How To: D. I. Y. Homemade Bath Bomb Tutorial

Hello lovelies!  This is the first tutorial I'm posting on my blog, so I figured we'd start with something that's pretty easy - homemade bath bombs!

Strawberries & Cream bath bombs
are available in my Etsy shop!

Bath bombs, or bath fizzies, have become extremely popular in recent years both with large, retail corporations and the DIY community.  Why?  Because they're simple to make and fun to use!  In they're most simple form, bath bombs are nothing more than baking soda and citric acid mixed in a 2:1 ratio.  That's it!  Mix 1/2 cup of baking soda with 1/4 cup of citric acid, add a little wetting agent, pack it into a mold, and boom!  You have a bath bomb!

Now, I know what your saying.  You're saying, "I can make the amazing bath bomb I bought at the store that fizzed and fizzed and made my skin feel so soft with just citric acid and baking soda??  I'm running to Wal-Mart right now!"  (Here come the science-y stuff!  Feel free to skip ahead.)  Well, yes, but don't grab your keys just yet. While you can make a bath bomb with only two ingredients, it won't fizz for long and it won't give your skin a soft, just moisturized feel.  A bath bomb at it's most basic lacks "fillers" to slow down the reaction between the citric acid and the baking soda.  What this means is that, as soon as you drop this bath bomb in water, the fizzing will be over in just a few seconds.

"But Hunter, fillers sound like a very bad thing.  Why would I want to include them in my bath bombs?"  Oh, my lovelies, the fillers I'm thinking of are not to be confused with the fillers in processed food items.  Shea butter, cocoa butter, avocado oil, epsom salt... These are the fillers that will make your bath bomb absolutely ahh-mazing!

Take a look at a rather popular handmade company's bath bomb ingredients, and you'll see that they add in more than just baking soda and citric acid:
Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Fair Trade Cocoa Butter (Theobroma  cacao), Synthetic Musk, Ylang Ylang Oil (Cananga odorata), Fragrance

Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Fresh Avocado (Persea gratissima), Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Olea europaea), Lemongrass Oil (Cymbopogon citratus), Bergamot Oil (Citrus Autantium bergamia), Rosewood Oil (Aniba rosaeordora), *Citral, *Geraniol, *Limonene, *Linalool, Fragrance, Gardenia Extract (Gardenia jasminoides), Green Lustre (potassium Aluminum Silicate, Titanium Dioxide, FD&C Yellow No. 5 and FD&C Blue No. 1) *Occurs naturally in essential oils.

What this company has done with the cocoa butter, avocado, and olive oil is add in fillers.  The more fillers you have in your bath bomb, the slower the reaction between the citric acid and baking soda will be.  This means that it will fizz longer, plus your skin gets all the nutrients conditioning from these goodies! (End of science-y stuff.)

Now, on to the recipe!  I like putting lots of "fillers" in my bath bombs, because I like the longer fizzing action, but feel free to omit any ingredients you don't have or don't want to use.  As long as you have the baking soda and citric acid, you'll get a perfectly usable bath bomb.

Ingredients:
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid
1/2 cup cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/2 cup epsom salt or other bath salt (do not use Dead Sea salt!  It will ruin your bath bombs!)
1 to 2 tablespoons of oil or butter (mango butter, shea butter, and cocoa butter are the most common)
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon skin-safe fragrance or essential oil (not the oils found with wax warmers as these usually aren't skin safe)
1 to 2 drops of food coloring or 1/8 teaspoon powdered colorant

Tools:
large mixing bowls
measuring cups and spoons
sifter (optional)
mixing spoon
mold
spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol, witch hazel, or water
cookie pan

How To:

1)  Measure out the baking soda, citric acid, and cornstarch or arrow root powder into one bowl and mix.  Sift these ingredients if they are clumped together.  If you're using a solid oil or vegetable butter (like coconut oil or shea butter), melt them in the microwave for short bursts of 5 or 10 seconds each.  Repeat until fully melted.

