DIY Bath Bombs
Love those awesome fizzing bath bombs but don’t want to spend $6 a piece? It’s easy to make your own with natural ingredients that soften your skin.
As this recipe is part of the Natural Skincare Series the ingredients are natural and safe. While there are many other recipes that recommend using synthetic fragrance and coloring, there are many options available that are 100% natural and will not harm you when absorbed into your skin.
You can feel confident that when you use these natural products, or give them as gifts, that they are healthy for the body.
Ingredients / Materials:
- 2 cups baking soda
- 1 cup citric acid
- 100% pure witch hazel
- spray bottle
- 10-20 drops of 100% pure essential oils (do not use fragrance for any bath or body products)
- natural colorant (green=spirulina, yellow=turmeric, purple=ratanjot)
- plastic moulds
Instructions:
1. In a large bowl, measure in the baking soda, citric acid and mix well.
2. Add a 1/2 teaspoon of coloring and mix well. Add more colouring if you want a deeper colour, but keep in mind that too much coloring will leave a ring in your tub, so go easy. The color will become more pronounced when you add the witch hazel anyhow.
3. Add 20-30 drops of essential oils and mix well.
4. Using a atomizer or spay bottle filled with which hazel, spray the entire surface of the powder mix and mix with your hands. Keep spraying and mixing rapidly until the mixture holds together when scrunched with your hand (think of making snowballs).
5. Working quickly, firmly press mixture into moulds. You can use soap-making moulds, chocolate moulds, ice cube trays, or even plastic Christmas tree ornaments that snap into two parts. The key is that they are plastic and large enough for the bath bomb to combine and set.
6. Gently tap the mould so that the bath bomb releases and carefully lay on a towel or tray to dry. To make a round bath bomb, over-fill two moulds and press them together firmly before tapping the mould to release the bath bomb.
7. Let the bath bombs dry for 30 minutes or until they are firm and won’t fall apart.
Tip: use the extra powder from the bowl and counter and shake it into carpets or rugs, then vacuum. Instant deodorizing!
Tags: bath bomb, essential oils, handmade holiday gifts, Natural Skincare Series
December 16 2011 04:02 pm | Projects
DIY Bath Bombs | Gardening Tips on 17 Dec 2011 at 6:46 am #
[...] Source: http://gardentherapy.ca/diy-bath-bombs/ [...]
Kathi on 17 Dec 2011 at 6:07 pm #
Where does a person get some of these ingredients? like citric acid and natural colorings? Also do you know where a person can get melt and pour soap making bars that don’t have sorbitol or related ingredients in them. I would like to make some soap but am allergy sensitive to sorbitol. Thanks. Any info would be helpful.
23 Last Minute Neighbor Gift Ideas!! on 17 Dec 2011 at 11:30 pm #
[...] DIY Bath Bombs @ Garden Therapy [...]
Stevie on 18 Dec 2011 at 2:31 am #
Kathi, I’m not sure where you live, but I can certainly tell you exact places in vancouver. More generally, citric acid can be found at some grocery stores as it is used in cheese making and preserving. You can also find it at a soap supply store in your town or online. Natural colorings: try the bulk section at a natural food store. Sometimes I use whatever I can find, like ground sage for green.
DIY Bath Bombs | BC Home and Garden on 18 Dec 2011 at 12:46 pm #
[...] Full recipe… [...]
About Gardening » Blog Archive » DIY Bath Bombs on 18 Dec 2011 at 1:06 pm #
[...] Source: http://gardentherapy.ca/diy-bath-bombs/ [...]
Melody of chattychics.com on 19 Dec 2011 at 4:16 am #
Love these! Thank you so much for sharing! This is a great tutorial and great idea for gifts!
Melanie on 19 Dec 2011 at 2:31 pm #
Stevie you have so many wonderful ideas on your blog that I want to make. Wish I had more time. Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas.
Stuff and Nonsense on 20 Dec 2011 at 5:31 am #
what a simple and sweet idea
for crafting bath bombs
especially for a last-minute
Christmas gift
thanks for sharing at Fridays Unfolded!
alison
Aimee on 20 Dec 2011 at 3:05 pm #
Oh dear. I made your sugar scrubs, which turned out FABULOUSLY and I’m so excited to give them away this weekend! The bath bombs, however, didn’t turn out so well and I’m not sure where I went wrong…it just continues to grow and puff up like a souffle, overflowing the plastic moulds and the bowl. Too many sprays of witch hazel? Any ideas on what to do now? Can it be saved? I can stir it down in the bowl, but it just keeps on “souffleing” up again.
Stevie on 20 Dec 2011 at 4:19 pm #
Oh no, Aimee! Sounds like wayyyy too much witch hazel. Try only a few spritzes on the top of the mix at a time, mix with your hands quickly and it should be really dry when going into the moulds, sticking together like snow does – that perfect snowball snow: light and fluffy but sticks together when scrunched.
Unfortunately your batch can’t be made into bath bombs any more. But you can add that powder to the bath. Either keep it for yourself or put it in the same canning jars that you used for the scrub.
kristin on 20 Dec 2011 at 4:33 pm #
This is fabulous! I have been wanting to make some. Thank you for sharing and merry Christmas ;)
Chubby & Chique on 21 Dec 2011 at 11:24 am #
Absolutely great tip for crafters.
