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Buckscent

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Does anyone make a scent free soap for hunters? I am wanting to make some for me and some friends... I use commercial soap during hunting season but it dry's my skin so bad so I thought I would make some
 
I make a couple unscented (not just for hunting) but I also make adirt scented and anise scented. I use to make a lotion with green apple that some of the hunters swore worked like a charm. I'm not sure about that one though.:)
 
There's no reason you can't make an unscented soap. Just use any recipe. Some hunters believe in dirt scented, and some in other scents, though.

Here's a good basic soap that all of the oils are available at Walmart:

Lard/Tallow/Palm 65% (choose one or two oils and split the amounts up appropriately)
Olive Oil 15%
Coconut Oil 15%
Castor Oil 5%

Superfat 5%
 
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Soaping companies don't test their scents against deer. Humans and deer perceive scents very differently, so I don't know that dirt FO would smell like dirt to a deer. I would stick with natural scents - maybe with a little charcoal to absorb human odor if you're feeling frisky.
 
Soaping companies don't test their scents against deer. Humans and deer perceive scents very differently, so I don't know that dirt FO would smell like dirt to a deer. I would stick with natural scents - maybe with a little charcoal to absorb human odor if you're feeling frisky.

Agreed. I haven't hunted since I've been soaping, but I'd truthfully just stick with purely unscented soap.

Honestly, I think a bigger issue than body soap would be the potential to make laundry soap that would be both unscented and lacking the optical brighteners present in every commercial laundry product not specifically made for hunters. To deer eyes, those brighteners obviate the best camouflage clothing by making it shine like you're lit up. A simple homemade laundry powder would seem perfect.
 
My hubby is an AVID archery hunter...okay, OBSESSIVE archery hunter. He credits his success in the field to unscented everything on his body - soap, lotion, shampoo, etc. He also washes his hunting clothes in washing soda only; no detergent, no fabric softener. Then he takes it a step further and limits his diet to no spicy food, no garlic, no onions, etc. Basically nothing aromatic that he might sweat out or exhale off. Keep in mind he's a bit of a fanatic about it because he has to get within 80 yards of the animal.

His friends that are rifle hunters aren't nearly as obsessive as he is about scent (because they're several hundred yards out) so stick with either unscented or lightly scented soap. For those guys I make soap with juniper berry, rosemary and/or pine EO's at about 0.5 oz in 36oz of oils (less than 2%).

Dixie has the right of it too, we don't really know how wildlife perceive scent. Someone in the veteranary field once explained how differently animals smell things compared to humans. He used the example of chocolate cake. People smell only the yummy chocolate cake. Animals smell flour, sugar, eggs, butter, cocoa, etc. I have no idea how accurate that info is, or if it pertains to all animals, but it sheds an interesting perspective on it. So when I think of that story I always wonder if they break down the scent of any fragrance into it's components which may end up being ambrosia or the most revolting thing ever. Even though the soap is unscented, do they smell olive oil, coconut oil, sodium hydroxide, etc? I have no clue! So I just use as few ingredients as I can and hope for the best.
 

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