Groom Professional Bye Bye Buzz Shampoo - 450ml

The Groom Professional Bye Bye Buzz Shampoo is the summer wash -- neem oil, which has a long history as a plant-based insect deterrent, in a shampoo aimed at skin that has been bitten and scratched.

Key Features

• Neem oil: The active ingredient, long used as a natural insect deterrent
• Soothes bitten skin: The part it genuinely does well -- calming the irritation after the bites
• Helps deter insects: Groom Professional describe it as combating fleas, lice and biting insects
• All coat types: Suitable for any coat
• Ready to use: Unusually for this range it is not a concentrate -- use it neat
• Size: 450ml

What A Repellent Can And Cannot Do

Worth being clear about this, because it is the difference between a comfortable dog and a house full of fleas. A plant-oil repellent is a cosmetic product, not a licensed veterinary insecticide. It may help deter insects while it is fresh on the coat, and it may make bitten skin feel better. It will not clear an established flea infestation, and it will not protect against ticks.

Around 95 per cent of a flea population is not on the dog at all -- it is eggs, larvae and pupae in the carpet, the bedding and the gaps in the sofa. Clearing fleas properly means a licensed treatment from your vet for every animal in the house, plus washing bedding hot and vacuuming thoroughly for several weeks. No shampoo or spray does that job on its own.

How To Use It

• Brush the coat out before it gets wet. Water turns a loose tangle into a solid mat.
• Soak the coat right through with lukewarm water first, then apply the shampoo neat -- this one is not a concentrate and does not want diluting.
• Work it in from the neck down so the suds run away from the face.
• Leave it on for five to ten minutes. Groom Professional build these to work with a bit of contact time, and rushing the rinse is what wastes the product.
• Rinse until the water runs clear, then towel off and brush the coat as it dries.

How Often To Wash

Most dogs do not need a bath more than once every four to six weeks, and plenty need less. Washing more often strips the oils that keep a coat weatherproof and the skin comfortable, which can leave a dog itchier than it started. Salons wash frequently because they are working to an appointment, not because a dog benefits from it.

Who Makes It

Groom Professional launched in 2009 on the Causeway Coast in Northern Ireland and is sold through the grooming trade supplier Christies Direct. The range was built for working salons rather than for the bathroom cupboard, which is why so much of it comes as a concentrate and in four-litre sizes. Groom Professional say the products are manufactured in the UK.

Good To Know

• Groom Professional describe this shampoo as effectively combating fleas and lice. It is a cosmetic neem shampoo rather than a licensed insecticide, and it should not be relied on in place of a proper flea treatment from your vet.
• This is a dog shampoo. Do not use it on a cat, a kitten or a small animal -- cats groom everything off their coat and swallow it, and they tolerate concentrated plant oils far less well than dogs do.
• Keep it out of the eyes, ears, nose and mouth. Rinse with clean water if any gets in.
• A shampoo cleans; it does not treat disease. Broken, scabby or weeping skin, bald patches, a smell that returns within days of a bath, or scratching to the point of bleeding all need a vet rather than a different bottle.
• Keep it out of reach of children and store it somewhere cool and dry.