizing, when lavender scented the ride. (3)

Try this dry shampoo if you have a furry friend who struggles with nervousness.

Essential Oils and Dogs

Did you know that pets can benefit from essential oils too? It’s true! Dogs are not tiny humans, though, so the oil, the amount, and where you put it all matter.

My friend veterinarian Dr. Janet Roark says to dilute for topical use and never use oils on or near your pet’s eyes, ears, nose, or genitals. (4) Never add extra drops to this recipe or apply undiluted essential oils directly to your dog.

Dr. Roark recommends avoiding topical and internal use of:

• Melaleuca (Tea Tree)
• Birch
• Wintergreen

She recommends caution with hot oils such as oregano, cinnamon, cassia, clove, rosemary, and thyme. Camphor, found in many rubs, is absorbed across the skin and should never be applied to dogs. (5)

Tea tree is on that list for good reason. A 2026 review of essential oils for pets by Italian researchers notes that concentrated tea tree oil, rubbed on or swallowed, has caused depression, loss of coordination, and tremors in dogs and cats, while diluted formulas have shown acceptable safety in controlled studies. (6) The best-known record is a 2014 ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center review of 443 dogs and cats exposed to 100 percent tea tree oil, most of them treated on purpose by well-meaning owners. (7)

Lavender, on the other hand, has gentle canine research behind it. In a 2024 Belgian crossover study, 54 dogs entered an unfamiliar room wearing a collar scented with a calming blend of lavender, ylang ylang, bitter orange, cypress, and litsea, and at 10 drops on the collar they panted significantly less, a sign of relaxation. (8) Lower amounts made no measurable difference.

In this recipe the oils are there for a fresh scent, and 3 drops spread through a full cup of powder keep it gentle.

Toxins Found in Traditional Dry Shampoo

Our pets deserve the best care possible! And since we’re petting them all day, natural products on our pets benefit us too.

Talc

Dry shampoos need a powder to soak up excess sebum, and talc is a common choice. In 2024, the International Agency for Research on Cancer classified talc as probably carcinogenic to humans (Group 2A), citing sufficient evidence in experimental animals. (9) There are much safer ways to absorb excess oil, and this recipe uses talc-free powders that do the job.

Synthetic Fragrance

Manufacturers add synthetic fragrances to cover odors, and there isn’t much transparency: under U.S. rules, a fragrance blend can be listed simply as “fragrance” because the formula is protected as a trade secret. (10) We already limit artificial fragrance in our home, and our dogs don’t need overpowering perfume either. Even essential oils, when inhaled, can make sensitive animals cough. (11)

How to Use Dry Shampoo on Dogs Safely

A little goes a long way. Keep the shaker below the neck, apply a light dusting, and brush thoroughly so your dog isn’t breathing a cloud of powder or licking it off its fur.

• Watch your dog’s response. Stop if you see redness, scratching, coughing, drooling, vomiting, unusual tiredness, or wobbliness. Adverse reactions, mostly in cats, have been reported with essential-oil flea products marketed as natural, even when they were used as the label directed. (6)
• Check with your vet first for puppies, pregnant or nursing dogs, very small dogs, and dogs with seizures, respiratory disease, open wounds, or skin problems, or when your dog wears a topical medication or flea preventative.
• Dogs only. Don’t use this recipe on cats.
• Use it between baths. It won’t wash away mud or allergens. If odor or itching keeps coming back, your dog needs a real bath or a vet visit, not more powder.

I love simple DIYs that let us replace heavily fragranced products with ingredients we can identify. Your pup will smell fresh, and you’ll know exactly what you rubbed into their fur.

Keep reading: Essential Oils for Dogs Anxiety · Natural Hot Spot Treatment for Dogs · DIY Dry Shampoo with Essential Oils