Best Bath Bomb Recipe
I love baths. If I had the time, I would take one every single night. While it is more rare than I would wish for, when I have the chance, these easy bath bombs are one of my favourite indulgences.
Bath bombs aren’t just for kids! I love to throw one in the tub, ideally a homemade one so that I know what it contains, they smells are amazing and your skin comes out ultra moisturized. Such a treat! My kids, many many bath bombs later, still marvel and the science experiment fizzing, popping and bubbling like a volcano in the tub. It really is fascinating to watch!
The kids and I have been making bath bombs a few times a year since Cadence was born, almost 7 years ago. I won’t even tell you about the time she ate an entire one and was frothing out her nose and mouth like a rabid dog (sigh…yes, huge Mom-Fail…although very thankfully they are pretty clean and she didn’t even get sick). We have tried every recipe under the sun, many terrible, some okay, and eventually through trial and error I came up with my own recipe, based on what worked, what didn’t and what didn’t cost a fortune.
This recipe is ultra-moisturizing, and ridiculously simple. The kids and I make them every year as Teacher Gifts and a few little “thinking of you” treats. It’s something that is easy enough that the kids can help with it, and any bath-lover will appreciate your thought at any time of the year.
Today we made 2 dozen, some small and some gigantic. (I tripled this recipe because the big ones are so big…this recipe will make about a dozen small/medium ones). At the request of my daughter, we made “Galaxy Stripes”, but that certainly isn’t necessary. Today we tried 2 scents (2 separate batches), my favourite (Basil & Lime) and her favourite (Peppermint).
If you want to try it out, here are a few suggestions about the ingredients before you gather them:
Citric Acid is expensive! I have looked many places, Amazon, craft supply stores, bulk food stores and by far the best prices I have found are at wine making stores (at least 1/2 the price).
A healthy, unscented light oil that works well in Avocado, and by far the best price for that (I use it in EVERYTHING!!) is Costco.
Essential Oils - quality matters! I order mine through Melaleuca, but wherever you get them, pick one that is high enough quality that it is considered food-safe.
There is a tiny bit of borax in this recipe. You can skip it if that bothers you, it froths and bubbles more vigorously with it, but it does still work without it.
Keep an eye out at the dollar store for plastic molds. I did end up ordering some smaller ones online, but the larger spheres and hearts I have found were from the dollar store. The spheres were tree ornaments (pictured below) that open nicely and the larger hearts were the package that contained valentines erasers.
Dry Ingredients:
2 C baking soda
1 C citric acid
1 C cornstarch
2/3 C epsom salts Or sea salt
1/2 tsp borax
Wet Ingredients:
5 1/2 TBSP light oil (I use 1/2 avocado oil and 1/2 sweet almond but have had success with only avocado oil)
1 1/2 TBSP warm water
40 (ish) drops of essential oils (I love 30 drops of lime mixed with 10 drops of Basil)
10-30 drop of food colouring
Supplies:
large bowl
small bowl
whisk
pastry blender (I like to use this, but a spoon is fine)
6-12 molds (depending on size)
muffin tins
measuring cups
measuring spoons
Directions:
Mix dry ingredients in large bowl and blend until all lumps are gone.
Mix wet in small bowl, whisking until opaque and well blended. If you want more than one colour, do not add your food colouring yet, if you are going for a solid colour, go ahead and add it now.
Add wet into dry (it will start foaming already), use pastry blender to rapidly blend until all bubbles are gone and thoroughly mixed.
If you want more than one colour, separate into separate bowls and add colour to each, again mixing quickly.
Add “dough” to each 1/2 of the 2 part mold (in layers if you want stripes) until each side is nearly full. Pack each side with your fingers (each side will now be about 3/4 full). Overfill the remaining space on each side of the mold (do not pack this).
Holding it over the bowl (excess will spill out), press both overfilled sides together.
Place it on your muffin tin, so that it is stable to dry and doesn’t break open or roll away.
Continue until dough is gone.
Allow bombs to dry in molds for 8+ hours, rotating them everything few hours.
Gently take 1/2 of the mold off and allow them to dry to another 24+ hours. (usually I pull them out part way through the day and put the mold on the side that has been exposed to the air, and then replacing them into the muffin tray so that both sides dry well.
Remove molds, and allow them to dry for another 1-3 days depending on how big they are.
Wrap with tissue and gift them or hoard them all for yourselves!
Voila! You can buy fancy shrink-wraps, but I haven’t ever bothered with that. We have made these for take-home gifts from birthdays too. Would be great if you were doing as Spa-Party! Several times I have made up kits off all of the ingredients as a DIY birthday gift for little crafters in our lives all packed up in a glass cannister ready-to-make.
I would love to see what you come up with!
~Q
