Raise your hand if you have ever struggled to get your kiddos into the tub at bathtime! I was so happy when I discovered using bath bombs to entice my kids into the tub. Who doesn’t love fizzy water that smells good? Am I right?
What’s even better is when you make bath bombs with your kids in your very own kitchen…it’s just good clean fun! (sorry, I couldn’t resist!)
Bath bombs are so fun to create and simple to make, I am finding myself slightly obsessed! We have made them for Christmas and Valentine’s day gifts. These light pink heart shape ones are my favorite so far.
The ingredients are mostly natural, except for a dash of food coloring, so they are safe and gentle for sensitive skin and we use essential oils so they smell amazing! I am a big believer in the power of essential oils, so love the idea of using lavender in the bath at bedtime for it’s calming properties.
We first started making bath bombs back in November. The kids and I participate in a local craft fair and my middle kiddo thought these would be a great thing to make and sell. She was right! They sold out and we even had some requests to make more! It took some trial and error and we had some failed batches along the way. There are lots of recipes on Pinterest and we tried a few different ones. Today I am sharing the ingredients and method that give us perfect bath bombs every time!
I used this recipe which I found on Pinterest. I changed things up slightly as this particular recipe didn’t work out well for us when we followed it the first time. I realized the problem is the water, which causes the ingredients to react. But I will get to this in a moment!
Here are the ingredients we use, and again, there are different variations out there, but this is what gives us perfect bath bombs every time!
Baking Soda
Citric Acid-I ended up ordering this online from Amazon as I didn’t know where to find it.
Epsom Salts-you can find this at Walmart, or any pharmacy
Coconut Oil-I got mine at the grocery store
Food Coloring (optional)-again at the grocery store or Walmart
Essential Oils (optional but so so good!) – I found my essential oils at Walmart in the pharmacy section, best price on these babies!
These are the tools you will need:
Muffin tins, silicone or metal – again, lots of variation here, but we found this to be the best for shaping the bombs!
Big Bowl
Measuring cups and spoons
Whisk or big spoon for mixing
Spray bottle-this is your secret weapon!
Here is how you make perfect bath bombs in 5 simple Steps!
Step 1- Measure and Mix Dry Ingredients
Measure and combine 1 cup of baking soda, 1/2 cup of epsom salts and 1/2 cup of citric acid into the bowl
and mix with the spoon or whisk
A head tilt and mischievous grin are not essential to the process but sure make it more cute!
Step 2. Combine the Wet Ingredients
In a separate bowl, combine 2 tablespoons of coconut oil, around 15 drops of essential oil and a drop or two of food coloring
Step 3-Add the wet ingredients to the dry
Add the coconut oil mixture to the dry ingredients in the big bowl and get mixing!
If you happen to have a friend to help you out, even better! One can pour while the other mixes.
Now is the fun part for the kiddos- get your hands in there and mix it up. You will want to work the coconut oil into the dry stuff.
Step 4 – Gently add some water
Then you can start to gradually add some water to the mix. This is where we ran into trouble in the past. Its a delicate balance between too little water (your bath bombs won’t hold together) and too much (the ingredients will start reacting before they hit the tub!). The secret to our success is using a spray bottle…We very gradually, a few sprays at a time, add water to the mixture.
Again this step is easier if you have two people to do it…it’s all about the teamwork friends! Add a few sprays and mix it in with your hands.
Repeat this process until the mixture starts to feel like coarse beach sand. You will know you have added enough water when the mixture starts holding together, like perfect sand castle sand…ya know what I mean? If the mixture starts fizzing, you are adding too much water, too fast. Here’s a fun little tip for you. Even if you have made a “failed batch” and you think you need to toss it and start again, let the kids dump the whole thing into a kitchen sink full of water. They will think it’s awesome, I guarantee it!
Step 5 – Shape your Bath Bombs
Once you have reached the right consistency, it’s time to make the bath bombs! We bought some bath bomb molds but what I discover works the best are silicone muffin molds or a muffin tin.
This is the easiest and most fail safe way to go. We usually get 4 medium bath bombs per batch, but with the smaller cupcake molds we got about 6. It just depends how full you fill each compartment.
A more advanced thing to try is to use cookie cutters to create fun shapes, as long as you have achieved that beach sand texture I mentioned. We made Christmas trees that were super cute.
Once you have shaped the bath bomb in a cookie cutter, lay it on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper. You will want to handle these as little as possible until they dry.
Whether you use a muffin tin, mold or cookie cutters, I find that leaving them to dry overnight is best and handle them as little as possible.
That really is all there is too it, and you have some perfect bath bombs for your next bathing experience! See ya later Lush, you can keep your $9 bath bombs! Pin this tutorial for the next time you are struggling to keep the kids entertained on a rainy day.
If you make these at home, tag a picture of them on social media and let me know how they work! Feel free to drop me any questions in the comments below!
Thanks for reading!
xo, Kerri
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