natural skin care Archives

How to Make Bath Bombs (& A Natural Bath Bomb Recipe with Shea Butter)

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

July 21, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 4 Comments

Have you ever wondered how to make bath bombs? Considering how easy it is to get hooked on using bath bombs, it’s not a surprise that you’d want to learn how to make your own DIY bath bombs. Keep reading to learn how to make bath bombs with an easy, natural bath bomb recipe with shea butter.

It’s not hard to get hooked on bath bombs. Especially if you love taking baths. However, if you’ve tried a lot of bath bombs, then you’ve likely noticed that there’s a big difference between cheap commercial bath bombs and ones that are handmade. As someone with extremely sensitive skin, I can’t indulge in bath bombs made with cheap fillers and synthetic ingredients. They not only cause skin irritation and rashes, but sometimes I’ll itch for days afterwards.

The same is true for soap fragrances. While the soap recipe might be perfect for my skin, the wrong fragrance can totally leave me itching for weeks. So much in fact, that I’ll wake up in the middle of the night scratching. Sometimes pinning down the ingredient that caused an allergic skin reaction can be a challenge. Therefore, I try to stick to natural colorants, scents and ingredients when I make my own homemade soap and skin care products. This is even more important when making bath bombs. Because unlike soap, which causes a reaction even after its been rinsed off, I’m soaking in a tub with that bath bomb for quite some time

Let’s Learn How to Make Bath Bombs

My natural bath bomb recipe is perfect for anyone who suffers from skin sensitivities and allergies. Not only is it made with natural colorants for bath bombs – in this case pink kaolin clay and orange peel powder – it also contains hydrating shea butter and an uplifting essential oil blend. Are you ready to to learn how to make bath bombs? Keep reading to learn no just how to make my natural bath bomb recipe, but also about the skin care benefits of the bath bomb ingredients I used.

What Gives Bath Bombs Their Fizz?

There are two key ingredients that give bath bombs their fizz. They are citric acid and baking soda. When combine, the chemical reaction between these two ingredients creates carbon dioxide. This in turn makes the bath bombs fizz. Some bath bombs, such as the bath bombs made popular by Lush, also contain synthetic foaming agents such sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS), Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSA) or sodium coco-sulfate (SCI.) The addition of these ingredients gives bath bombs amazing bubbles in addition to the fizz.

Tips on How to Make Awesome Bath Bombs

When learning how to make bath bombs, I recommend starting with a simple basic bath bomb recipe. This will give you a feel as to how bath bombs are made and familiarize you with the process. The basic idea behind making bath bombs isn’t difficult. However, there are tips and tricks you need to know when making bath bombs. Otherwise, you may end up with bath bombs that fizz prematurely. Or, in the process of making round bath bombs with a two-piece mold, you may find that your two halves don’t stick together.

Beginners mistakes, however, are easy to make. In fact, I’ve made them myself in the past. Luckily, with a little research first on how to make bath bombs, you can minimize or even prevent making these mistakes entirely.

Formulating Your Own Bath Bomb Recipes

Once you get the hang of how to make bath bombs, you can begin formulating your own bath bomb recipes. There are some basic rules that can help you either create your own bath bomb recipes from scratch or customize and existing recipe.

Tip #1

I recommend using ingredient weights when formulating your bath bomb recipes, rather than unit measurements. Not only is this a more accurate way to create a bath bomb recipe, it also makes it easier to determine the amount of fragrances or other ingredients needed for your recipe as recommended usage rates are provided as a percentage. This will also make it easier to scale your bath bomb recipe up or down at a later date. As such, you will need a digital scale to weigh out the ingredients when you make your bath bombs.

Tip #2

When using baking soda and citric acid as the base for your bath bombs, the recommended ratio is to use two parts baking soda to one part citric acid. If you’d like to use a foaming agent, such as SLSA or even sodium cocoyl isethionate, it should account for anywhere between 15%-25% of your recipe.

You can make bath bombs without citric acid. However, a combination of baking soda and citric acid produces the best fizz. Using lemon juice as a substitute can set off your fizz prematurely. And it can be a challenge in high humidity. While using cream of tartar, reduces the fizz reaction even further. Therefore, if you want to make the best bath bomb recipe, I recommend using citric acid.

