DIY Bath Bombs || A Complete Step-By-Step Guide
One look at this easy DIY bath bombs step by step guide will have you wondering why you haven’t been making your own bath bombs right along!
At the end of a long, difficult day you should do something nice for yourself. Treat yourself well before you head into your evening. Or wait until the evening is over and pamper yourself a bit before you go to bed.
Either way, include a DIY bath bomb in this self-care ritual and you’ll feel better for it!
Go ahead and add in some other elements to this sudsing self-ritual. When you are done the stressed woman who first climbed into the tub will be nowhere in sight.
Try pairing your bath bomb with a good book, some low-key relaxing music (might I suggest classical), a candle or ten, and a glass of your favorite wine.
After all, when you’re doing something nice for yourself you should definitely go all the way!
Are bath bombs good for your skin?
This bath bomb recipe contains both cornstarch and baking soda. These two ingredients are very good for your skin.
The other ingredients in the recipe do not necessarily benefit your skin, but they are essentially harmless. However, some people may have a sensitivity to them, and that could be a problem for them.
Citric acid is the very thing that makes a bath bomb work. The citric acid is where the fizz is. If you find that you are sensitive to this ingredient then bath bombs are just not for you. Perhaps you want to explore creating your own bath salts, bath oils, or sugar scrubs.
Colorants and essential oils are not necessary ingredients for bath bombs and can be eliminated. They are a significant part of the spa-like experience that these fizzy little bath time treats provide. So, they would be sorely missed. Still, they are certainly not worth the trade off of suffering through allergic reactions.
Choosing ingredients for your bath bombs
You will be faced with a few choices when picking out the ingredients for your DIY bath bombs. They are easy choices, and quite fun to make!
You will need to choose an essentail oil and a colorant if you are going to use them. It can be nice to choose ones that pair well together, such as; purple colorant for lavender scented bombs or pink colorant for rose scented bombs.
Choosing an essential oil is pretty elementary. It’s simply a matter of deciding what mood altering element you would like your DIY bath bombs to carry.
You could use lavender for relaxation, peppermint for invigoration, or rose for overall well-being. The choices are endless.
Be sure that you are choosing 100% essential oil. Never use fragrance oil, as it is a manmade synthetic.
DIY bath bombs are aesthetically pleasing without colorant, especially when you add dried flower petals to them. The white background really makes the petals POP!
But adding color to them makes them rather fun! There are powdered colorants available for purchase. These colorants are very easy to blend into the dry ingredients when you’re making your bath bombs.
Yet, they are not necessary, and you can save yourself a little cash by using whatever food coloring you already have in your kitchen cabinet.
How a bath bomb is made
There is a full, ready to print tutorial on how to make bath bombs available at the end of this post. It is nice to have a print copy on hand when you are working.
In the interest of sharing just how easy it is to do, the following 6 steps sum it up quite nicely …
- Mix the cornstarch and baking soda together in a small bowl
- Mix the wet ingredients together
- Let sit for 3-4 minutes
- Test the texture and adjust accordingly
- Thoroughly mix in the citric acid
- Press mixture into a bath bomb mold
- Allow to sit for 24 hours
- Remove from mold and allow to sit for an additional 24 hours
Where to buy bath bomb molds
You can pick up a bath bomb mold pretty easily. If you have a craft store in your area it is likely that you can pick one up there.
There are also many places to grab one online. If you chose to do this be a discerning shopper, as many of them are shipped from overseas and the quality can be a bit inferior.
Stainless steel molds are a bit more expensive than other molds, but they are well worth the investment. If you plan to make your own bath bombs regularly, spend the extra money. You will thank yourself each and every time you are removing a bath bomb from a mold!
There are many common household things you can use to mold your DIY bath bombs. It is nice to make a batch or two using something from around the house before you invest in molds.
You can use anything that you are able to firmly press your bath bomb materials into. A cupcake tin or a cookie scoop work really well.
A cookie scoop is smaller, making it perfect for creating bombs for foot baths.
Meet me in the comments and let me know how this tutorial worked out for you. What scent bath bomb did you go with? And did you use color?
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If you try this project and love it, please give it 5 stars! It supports my work more than you may realize, and I appreciate that a great deal!
You can also show your support by tagging me on Facebook @sustainableslowliving or Instagram @slowlivingbydianegail when you post a pic of your finished pieces.
DIY BATH BOMBS || A COMPLETE STEP BY STEP GUIDE
Make bath bombs in less than an hour with this DIY Bath Bomb Tutorial! It's so easy to do you'll be making them for all your friends too!
Materials
- 1/2 cup baking soda
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 1/4 cup citric acid
- 1 - 1 1/2 tsps water
- 1-2 drops food coloring of choice
- 5-7 drops essential oil of choice
Tools
- Mixing bowl, small
- Condiment dish, small
- Whisk
- Measuring cups (1/4 cup & 1/2 cup)
- Meauring spoon (1/2 teaspoon)
- Bath bomb mold (1 large or 4 small)
- Gloves (optional)
Instructions
- In a small mixing bowl whisk baking soda and cornstarch together, being careful to remove all lumps. If necessary break lumps up with your fingers.
- In small condiment bowl combine 1 tsp water with essential oil and food coloring.
- Slowly add the wet mixture to the dry mixture using your hands to combine them thoroughly. Wear gloves if you like to keep the food coloring from staining your skin.
- Allow this blend to sit for 3-4 minutes. It will get wetter as it sits.
- Pick up a handful of ingredients and squeeze it together in the palm of your hand. It should have the consistency of wet sand. And should form a fragile clump in the palm of your hand, one that easily crumbles when touched.
- If it does not form a clump add more water 1/2 teaspoon at a time. DO NOT add more water than needed.
- Pour the citric acid into the mixture and quickly and thoroughly blend it in with your hands.
- Press this mixture into both sides of the bath bomb mold tightly. Overfill each half of the mold and then gently grind away the excess mixture as you close the mold.
- Allow the mold to sit undisturbed for 24 hours.
- Gently remove the bath bomb from the mold.
- Allow the bomb to sit in the open air for another 24 hours.
Notes
TIPS AND TRICKS
* Adding too much water will not help the mixture to stick together. Rather it will cause it to become heavy and collapse when it is removed from the mold.
* If you wish to add dried floral material to your bath bombs simply place it in the top of the mold before you press in the prepared bath bomb mixture. To add additional material to the mold to achieve a layered effect, place the material along the edge of the mold and then press some prepared bath bomb mixture on top of it a little at a time. Then proceed with filling the mold completely with prepared mixture.
I’ve added this to my Bath bombs Pinterest board! I’m hoping to experiment with these as gifts this Christmas!!! I know it only April but hey, I might actually be organised for once?!!
They make such a nice gift Sharon. You’re making me wish I was on your gift list, LOL! I hope your Christmas this year is more organized than you could ever imagine 😉
I’ve never seen such pretty bath bombs! I pinned this and can’t wait to try it out!
Such a nice compliment! Thank you! I hope you enjoy making them. AND soaking with them 😉