Anyone with tweens can probably relate to the bath bomb craze that is currently in full swing. If you’re not already on board, bath bombs are hard-packed mixtures of dry ingredients which effervesce (fizz and bubble!) when wet. They’re an extra special treat for bath time.
We’re most definitely fans at our house but, just like with anything, bath bombs can either be full of artificial fragrances and other unwanted ingredients or be au naturale.
So, this holiday season, we set out to make our very own Homemade Lush Bath Bombs. And that’s because we thought they’d be a super fun DIY gift for friends and grandmas, and (the best part) – we’d know exactly what is in them!
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Fun Scents
Just because we don’t want artificial fragrances (or colors) in our bath bombs doesn’t mean we don’t want any fun scents at all! So, we were excited to use some of the holiday essential oils from one of our favorite all-natural companies, Plant Therapy for this project. Candy Cane bath bombs? Yes, please!
Essential oils have been around for centuries and are concentrated, volatile, aromatic liquids obtained from the fruits, seeds, flowers, bark, stems, roots, leaves or other parts of plants. Plant Therapy offers only 100% pure essential oils and is one of the few companies who offer USDA Certified Organic options. All of their oils go through multiple rounds of testing and are always free from additives, adulterants, and dilutions to uphold the highest quality.
While you can certainly find many essential oil options out there, know that they are not all made the same, and finding a quality product is essential. This is why we always choose Plant Therapy!
Supplies Needed for Homemade Bath Bombs:
Ingredients
- Baking soda
- Citric acid
- Epsom salt
- Cornstarch
- Coconut oil
- Essential oils (optional, but recommended)
Tools
- Large mixing bowl
- Small mixing bowl (or glass measuring cup with a spout)
- Measuring cups/spoons
- Bath bomb molds (or muffin tin)
- If gifting: Plastic molds you can give away or plastic used for shrink wrapping
Optional
DIY Bath Bomb Recipe (all natural)
Print RecipeIngredients
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup citric acid anything acidic can damage some countertops (especially marble) so be careful!
- 1/2 cup Epsom salt recommended to me by my chiropractor to help with sore muscles
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons all natural food coloring optional (natural powdered food coloring activates when wet in the tub and will not stain)
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted/warm
- 1 teaspoon water do not use more than this!
- 10 drops your favorite essential oil we used Plant Therapy essential oils
- prizes to go inside – optional! (we used “Magic Grow Capsules” that expand when wet)
Instructions
- In a large bowl whisk together the baking soda, citric acid, Epsom salt, cornstarch and (only if using) powdered food coloring.
- In a separate small bowl combine the melted coconut oil, water and essential oils. (We used peppermint, but I’m guessing that this would work great with lavender, sweet orange or chamomile.)
- While continuously whisking, very slowly drizzle the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined. The outcome (as pictured below) should be similar to a dry, crumbly sand and should not be a “wet” consistency. Warning: If mixture gets too wet it will activate the fizzy part of the bath bomb too soon!
- TIGHTLY pack the mixture into each side of the mold then press the two sides together. Ideally let it stay in the mold overnight, then lightly tap around the mold with a spoon to very carefully open and remove bath bomb. Finished product will still be somewhat fragile, so be careful!
Notes
Recipe is too dry and if you add any tid bit of water the entire mix turns to crap. 3 batches of wasted ingredients in a row. Ridiculous.
So sorry to hear they didn’t work out for you. Some of our readers have said they had to add a little more coconut oil due to the climate where they live. – Nicole
This is my first time trying bath bombs and the wet ingredients were not enough to make the dry ingredients like packed sand. I kept adding melted coconut oil and water until I had the right consistency but right before putting into molds the mixture became fizzy/bubbly and I think it’s ruined
Made these with my 5 year old daughter. They came out great! We used Hello Kitty and heart shaped silicone candy molds and the regular bath bomb molds. We had so much fun!
Great except I had to add 7 extra teaspoons of coconut oil cause I live in a very dry place but that isn’t your fault so good job with the recipe!
I always have the hardest time with bath bombs. They always fall apart. I’m going to try your recipe instead.
These look like so much fun! I love the confetti sprinkles you used. They remind of a birthday cake!
I love this recipe! I recently bought some of those add water and grow a washcloth that I found at the dollar store and I put those inside, I love how excited my kids get when it grows from the inside! I will have to try those grow a dinosaur for my son! Thanks so much
We made 4 bath bombs and were only able to get one out of the metal mold despite trying the tips discussed here.