2)  Add epsom salt, oil or melted butter, fragrance, and coloring to another and mix.  Adding the liquid ingredients to the salt helps keep them from clumping when mixing them into the dry ingredients.

I've mixed the powdered ingredients in the large bowl, and the liquid
ingredients into the salt in the small bowl.

3)  Add the salt mix into the powdered ingredients and mix thoroughly.  If you would prefer to have the bath bomb in powder form, stop here and pour the powder into an air tight container.  To use the powder, sprinkle a handful or two into your warm bath water.

I've just added the salt mix into the
powder mix and blended it well.

4)  Now, spritz the mixture with just one or two sprays of rubbing alcohol, witch hazel, or water at a time until the mixture feels like damp sand and clumps together when squeezed.  If you add too much liquid, the fizzing reaction can be set off in the bowl, or cause the bath bombs to puff up in the mold.  In the picture to the left, you can see how crumbly the mixture is.  It doesn't hold together, so if  you were to squish this into the  mold, it would crumble once dry.  In the picture to the right, you can  see how the mix now sticks  together.  This is how you want the mixture to look upon molding so that it doesn't crumble apart.

The mix isn't quite damp enough
to hold together properly.

With a few more spritz, the mix is now
holding together enough to be molded.

5)  Once the mixture has reached the clumping stage, it's time to pack it into the mold!  Just about any mold will work, so there's no need to buy a special one.  A cupcake pan or ice cube tray will work perfectly.  Take a handful of the mix, place it in the mold, and smoosh it down.  Repeat until each cavity is filled.

I split the bath bomb mixture so I could make two tone bombs.

Packing the bath bombs tightly in  the mold
is very important when making bath bombs
in a two-sided mold as the halves could
split apart if they are not packed tightly
enough.

6)  Wait a few hours (I usually let the bath bombs sit overnight) before attempting to remove the bath bombs from the mold.  If they don't remove cleanly, try letting them sit a few more hours.

These bath bombs are going to sit for a few hours in one half of the mold before
I pop them out and let the other side dry.

7)  Once you have removed the bath bombs, place them on a cookie pan and let them finish drying.  I usually let my bath bombs dry for up to 24 hours.

8)  Package your bath bombs in an air tight container.  If any water or humidity gets into the container, the bath bombs could fizz prematurely.

And that's all there is to it!  Bath bombs are super simple to make and so much fun in the bath.  You can even get creative and make multi colored bath bombs, or bath bombs with flower petals on top, or a small toy hidden inside.  The possibilities are endless!

Not sure where to buy one of the ingredients?  Here are my favorite places!

Walmart (in store or online) - baking soda, citric acid, epsom salt, cornstarch, oils (on the baking isle)

Arrowroot powder - Walmart or Amazon

Butters - mango, cocoa, shea

Colors - cocoa powder and food coloring can be found in the grocery store, or you can buy mineral colors here

Scents - I buy fragrance oils here, and essential oils here, but if you have a Whole Foods nearby, you might could find them there.

The Alternative Liquid Soap Swap

Recently, I participated in a soap swap with 14 other soap makers from all around the country. It was so much fun that I just have to tell everyone about it!  We did alternative liquids in our soaps.  Basically, we replaced the water with anything but water to see how it affects the soap.  It's not a scientific swap because we all used our own recipes, but it was definitely fun!  I'll bold the different liquids used in the soaps.

I just received my box full of goodies last week, so I haven't had a chance to try out everything yet, so I'll be updating this post often as I test out all the different soaps and extras.

All of the soaps straight out of the box!  Everything smells
soooooo good!!

This soap smells soooo amazing!  I'm definitely going to add
Green Irish Tweed to my collection of scents soon!

This soap had lush, creamy lather that is typical of salt bars.
I loved the dual sided affect.  The bottom was a scrubby
salt bar, and the top was a smooth bar.

