I had planned to make bath bombs/fizzies for holiday gifts but ran out of time, so this past weekend I finally made some. It was really fun and they came out great so am sharing this very rewarding DIY project. Baking soda and citric acid are soothing to our skin and Epsom salts are great for sore, tired muscles. The essential oils make them smell wonderful and the best part is the baking soda and citric acid will fizz and dissolve when added to water – perfect for a nice relaxing bath!
SUPPLIES NEEDED: I went to our local Dollar Store and got a lemon squeezer, spray bottle, measuring cup and plastic bowl for $1.00 each. A coffee grinder that you will never again use to grind coffee is helpful for getting the fine consistency you need. After doing some cupboard cleaning I found an old one that I didn’t even know I had – hording sometimes pays off! You might be able to use a fine sifter instead but I haven’t tried that yet.
- Measuring cup that holds at least 2 cups
- Dust mask (the cheap ones from any hardware store)
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup citric acid (you can often get it in the canning section of a grocery store, or buy it on Amazon – 2.lb. bag of organic for about $8.00 which will make MANY bath bombs).
- 1/4 cup epsom salts (get in any drugstore)
- 2 ½ – 3 TBSP of your favorite oil (avocado, almond, apricot, olive, etc.)
- 10 – 12 drops essential oil of your choice (rose, peppermint or lavender are nice for these)
- Witch hazel in a spray bottle (you can get this at any drugstore)
- Molds for the bath bombs: I used a heart shaped soap mold and a lemon squeezer that had a half scoop shape. (see photo). I think an ice cream scooper would work, too. It just needs to be sturdy as rounder shapes hold together better.
RECIPE & DIRECTIONS: (this made a dozen nice sized bath bombs)
Measure 1 cup baking soda and put into large bowl.
Measure the Epsom salts and the citric acid and put in a separate bowl. You will now need to sift or grind these because they are not fine enough to compress into the “bomb”. Put on a dust mask. I did not have one and wished I did. The citric acid floats in the air when you grind it and can irritate your throat. I don’t think it is bad for you but it was definitely annoying! I ground them in small batches, then added to the big bowl of baking soda. They need to be very fine particles like the baking soda. Stir or whisk all the salts together until well combined.
Add both the nut or olive oil and the essential oil and mix well until the oil is completely incorporated and it is a bit fluffy. You can add finely crushed herb leaves like mint or lavender flowers, too*.
MOLDING the Bath Bombs:
Spoon enough of your mixture to fill the mold. Then pack it down with the back of the spoon and/or your fingers until it is as firm as you can get it. PRESS REALLY HARD! You can add more mixture until the mold is completely filled, firmly packing each addition into the mold. My first attempt fell apart because I didn’t pack it tightly enough but all the other ones were perfect. I only had two molds that worked (those leaf molds in the photo fell apart) so I let the mixture sit in the first mold while I filled the second one. Before you unmold, spray the exposed surface VERY LIGHTLY with the witch hazel. Just one little squirt is enough. If you get them too wet they will start to fizz and we don’t want that to happen! When your second mold is filled, very carefully knock the first one out of the mold onto a piece of wax paper. If you packed them in tightly enough they will come out nice and hard. If they seem to be too crumbly no matter how hard you pushed them into the mold, try adding a little bit more oil to the mixture.
Once they are all unmolded and sitting on the wax paper, lightly spritz the tops with the witch hazel. I have no idea if this step is really necessary but I read it in one of the recipes and mine stayed together perfectly so spritz away 🙂
“Let them set for a few days, covered with a paper towel in a dry spot”
Cover them loosely with paper towels and let them set out in a DRY place for a day or two. After that you can package them up as gifts or use them yourself. The fizziness only lasts a few months, so don’t store them for too long. Use one bomb per bath.
* GET CREATIVE:
Once I got the hang of packing them into the molds I tried adding some dried, ground up lavender flowers to the salt mixture and they looked really fancy. There are cosmetic dyes you can get to tint them but I didn’t want to track down anymore ingredients and with the dried flowers they don’t need any color. I am going to try crushed rose petals in my next batch and maybe some dried peppermint leaves… lots of ideas 🙂
the pollen count 