I am just wondering where I can buy all this things in Stockholm? I am not asking you §:-)
Hope I can grab this things and try.
TY for sharing your educational ideas.
Greetings from chilly Stockholm,
/CC
Honey on 21 Dec 2011 at 11:29 am #
Thanks for another fabulous idea and recipe!
Thank you for sharing the season at Potpourri Friday! May you have a Merry Christmas and the Happiest of Holidays!
Sherry on 21 Dec 2011 at 8:06 pm #
Thank you for joining me at Home Sweet Home and have a very Merry Christmas!
Sherry
Tonia @ The Gunny Sack on 21 Dec 2011 at 10:27 pm #
How cool! I would love to make some of these!
Heather on 22 Dec 2011 at 12:27 pm #
These are really neat. What a great gift idea! Thanks for linking up at So Very Creative. I featured this today.
http://soverycreative.blogspot.com/2011/12/last-minute-gift-ideas.html
Liz @ The Brambleberry Cottage on 22 Dec 2011 at 12:44 pm #
How delightful! I’m all about “natural” products! Thanks for sharing your recipes. ;)
And thanks for linking to Time Travel Thursday.
Blessings,
Liz @ The Brambleberry Cottage
Stevie on 22 Dec 2011 at 4:50 pm #
Thanks for featuring the bath bombs, Heather!
Stevie on 22 Dec 2011 at 4:51 pm #
CC, I’m sorry I can’t help you find supplies in Stockholm. I hope you have luck fining everything you need!
Jamie on 23 Dec 2011 at 8:21 am #
Cool! I’ve always wanted to try and make these. Thanks!
Last Minute Holiday Gifts and Printable Gift Tags | BC Home and Garden on 23 Dec 2011 at 2:35 pm #
[...] DIY Bath Bombs - know where to buy citric acid and witch hazel? Then you’ve done most of the work! Use ice cube trays as the mould and you’ll end up with cool rectangular bath tablets. [...]
Cat on 23 Dec 2011 at 8:43 pm #
These are great! Thanks for sharing the recipes.
Honey on 24 Dec 2011 at 11:58 am #
Thank you for sharing this beautiful post at Potpourri Friday! Have a very Merry Christmas and wonderful Holiday Season!
Tammy W on 28 Dec 2011 at 6:35 pm #
Thank you. This is a great post. I just stumbled upon your site through someone else’s favorite bar. I pinned this in Pinterest about half an hour ago and it is being re-pinned like crazy. Thanks again.
Stevie on 29 Dec 2011 at 8:54 am #
Thanks, Tammy. Yes, I see it is getting a lot of pinning on pinterest from all over the place. Love pinterest!
Aimee on 31 Dec 2011 at 1:12 pm #
Stevie – Just wanted to give an update on what happened to my “too much witch hazel” bath bomb mix. (First of all, don’t EVER try putting in, um, into a loosely lidded jar until it is completely – and I mean completely done “souffleeing”…picture a loud BOOM followed by me discovering a literally exploded bath “bomb” all over the ceiling, cabinets, curtains, refrigerator, windows, and Rufus the cat! The upshot was the kitchen got a good cleaning and smelled GREAT!)
Eventually, the mixture dried out. After the little catastrophe mentioned above, I gave up on the mix and just let it sort of fizzle itself out for about an hour, figuring I would take one heck of a long luxurious bath that night. Lo and behold, it eventually dried out enough to match the consistency you described – incredible! It didn’t want to stay in my silicone ice cube tray moulds, so I abandoned the mould idea altogether and just sort of stirred the dried, crumbly mixture – Behold: Bath FIZZ! I managed to fill a few small mason jars with Bergamot Bath Fizz and used what was left in the bowl for my own bath. Success, in an unexpected way! Thanks for all your fantastic posts – you inspired me to make a lot of Christmas presents this year, and I’m so grateful!
Happy New Year!
Stevie on 01 Jan 2012 at 7:31 pm #
Oh my, Aimee, you have had an adventure! Well I very much hope that all you have written here will help others. The lesson: go easy of the witch hazel…and have a good sense of humour! I’m sorry about your explosion, but happy to hear you found success in the end.
Thanks you for trying the projects and for coming back to comment. I really appreciate your feedback and compliments.
There are lots more projects coming this year, so get ready for more adventure!
Stevie
Natasha on 07 Jan 2012 at 3:18 am #
thanks for sharing
Thanks for linking up to Serenity Saturday Link Party, hope to see you there again this week
Natasha xx
http://serenityyou.blogspot.com/search/label/Serenity%20Saturday
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Kristen on 09 May 2012 at 11:39 am #
Hi! I am so excited to use this recipe, but I have one little hang up. I could buy citric acid, but know that I have ascorbic acid in the form of Vitamin C supplements I could just crush up in my mortar and pestle. Can they be substituted? Thanks!
Stevie on 09 May 2012 at 4:17 pm #
Hi Kristen. Hmmm, I wouldn’t use the vitamin C because I bet they are not citric acid. Ascorbic acid is not the same http://www.ochef.com/1075.htm Also looking at the recipe amounts – you would need a whole lot of crushed vitamins to make 1 cup. I hope this helps – have fun!