I’ve been trying different recipes and do like this one. My question is how many drops of essential oils are people using? This called for 10 and I know the strength of the scent depends on which oils you’re using but I’m having a hard time with that. I kept adding drops but never achieved my desired results.
I also used natural food coloring drops. I don’t have powder and the water didn’t change color so I’ll use more next time.
The fizz and the silkiness was great.
I make a medical salve for pain and have been using approximately 52 drops /essential oils per 1 ounce of carrier.
Didn’t work for me at all, the mixture didn’t fiz and I put the right amounts of ingredients and didn’t use too much water…
Same and i didnt even add water because of how wet they were
How long do these last if you make them and then don’t use them immediately?
I use small cupcake tins and only had mine in 10 minutes and flipped over with waxpaper cuz 1 got 36 and only had 24 of them. No problem. If poweredy need more coconut oil I always ajust. .r u making sure can form a ball begfore even putting in mold cuz if doesn’t stick 2gether be won’t work after. Only 2nd time making learned from 1sr time
Is there anything I can substitute the coconut oil with?
While we haven’t tried, you can probably use almond oil or regular olive oil. Give it a try and let us know. – Nicole
This is my go to for bath bombs. I purchased metal molds from amazon. No matter what I did I had the issue of them sticking into the containers. So I let them dry twice as long and then they come out. Anyone who is having an issue with metal models double your drying time and then take a butter knife and loosen them up gently along the rim of the molds they will start coming out. I started using ice trays for mini bombs. I use normal food coloring instead of powder and it works just as well.
I followed this recipe as written, using most of the same ingredients including the dye, and ended up with crumbly bombs, ugh! We went ahead and used it as powder only to find the recipe does stain the tub! The powder still fizzed/foamed so it worked but the tub is now discolored.
I do not recommend!
Sorry to hear that. Did you use natural powdered coloring? – Nicole
Yes, I used the same powderd coloring that is linked in the post.
LOVE THIS!!!! MY BATH BOMBS TURNED OUT A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!!!!!
First batch didn’t dry together as a ball. Recipe seems good. We may just stick with silicone molds.
I’ve heard about putting prizes inside, especially if you make them look like pokemon balls. Saw a kid selling those at a school store. So fun to make bath bombs!
How big are your medium size molds in diameter? I am trying to figure out how many this recipe could make using my mold. Thank you.
Hi. These are the metal mold sizess: Bomb Mold Kit comes with 3 sizes – 1.8″(2 Set), 2.2″(2 Set), 2.6″(2 Set).
We have tried several times to make the bath bombs with the metal molds and we cannot get the bombs out of the molds. We have tried using coconut oil and mineral oil to coat the mold, but we still can’ t get them out. Any suggestions? When we do get 1/2 of one out it is very nice, but we want the whole thing.
put the mix very loosely inside the mold over filling both sides and then press them together tightly and wait for them to dry out :)
Place bath bombs in the molds into freezer for 20 mins. Take out and hold in your hand to warm the metal. The coconut oil will melt a bit and allow you to remove the bomb easily.
Did you tap on the outside of the molds? Sometimes you have to tap a lot and hit it fairly hard, but don’t beat the crap out of it
Maybe if you put celcin wrap on the metal parts inside you can just do the same and when it’s done you can pull it right out! Also by celcin wrap, I know my spelling isn’t good but I mean the clear plastic wrap that you can put around an unfinished meal.
Can u put them in like jello shaper
No I tried that but it didn’t work
I tried to make these but they were just powder coming out of the molds. It didn’t form a ball in the stainless steel ball mold. Any ideas?
Hi there. Be sure you followed the recipe correctly and take careful note of Lisa’s instructions as they can be pretty fragile.
any tub stainings?
Not at all!
Does the food coloring leave any stain in the tub?
Not at all!
Where can I buy molds?
Amazon, you can even use Christmas ornaments that open/ close in half. Bulk apocrothy. Try calling a craft store!
Hi. Lisa linked to the ones she purchased above. Here it is: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071DJ41ZL/ref=as_li_ss_tl?tag=100drf-recipe-20&psc=1&linkCode=ll1&linkId=1da4bff1d5a65649232feff3090a2565.
Has anyone tried using scented Epsom salt? Wondering if I can skip the extra essential oils but still have a light scent.
