Help needed with shampoo market research

[fairhill]

Posted here and stable yard to get the most responses.

My OH is thinking about creating his own range of animal shampoos (mainly motivated by me complaining about the price of them). So please could you spare a minute to help him with some initial market research?

What products are not available at the moment that you'd like to use e.g. dry shampoo, sensitive skin stuff, show makeup?

Do you buy specialist horse shampoo at the moment? Reasons why/why not.

Would you be interested in any of the following products:
- 70% organic products – like shampoo, wash, mane/tail detanglers, coat shine etc,
- Mild for sensitive skin
- Organic extracts and essential oils

Thanks for your help guys

 

[bex1984]

One thing for me is that I am allergic to all sorts of things, so can only use baby shampoo or very mild teatree shampoo on myself, and therefore my horse because it gets on my hands. I am allergic to Lanolin, which is in lots of sentitive skin products

A horse shampoo that would be kind to my skin, but effective at getting white bits white would be great.

 

[Faithkat]

I don't currently buy specifically animal shampoos for the same reason as you mention - the price. I used to have my own dog grooming business and always used supermarket own-brand and baby shampoos (which I still do for the horse) - all very diluted as a big thick glob of shampoo is useless! But I would buy them if they were a sensible price, i.e NOT £8 for about 200 ml!!!

 

[skye123]

the price is riduculus for horse shampoo

i just go and buy asda apple shampoo for 55p. its cheap, smells lovely and does the job just as well as the "proper horse brands"

 

[mollymurphy]

[ QUOTE ]
What products are not available at the moment that you'd like to use e.g. dry shampoo, sensitive skin stuff, show makeup?

[/ QUOTE ]

I WANT CHESTNUT CHALK!!!! It's easy peasy to get white chalk and black chalk, but can i get chestnut...can i heck!!!

As for shampoo's, i also just use human stuff on the horses because of the price of horsey ones. I dont have any preference to types - as long as it cleans them and doesnt dry their skin out, we're all happy!

 

[disco]

I use cheap & cheerful human shampoo!

When I had a grey I used to use DAZ on his tail - Works a treat!

 

[lizzie_liz]

I always use supermarket own brands of shampoo, they are cheap, smell nice and get your horse clean

 

[SSM]

Donkey gets diluted baby shampoo (she has quite sensative skin)

I condition her tail with any conditioner that I have bought and not liked!!!!!!!

 

[fairhill]

Thanks for all the great comments - they're very useful.
I use baby shampoos as well at the moment, but have read comments that they dry out the horses coats and skin

 

[SSM]

I always dilute it and add a squirt of baby oil!!

 

[fairhill]

[ QUOTE ]
I always dilute it and add a squirt of baby oil!!

[/ QUOTE ]

So would you buy a horse shampoo that was based on baby shampoo, but runnier, and had oil and aloe vera added to it?

 

[SSM]

To be honest probably not, I am happy with what I am using - and you can normally get baby products on BOGOF offers!

Sorry I am just a little tight with my money!!

 

[spaniel]

Unless you were 100% certified organic (ie your bases were organic also) and you used full extracts and not just essences then I wouldnt be interested.

Sadly to produce this type of product costs a fortune.

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[fairhill]

[ QUOTE ]
Unless you were 100% certified organic (ie your bases were organic also) and you used full extracts and not just essences then I wouldnt be interested.

Sadly to produce this type of product costs a fortune.

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[/ QUOTE ]

It's also not possible for anything except flower waters. He's been developing human personal care stuff, and cannot make creams or shower wash products 100% organic

 

[spaniel]

Wish I wasnt just on the way out the door as this is really interesting.

Not sure who or what OH has been working with but I am certain it is possible to have aqueous bases that allow you to be certified 100%. (In both cream and gel form).

Will post more when Ihave braved the rain and seen to the hippos!!!

 

[jj87]

eco the cost effectiveness and mildness, i use baby shampoo on my sensitive mare as her skin goes all manky if i use anything other. i condition her tail with the blonde condioners i dont like. I would buy a mild whitening shampoo and it would aso encourage me to perchase it if it was organic and perhaps fair trade?

 

[Little_Mare]

I use human shampoo (specifically the sensitive type of the one famed for getting rid of dandruff!) but once I ran out of that and used my own (for treated hair) on the little mare's tail and it felt wonderful afterwards! I like shampoos that foam and years ago when I did use specific horse shampoo the lack of foam used to really p!ss me off, not sure if they've improved now! All the treatments I use afterwards are horsey ones - one of my faves is a highlighter that is also a sunblock and fly repellent. I would like a type of chalk that didn't make feathers brittle... Little Mare has quite a complex beauty regime!

 

[alicep]

i need something that really gets the grease out and makes the baby all shiney and yummy. but i tried a shampoo not to long ago and it was pants

she was clean !!!! BUT still full of grease and i scrubed with a body brush!

 

[helenlaw23]

Supermarket budget brand 99p for a litre or something silly. The other day though i had run out and only had Pantene which was an old one i didnt use! Boy did she have the silkiest tail at the show! haha But no i wouldnt ever buy a 'horse' shampoo when budget supermarket brands do the job.

 

[Donkeymad]

I rarely shampoo my horses, usually once a year, but even so, I normally use a ' Value' baby shampoo.
I would be interested in the impossible, a cream/lotion to rub in to moisten dry flakey skin without making the coat lank or greasy.

 

[fairhill]

[ QUOTE ]
Not sure who or what OH has been working with but I am certain it is possible to have aqueous bases that allow you to be certified 100%. (In both cream and gel form).

[/ QUOTE ]

At the moment it's not possible to get organic surfactants, so the best we could do would be 70-80% of a shampoo formulation would be organic. It's possible to do 100% organic soaps at the moment, but I don't think they'd translate very well to horse care

 

[dieseldog]

I use ASDA Smartprice shampoo 39p a litre (I think) it works really well

 

[lmholden]

No I wouldn't pay extra for special horsey shampoo - just use a baby one.