Anyone with tweens can probably relate to the bath bomb craze that is currently in full swing. If you’re not already on board, bath bombs are hard-packed mixtures of dry ingredients which effervesce (fizz and bubble!) when wet. They’re an extra special treat for bath time.
We’re most definitely fans at our house but, just like with anything, bath bombs can either be full of artificial fragrances and other unwanted ingredients or be au naturale.
So, this holiday season, we set out to make our very own Homemade Lush Bath Bombs. And that’s because we thought they’d be a super fun DIY gift for friends and grandmas, and (the best part) – we’d know exactly what is in them!
Fun Scents
Just because we don’t want artificial fragrances (or colors) in our bath bombs doesn’t mean we don’t want any fun scents at all! So, we were excited to use some of the holiday essential oils from our lovely sponsor Plant Therapy for this project. Candy Cane bath bombs? Yes, please!
Essential oils have been around for centuries and are concentrated, volatile, aromatic liquids obtained from the fruits, seeds, flowers, bark, stems, roots, leaves or other parts of plants. Plant Therapy offers only 100% pure essential oils and is one of the few companies who offer USDA Certified Organic options. All of their oils go through multiple rounds of testing and are always free from additives, adulterants, and dilutions to uphold the highest quality.
While you can certainly find many essential oil options out there, know that they are not all made the same, and finding a quality product is essential. Which is why Plant Therapy has been a longtime partner of ours!
As a bonus, new customers can take 10% off of their first order with code 100DAYS10. A great reason to try Plant Therapy!
Supplies Needed for Homemade Bath Bombs:
Ingredients
- Baking soda
- Citric acid
- Epsom salt
- Cornstarch
- Coconut oil
- Essential oils (optional, but recommended)
Tools
- Large mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl (or glass measuring cup with a spout)
- Measuring cups/spoons
- Bath bomb molds (or muffin tin)
- If gifting: Plastic molds you can give away or plastic used for shrink wrapping
Optional
Homemade Natural Bath Bombs
Ingredients
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup citric acid, anything acidic can damage some countertops (especially marble) so be careful!
- 1/2 cup Epsom salt, recommended to me by my chiropractor to help with sore muscles
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons all natural food coloring, optional (natural powdered food coloring activates when wet in the tub and will not stain)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted/warm
- 1 teaspoon water, do not use more than this!
- 10 drops your favorite essential oil, we used Plant Therapy essential oils
- prizes to go inside - optional!, (we used "Magic Grow Capsules" that expand when wet)
Instructions
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In a large bowl whisk together the baking soda, citric acid, Epsom salt, cornstarch and (only if using) powdered food coloring.
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In a separate small bowl combine the melted coconut oil, water and essential oils. (We used peppermint, but I’m guessing that this would work great with lavender, sweet orange or chamomile.)
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While continuously whisking, very slowly drizzle the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined. The outcome (as pictured below) should be similar to a dry, crumbly sand and should not be a "wet" consistency. Warning: If mixture gets too wet it will activate the fizzy part of the bath bomb too soon!
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TIGHTLY pack the mixture into each side of the mold then press the two sides together. Ideally let it stay in the mold overnight, then lightly tap around the mold with a spoon to very carefully open and remove bath bomb. Finished product will still be somewhat fragile, so be careful!
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A Note about Molds and Gifting: I've read the stainless steel molds work best, so that's what we used with no problems. Bath Bombs (both homemade and store bought) can be fragile though, so we plan to transfer into same-size plastic molds for gifting. Alternatively, you can use a hair dryer on shrink wrap baggies made for the purpose of packaging bath bombs. I ordered a set that includes both options for our gifts this year. Either way, I would definitely make sure the DIY bath bombs are protected before handing them over!
Recipe Notes
The number of bath bombs this recipe will make is approximate. It will depend on the size of your molds.
Other Fun DIY Projects
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We made 4 bath bombs and were only able to get one out of the metal mold despite trying the tips discussed here.
I’ve been trying different recipes and do like this one. My question is how many drops of essential oils are people using? This called for 10 and I know the strength of the scent depends on which oils you’re using but I’m having a hard time with that. I kept adding drops but never achieved my desired results.
I also used natural food coloring drops. I don’t have powder and the water didn’t change color so I’ll use more next time.
The fizz and the silkiness was great.
I make a medical salve for pain and have been using approximately 52 drops /essential oils per 1 ounce of carrier.
Didn’t work for me at all, the mixture didn’t fiz and I put the right amounts of ingredients and didn’t use too much water…