There is nothing quite like a nice hot bath after a long day or week, is there? Sometimes, as busy moms, it is the only moments that we get a bit of quiet and rest. Perhaps not even then for moms of young children, right :). There was a time when I went through mountains of bath bombs, bath salts, and bath bubbles. It was also costly, bad for the earth (all that packaging and chemicals), and hard on my skin. Now I make my own homemade bath bombs on a regular basis! They save me cash, are customizable to my perfect recipe and are gentler on my skin and the earth.
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You’ll find yourself not feeling bad about dropping a bath bomb into every. single. bath you take. Nor worry about what it might be doing to your skin. And, of course, these make fabulous gifts!
Warning: the first time or two you make a bath bombs recipe most likely won’t be perfect. It takes a bit to get the wet to dry ingredients right and to realize how very quickly you need to whisk it. Really quickly! But once you get the hang of it you will find making bath bombs incredibly easy and fast…you’ll be hooked and so glad you know how to make bath bombs!
Classic Oatmeal homemade Bath Fizzes recipe
makes 6 – 2 by 1 inch oval bombs
8 oz. baking soda
4 oz Citric Acid
4 oz. oatmeal
4 oz. Epsom salts
3/4 tsp water
2 tsp. essential oil ( I prefer lavender)
2.5 tsp olive oil (or your favorite light oil like almond, apricot, or jojoba)
2 tablespoons dried flower (I use lavender) buds (optional)
silicone mold
How to make homemade bath fizzes:
Mix the wet ingredients and dry ingredients separately. Quickly add the water to the dry ingredients and whisk quickly! Press into molds and let the mixtures set for 24 hours. Store in an air-tight container. These bath bombs will store well for at least 6 months.
Tips for successful bath bombs:
- Silicone molds seem to work best for homemade bath bombs because it is easy to remove the finished product without breaking them. However, many use cupcake tins to make these, with good success.
- If the mixture isn’t clumping together properly in the molds, return the mixture to the bowl and add just a sprinkle of water (it can be helpful to use your faucet sprayer and gently mist it) and mix well. But be careful, adding too much water will give you an opposite problem (see below)!
- If you DO add too much water and the citric acid is causing them to expand rapidly, dump the mixture into your bowl and add 1/4 cup baking soda. Mix quickly. If it’s still expanding, add additional oatmeal or baking soda. Wait again. Continue to add dry ingredients until the expanding stops and the mixture can be pressed into the molds.
- Don’t like using oatmeal in your bath bombs? You can sub out cornstarch in replacement. I prefer the soothing properties of oatmeal but don’t care for the mess it makes. So, I usually switch each time I make a batch.
- Many people like to add coloring to their bath bombs to color their bath water. Personally, that’s not my thing. If you do want the coloring, purchase coloring made for this purpose. Do not use food coloring because it will dye you and your bathtub.
- Citric acid can most often be found at your health food store or local co-op in the bulk section. You can also order citric acid on Amazon.
For variety, use a multitude of different scents, flowers, molds, and add-in’s. There really isn’t any way to list them all. Here are some of my favorites…
- Confetti
- Dried fruit
- Flower petals
- Bath pearls (be careful to get biodegradable kinds!)
- Bath salts
- Dried Herbs (LOVE rosemary in mine!)
Why you should make homemade bath fizzes…
You can easily customize this classic recipe to your favorite scents and textures.
And completely control the ingredients and cost.
And…bath fizzes are great for getting Kids in the Kitchen making and creating!