Tip #3

Additional dry ingredients are typically added to a bath bomb recipe to prevent premature fizzing. Dry ingredients such as arrowroot powder, cream of tartar, cornstarch and clay can be use based on your preference. I like to choose my own dry ingredients for bath bombs based on the desired result and skin care benefits of those ingredients. These dry ingredients can be added to your bath bomb formulation with or without a foaming agent such as SLSA. When adding dry ingredients, it’s important that they don’t comprise of more than one half of the amount of citric acid in your recipe. Otherwise the fizzing performance of your bath bombs may be affected.

Tip #4

It’s not recommended that you add Epsom salt or Dead Sea Salt to your bath bomb formulations. This is because the magnesium in these ingredients draws moisture from the air into your bath bombs. This in turn can cause premature fizzing. However, I’ve made a number of bath bomb recipes using salt with success. (These bath bomb recipes include my Epsom salt bath bomb recipe for chronic pain as well as my rose essential oil bath bomb recipe. I also have a hidden color bath bomb recipe with magnesium flakes.) By adding a hard butter to your recipe, I’ve found that it does prevent premature fizzing. Just be sure to wrap your creations tightly once they’ve dried.

Tip #5

Rather than using a liquid for making bath bombs, such as witch hazel, I instead use a combination of carrier oils and/or body butters. As I live in a humid area, I’ve found that these ingredients work better at preventing your bath bombs from exploding early due to high humidity. If you prefer to use a liquid rather than oils or butters in your bath bombs, then stick with 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol. It evaporates more quickly than witch hazel, thereby making it more suitable for humid climates.

Tip #6

There are a number of options when it comes to choosing colorants for your bath bombs. You’ll learn more about different colorants and how they react in bath bombs – and ultimately bath water – as you experiment more and learn how to make your own recipes. Natural colorants, such as colored clays or botanical powders are one option. While lake dyes and micas are another. If you love a show in your bathtub, like the ones you get from hidden rainbow colored bath bombs, then lake dyes or dyes formulated specifically for bath bombs are the way to go. They will give the biggest color show and won’t leave a colored ring around your tub once the bathwater drains out. Lake dyes typically account for 28-34% of the total weight of a bath bomb recipe.

Tip #7

You should not use food coloring in your bath bomb recipes. Not only can food coloring stain both your skin and the tub, it’s simply bad practice especially if you’re formulating recipes to sell or give as gifts. In addition, it’s also important to note that not all colorants are approved for use in bath bombs. Some green colorants, for example, including green chromium oxide, are not approved by the FDA for use in bath bombs. Therefore you should do your research on colorants before deciding which ones to use. While some colorants can be used in wash off products such as soaps or body wash, it’s not always true for things like lotions or bath bombs where there is a longer exposure time.

On the other hand, for little to no color show, you can use natural colorants or mica powders. Natural colorants, such as the spinach powder and French green clay I used in my natural mango butter bath bombs, are an easy way to create a green color. Alternately, mica powder can be used in significantly smaller quantities than both natural colorants for bath bombs or lake dyes. They’ll give your bath bombs bright colors before they go into the tub, but very muted tones once diluted in bathwater.

Tip #8

If you choose to use skin safe cosmetic micas, then you will need to also use polysorbate 80. Polysorbate 80 works as an emulsifier when used in bath bomb bombs. Soluble in water and alcohol, it binds with the colorants and oils used to make your bath bombs and helps disperse them evenly throughout your bathwater. This keeps any oils or fragrances you used in your recipe from floating on top of your bathwater. It also prevents the colorants used from sticking to both your skin and the tub and it helps glitter disperse more evenly. As such, if you don’t mind using non-natural ingredients to make your bath bombs, polysorbate 80 makes a wonderful addition to your bath bomb recipes whether you use mica or not. The suggested usage rater for mica is 1-2% of your recipe.

Skin Care Benefits of My Natural Bath Bomb Ingredients

Now that you know how to make bath bombs, let’s move on to my natural bath bomb recipe and why I chose to use the ingredients I did.