Best bath bomb recipe! These bath bombs have a perfect balance of fizz and silky feel. The serving calculator is especially helpful. I made these with my daughter for her classroom economy marketplace at school. We had fun making them together and they were wildly successful at school :-) We loved adding body glitter and mixing several different colors in the mold to give the bath bomb a sparkly tie-dyed look.
My daughter has eczema. Is there a particular eczema bath bomb recipe, or would I just need to experiment with different ingredients? Do you know if adding ground oatmeal would work?
Hi there. We have not made adjustments to this recipe. Let us know if you experiment and how it turns out.
I have tried several recipes, but bombs never set, they turn out beautiful and smell wonderful.
Do you think it would work to put them in silicone baking molds (like for candy making)? Or does it need to be able to close to pack it in better?
Hi there. This note from above should help: “I’ve read the stainless steel molds work best, so that’s what we used with no problems. Bath Bombs (both homemade and store bought) can be fragile though, so we plan to transfer into same-size plastic molds for gifting. Alternatively, you can use a hair dryer on shrink wrap baggies made for the purpose of packaging bath bombs. I ordered a set that includes both options for our gifts this year. Either way, I would definitely make sure the DIY bath bombs are protected before handing them over!”
I used a silicone mold on a different recipe yesterday. It wasn’t quite as compact as using the molds but it worked just fine and very easy to remove.
how many will this recipe make?
Hi. It will make approximately 6 medium bombs.
What would happen if you used liquid food coloring? Most containers of food color powder are $5+ for a single ounce of a single color. Any suggestions of a good company powder that fits a budget?
Here ya go: https://www.amazon.com/McCormick-Color-Nature-0-51-oz/dp/B01I6U4F92/ref=as_li_ss_tl?tag=100drf-recipe-20&ie=UTF8&qid=1512671375&sr=8-2&keywords=mccormick+color+nature+food+colors&linkCode=ll1&linkId=3c9b6d1a79ad858e5e28dd84c3778b1d
So we made these tonight. (My girls are 7 & 9)
Fun recipe. We used Bergamot essential oil and made 2-toned blue/green balls. It’s been about 8 years since I’ve made them but I additionally use a spray bottle with water to moisten the dry mixture gradually without activating it. If the mixture does activate stir like mad to stop it hopefully. Thx for the recipe
Any other suggestions than cornstarch? I never knew these had cornstarch in them! Plan to make some with my daughter over her spring break!
Hi there. We’ve not tried other variations of this recipe.
Arrowroot powder
Use recipe as you normally would. Just without the cornstarch. It molds better as well.
How do you keep them from flatten out after you take them out of the molds?
Less oil/essential oil and make sure the moles are packed well and squished hard together. Humidity is also bath bomb enemy. Put somewhere dry and cool. Maybe even fridge. I like using coconut oil as it hardens when cool. Not an everyday use thing tho, as coconut oil can clog drains if used too much
Why the citric acid? Just wondering if I could leave it out and still have it work.
Hi there. It helps create the chemical reaction that makes the bomb fizz and dissolve.
I’ve heard cream of tartar used as sub. Google it
Citric acid and baking soda are the primary ingredients in all bath bombs/fizzies. The combination of the two when water hits it is what makes the fizz.. just like the volcano experiment we do with kids or in science class:) I have heard of bath bombs somehow being make without the citric acid but I’m not sure what it’s used instead, you’d have to so some research.
My daughter is allergic to citrus, is there something else I can substitute for this?
Hi there. We’ve not tried any substitutions.
I’ve heard cream of tartar used as sub. Google it
These were a bit tricky to make, but once I got the hang of it, they turned out nice. I didn’t realize that you needed to knock the spoon along the seems, not the outside of the mold!We will see how they hold up once I dry them out overnight. Excited to share these as teacher gifts.
These were a fun project. We used matcha tea powder as the coloring and it made them a pretty light green and then added a eucalyptus/lemon blend for the scent. Had some problems getting them out of the molds (even with a lot of spoon tapping) so we rubbed the molds with coconut oil before filling them and they released much more easily.
Thank you for sharing this bath bomb recipe! It looks like fun for the kids!
So excited to see this! My kids love bath bombs and I recently grabbed a container at the store that were red and called Rudolph noses, cute right? Both my kids got a rash from using them :( So I told them we should try making our own and then your post dropped right in to my inbox! I know what we’ll be doing over Christmas break, thanks so much!
Fun! thanks for posting this recipe. It got me motivated to make my Fizzy Bath Soak recipe!