Ingredients:  Coconut Oil, Sea Salt, Tallow, Sweet Almond Oil,
Distilled Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Castor Oil, Olive Oil,
Fragrance, Shea Butter, Sodium Citrate, Mica, Titanium Dioxide

This soap smells lovely and clean!

Ingredients:  Tallow, Sweet Almond Oil, Coconut Oil,
Distilled Water, Sodium Hydroxide, Heavy Cream, Olive Oil,
Castor Oil, Fragrance, Sugar, Sodium Citrate, Tussah Silk,
Mica, Activated Charcoal, Titanium Dioxide.

Is this soap not gorgeous??  And I
love that she sent samples of the same
recipe with different liquids to
compare to!

Ingredients:  Tallow, Olive Oil,
Coconut Oil, Hemp Milk, Water,
Sodium Hydroxide, Castor Oil,
Palm Kernel Oil, Fragrance, Mica,
Titanium Dioxide

This bar is absolutely stunning to me.  You can't tell in the
picture, but it shimmered and sparkled like gold!  It's
scented with Nag Champa, which I never thought I would
like, but I love it!  It's a very sweet, incense type smell.

The lather is thick and creamy.  It's slightly hard to work up,
but I was really impressed with the feel of this soap.  I felt
like I was holding an antique treasure and just kept turning
it over in my hands admiring the silky feel.

Ingredients:  Lard, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Banana,
Evaporated Milk, Castor Oil, Sunflower Oil, Fragrance,
Color

This was my submission.  I received one of the bars cut from
the far end of the loaf.  Apparently, when I was pouring, I was
light handed with the batter the further away I poured from
the starting end.  Bars from the other end had bold swirls,
whereas bars from this end of the mold had more whispy
swirls.

Of course, I'm a fan of my own soap's lather, but it has a light,
fluffy lather that can turn rich and creamy with just a bit
more work.

Ingredients:  Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Water, Sodium
Hydroxide, Mango Butter, Sunflower Oil, Castor Oil, Wine
Avocado Oil, Fragrance, Sugar, Salt, Titanium Dioxide,
Iron Oxides, Vitamin E

This was a simple bar that smelled very soapy and clean.  I
couldn't detect any fragrance in the bar, but by the time I
unwrapped it, I may have already overloaded my sniffer.
By any means, it was a very light scented bar.

Ingredients:  Lard, Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Cucumber,
Aloe, Castor Oil, Green Mica, Blue Oxide Titanium
Dioxide, Fragrance

This soap smells so much like ginger ale it's
unreal!  I can't wait to test it out.  I didn't
unwrap this soap to take pictures, so look
below for a look at the soap!

The swirls hidden behind the label of
Flurry of Ginger.

Ingredients:  Lard, Olive Oil, Canada Dry
Ginger Ale, Sodium Hydroxide, Coconut Oil,
Castor Oil, Water, Fragrance, Citric Acid,
Titanium Dioxide, Yellow Mica, BHT, BHA

This is Kauai Coconut.  It smells absolutely delicious!  It
reminds me of a coconut bakery treat that I can't quite put my
finger on the name of.  It is so yummy!

The maker actually collected the Hawaiian red earth clay
herself on a trip to Hawaii!

I absolutely love the decorative soap chunks on top!

Ingredients:  Coconut Milk, Olive Oil, Palm Oil, Sodium
Hydroxide, Coconut Oil, Palm Kernel Oil, Shea Butter,
Castor Oil, Fragrance, Hawaiian Red Earth Clay,
Titanium Dioxide, Blue Ultra Marine, Mica

This soap smells absolutely stupendous!  To me, most berry
scents have a cough medicine note to them.  This one did
not at all!  Just berry sweet!

Ingredients:  Lard, Buttermilk, Coconut Oil, Sodium
Hydroxide, Olive Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Castor Oil, Fragrance,
Sodium Lactate, Iron Oxide, Manganese Violet, Mica,
Tin Oxide, Titanium Dioxide, Ultramarine Blue, Tussah Silk

This was my least favorite scent of the lot.  It is a very
earthy, damp soil, vegetable garden type scent, which fits
very well with the alternative liquid.  I just didn't care for it.

