shoresoap
Active Member
Has anyone made solid soap that will repeal ticks, etc? What ingredients do you suggest? Thanks!
Carolyn
Shore Soap
Carolyn
Shore Soap
Request for tick repellant soap
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Kamahido
Paladin of Soap
I personally would try a lotion made with Tea Tree Essential Oil as I have read that repels pretty much anything. Soap is a wash off product so it will not repel much of anything.
If you look at the directions of the flea and tick shampoos for dogs, you need to leave it on for five minutes for it to work. I don't know of anyone that is going to stand in the shower for five minutes covered with soap. That said, I agree with what Kamahido said. You would be better off making a lotion or some other leave on type product. A friend of mine went camping for a week and I threw together some essential oils for her. She didn't get any mosquito bites or any ticks on her. She mixed the "Bug Off" blend with coconut oil and applied it to her skin that way. She said she didn't have any negative reactions. Here's my recipe and everything was measured using drops instead of grams, mls or teaspoons. All of these are essential oils I had in the house:
Citronella (50), Pink Grapefruit (20), Lemongrass (20), Lavender (15), Peppermint (10), Clove (10) and Tea Tree (10). I know that's a lot of different essential oils; however, I had them in the house and each one brings a different quality and balance to the blend. It actually smells wonderful and worked great. I'll probably tweak it a little -- maybe lower the citronella and bump up the clove and tea tree, but I'm still using mine and so far it is working well.
Citronella (50), Pink Grapefruit (20), Lemongrass (20), Lavender (15), Peppermint (10), Clove (10) and Tea Tree (10). I know that's a lot of different essential oils; however, I had them in the house and each one brings a different quality and balance to the blend. It actually smells wonderful and worked great. I'll probably tweak it a little -- maybe lower the citronella and bump up the clove and tea tree, but I'm still using mine and so far it is working well.
shoresoap
Active Member
Thanks folks! I made soap since it seems that sells in some locales and it was requested by potential customers. I added a variety of EO including citronella which is key to keeping away pesky insects. Hopefully some folks will try it out!
A soap can be good at removing insects. To ~repel~ them instead, you need to be able to apply a repellent product as the effectiveness wears off. IMO, this means a repellent soap doesn't seem to too practical, since I don't want to bathe (or bathe my pets) every few hours. I think a spray or lotion that can be applied as needed is the better choice.
I use Lemon Grass, Rose Geranium, Citronella and Eucalyptus in a spray or mix those EO's in my whipped lotion butter base. Works fantastic and have many friends and family using it.
I wouldn't get involved in selling something like that without some serious thought and research. I'm sure there are laws that pertain to formulating and making claims about products with pesticidal properties. Even if you are on the right side of the law, you are a very small business. Ticks carry serious diseases that in some cases affect people for months or years. I don't know if you would want someone to be a user of your product when they contract something like that.
I wouldn't sell it to the public either. This would be for personal family/friend use only
tigersister
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There is not going to be enough EO left on the skin, if at all, to be an effective bug repellent. I'd recommended opening up a dialogue with your client to educate them. In the process, you could offer to still make the soap, but steer them toward a product that may be a more effective repellent.
Currently the CDC only recognizes a synthesized version of lemon eucalyptus oil as an effective insect repellent. With any EO or EO blend, it will have to be applied at least every two hours as it does lose it's ability to repel insects quickly. Do be careful of making any claims, as others have mentioned. It is on the seller to have such claims tested and validated before it can be marketed as having those properties.
Link to CDC site:
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowb...ion-against-mosquitoes-ticks-other-arthropods
Currently the CDC only recognizes a synthesized version of lemon eucalyptus oil as an effective insect repellent. With any EO or EO blend, it will have to be applied at least every two hours as it does lose it's ability to repel insects quickly. Do be careful of making any claims, as others have mentioned. It is on the seller to have such claims tested and validated before it can be marketed as having those properties.
Link to CDC site:
http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/yellowb...ion-against-mosquitoes-ticks-other-arthropods
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Sorry, I didn't mean for that to be directed to you. The OP is the one who wants to sell it.
reflection
Well-Known Member
i believe rose geranium essential oil in particular is good at repelling ticks. you may need to research if a specific geranium is needed though. i thought i heard something about the geranium bourbon being good but it looks like others use rose geranium. sorry, don't have the latin names handy.
okay found some info. it looks like Geranium Bourbon (Pelargonium x asperum) from China is good. i guess the specific rose geranium that repels ticks, Pelargonium Capitatum x Radens, is hard to find in a good quality these days. Geranium Egyptian (Pelargonium x asperum) from Egypt is also supposed to be good. i believe both Plant Therapy & Eden's Garden sell one or both of these.
***do double check this info though if anyone wants to use these. there are a lot of different geraniums out there and it is rather confusing.
MMS sells the Bourbon Geranium EO.
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