Handmade Bath Bomb Recipes

I get lots of requests downtown for Bath Bombs or Bath Fizzies. Unfortunately these items are finicky and don’t deal well with heat and humidity. They are best kept in a cool, dry place around room temperature and let me tell you the Farmer’s Market offers the least ideal conditions for that. Therefore I’ve put together a few recipes so you can try your hand at creating your own! For ingredients, shop Mountain Rose Herbs.

Lavender Bath Bombs

Ingredients:

1 cup baking soda
1/4 cup citric acid
1/4 tsp borax
witch hazel in a fine mist sprayer
6 drops lavender essential oil
1/2 tsp dried, powered lavender flowers
spray tin of cooking oil (like Pam)
small jello or individual soap making molds

Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, mix baking soda and borax plus powdered herbs or flowers, sift 2-3 times. Spritz with witch hazel ; mix well, spritz and stir until mix is consistency of wet sand and will retain its shape if squeezed in a clenched hand. Add citric acid and essential oil (usually available in health food stores). Mix well again. Spray or wipe mold lightly with cooking oil. Pack firmly with your mix. Let set five minutes then gently turn over and tap on top of paper towel surface. Let air dry 24 hours before wrapping or packaging, store moisture free.

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Bath Cookies

Ingredients:

2 cups finely ground sea salt
1/2 cup baking soda
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 T light oil
1 tsp vitamin E oil
2 eggs
5-6 drops essential oil of your choice

Instructions:

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Combine all the listed ingredients and form into a dough. Using a teaspoon or so of dough at a time, roll it gently in the palm of your hand until it forms a ball. Form all dough into one teaspoon balls, and gently place them on an ungreased cookie sheet. Consider sprinkling the bath balls with herbs, flower petals, cloves, citrus zest and similar aromatic ingredients. Bake your bath cookies for ten minutes, until they are lightly browned. Do not over bake. Allow the bath cookies to cool completely. To use, Drop 1 or 2 cookies into a warm bath and allow to dissolve. Yield: 24 cookies, enough for 12 baths.

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Basic Bath Bombs

Ingredients:

1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup cornstarch
1 cup citric or ascorbic acid
1/8 cup Epsom salt
1/2 cup olive oil
20 to 28 drop fragrance oil

Instructions:

Mix dry ingredients very well. Stir in your fragrance oil. Then add up to 1/2 cup olive oil, until it is the consistency of pastry dough. Place on wax paper and form into small, golf- sized balls. Allow to dry and harden, then store in a cellophane wrapper or plastic container. Keep dry.

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Basic Bath Bombs II

Ingredients:

1/4 cup baking soda
2 tbs. citric acid
1 tbs. 20 Mule Team Borax powder
2 tbs. powdered sugar
2 tbs. sweet almond oil
1 tsp. Vitamin E oil
1/4 tsp. fragrance or essential oil

Instructions:

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and stir until well blended. Drizzle in almond oil and stir until mixture is moistened. Then, add the Vitamin E oil and fragrance and stir until well mixed.

Take teaspoon sized globs of the mixture and form into ball shapes with fingers. The mixture will be very crumbly and fragile, so do the best you can. Place the balls on a sheet of wax paper and allow to set for 2-3 hours. Reshape balls, then allow to air dry and harden for at least 10 days. Store balls in a dry, airtight container. Keep them dry. To use, place one to two balls in warm bath water.

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Canola Bath Bombs

Ingredients:

1/4 cup baking soda
2 Tbsp cornstarch
2 Tbsp citric acid
1 1/2 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 tsp essential or fragrance oil
2 drops food coloring
light mist of water
mold for shaping bombs

Instructions:

Mix the baking soda and cornstarch together. Add the canola oil, the drops of food colouring and the essential/fragrance oil. Using a water mister, mist the mixture lightly one time. Mix well until there are no lumps and the color is well blended. Add the citric acid. Heap as much of the mixture as possible into a mould. Press down very firmly packing the mixture well. Do not add more mixture to the mold after firmly packing it as it will not create a cohesive bath bomb. Let the bath bomb air dry for 1-2 days on a baking rack. Interesting variation: use Lavender essential oil as well as 1/2 tsp (2mL) of dried lavender blossoms. Add the lavender blossoms when mixing the baking soda and cornstarch together.