I love the way the bar looks, however!  But then, I'm a sucker
for camo..  And did I mention her packaging was adorable?
You can't see it but on the back she had used a paw print
hole puncher to give the soap a breathing hole.

Ingredients: Beef Tallow, Lard, Palm Kernel Oil, Water,
Olive Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Aloe Vera Juice, Castor Oil,
Tomato Paste, Kokum Butter, Fragrance, Chromium
Green Oxide, Brown Oxide, Australian Red Clay

This soap is stunning!  I love the
texture that the activated charcoal
gives soaps.

This bar developed a silky gel coating
the minute it touched water.  This gel
easily developed into a rich, creamy
lather.  It was a very interesting bar
to me as it is so different from my own
soaps!

Ingredients:  Lard, Olive Oil, Distilled
Water, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil,
Sodium Hydroxide, Castor Oil,
Sucrose, Citric Acid, Mica, Titanium
Dioxide, Iron Oxide, Fragrance

I wish you had smell-o-vision for this soap!  It's probably my
favorite out of everything I received.  The maker graciously
shared his fragrance blend used to scent this soap.  I will
be blending it very soon, and plan to name the scent
Nevermore in honor of this bar.  I'll be checking with the
maker first, though, to make sure it's alright.

I absolutely love the story behind the name of the soap.  The
maker used a locally brewed beer by New Holland Brewing
called The Poet.  The label of the beer features a raven,
which is an obvious reference to Edgar Allen Poe. So the
soap maker decided to name the soap after the ominous
call of the raven.

Ingredients: Palm Oil, Olive Oil, Avocado Oil, Coconut
Oil, Shea Butter, Castor Oil, Beer, Kaolin Clay, Sodium
Lactate, Titanium Dioxide, Fragrance

First off, the label!  I absolutely love the design!  The scent
isn't my favorite, but I'm not a huge fan of bergamot or many
tea fragrances.  I can't wait to use this soap, though, as it is
made with ingredients I've never tried before.

Ingredients:  Kombucha (organic raw kombucha, fresh pressed
ginger juice), Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Sustainable Palm Oil,
Sodium Hydroxide, Apricot Kernel Oil, Shea Butter, Sal Butter,
Fragrance, Castor Oil, Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Sodium Lactate,
Rosemary Oleoresin, Extract

I absolutely love the name of this soap!  This is an essential
oil soap and the design makes me think of birch tree bark.

Ingredients:  Aloe Juice, Olive Oil, Rice Bran Oil, Coconut
Oil, Cocoa Butter, Sodium Hydroxide, Castor Oil, Powdered
Sugar, Salt, Citric Acid, Orange 5x Essential Oil,
Eucalyptus Essential Oil, Ylang Ylang Essential Oil

This soap has very pretty swirls to compliment the delicate
scent.  It's light yet sweet.  I loved the smooth feel of this
bar, as well as the creamy lather.

Ingredients:  Olive Oil, Lard, Water, Oat Milk, Sodium
Hydroxide, Coconut Oil, Sweet Almond Oil, Fragrance,
Castor Oil, Sunflower Oil, Mica, Titanium Dioxide,
Iron Oxide, Manganese Violet

This soap is a lovely fragrance blend.  It's very juicy and
citrus-y (which I love!).  The color combination is
ingenious and looks amazing!

Ingredients:  Tallow, Aloe Vera Juice, Lard, Olive Oil,
Coconut Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Fragrance, Micas and
Oxides

And then there were all the amazing bonus items everyone
sent!  The spirulina and sodium citrate were sent as samples
to try in our own soaps.  There were several samples of
different soaps, some lovely lip balms, and two bath truffles.
I also received a 1 ounce fragrance sample called Skinny
Dipping.