Having sensitive skin can make it challenge to find the perfect skin care products. From anti-aging skin care to anti-acne treatments, there’s a whole world of potential skin reactions waiting to happen. Therefore, I chose each of the ingredients used in my bath bomb recipe for their specific skin care benefits. These ingredients include orange peel powder, shea butter, pink kaolin clay and an easy, aromatherapeutic essential oil blend.

Orange Peel Powder

Vitamin C is the new anti-aging skin care treatment. However, daily doses of vitamin C serums or creams, while practical for our faces, isn’t quite so practical for our bodies. By adding orange peel powder to your natural bath bombs, you can give your entire body a boost of Vitamin C’s antioxidant benefits. Not only does Vitamin C help stimulate collagen production, it can also help repair damage from free radicals, brighten skin and fade dark spots caused by hyperpigmentation.

In addition, orange peel powder can also help unclog pores, tone skin, diminish the appearance of scars and reduce inflammation. It’s also an effective treatment for body acne. So if you struggle with back acne – or even acne anywhere on your body – adding orange peel powder to your bath can prevent acne breakouts and promote healing.

Pink Kaolin Clay

Pink kaolin clay is a naturally occurring cosmetic clay. Its color comes from combination of both white and red kaolin clays. Suitable for sensitive skin, this natural rose colored clay helps balance out skin and absorb excess oils, while also gently cleansing skin. It also lends my natural bath bomb recipe a pink color. Combined with the orange powder, these two natural bath bomb colorants give the resulting bath bombs a peach-like color.

Refined Shea Butter

Shea butter is hydrating body butter that’s naturally rich in vitamins A and E. Rich in essential fatty acids as well as other vitamins and minerals, shea butter offers a number of skin supporting properties. Commonly used as a natural moisturizer, shea butter is also used as a component in skin care formulations that target acne. I used refined shea butter, which has been deodorized, for my natural bath bomb recipe in order to allow the fragrance of my essential oil blend to shine through.

Essential Oils

Essential oils offer a number of aromatherapeutic and skin care benefits. For my natural bath bomb recipe, I created an essential oil blend containing grapefruit essential oil, sweet orange essential oil and cardamom essential oil for their uplifting and re-energizing properties.

Grapefruit essential oil, specifically, is often used in aromatherapy to combat acne, reduce stress, stimulate circulation, increase energy, enhance mood and improve digestion.

Tips for Making No Fail Bath Bombs

Now that you’ve learned about the ingredients that went into my natural bath bomb recipe, here are some easy tips for success when you’re ready to get started.

Tip #1

As you are working with fine powders such as SLSA or even citric acid, it’s recommended that you wear a face mask respirator or dust mask. This keeps small particles from being inhaled when mixing your bath bomb ingredients together. In addition, nitrile gloves are also recommend. Not only will this prevent colorants from staining your hands, it will also keep the citric acid from burning any open cuts or scratches.

Tip #2

Some ingredients, such as orange peel powder as well as certain essential oils, can cause photosensitivity. Therefore you should take extra care to use sunscreen and wear protective clothing if you plan to spend time in the sun. (You can learn which essential oils are phototoxic along with safe usage instructions for phototoxic essential oils here.)

Tip #3

When using a two part bath bomb mold, it’s important not to pack each side before pressing the two sides of the mold together. Otherwise, the two sides won’t stick together resulting in two half spheres rather than a single solid one. Instead, you should pile each side of the mold loosely with your bath bomb mixture. Lightly compact each side, then pile more of the bath bomb mixture into each side of the mold. Finally, firmly press both sides of your bath bomb mold together. (It’s important not to twist the two sides of mold together when using a round bath bomb mold.) Then gently tap around the edges of the mold with a spoon to release your bath bomb.

For one piece bath bomb molds, use the same process. However, instead of pressing the mold against another half, firmly pack the remaining bath bomb mixture into the mold with your hands. Tap the mold with a spoon to help release the bath bomb if necessary. I suggest you set the molds onto a cutting board, then tap until the bath bomb slides out when the mold is lifted off.

Tip #4

Your bath bomb mixture, once mixed, should be the consistency of wet sand. When picking up a clump of the mixture with your hands, it should hold together when squeezed then dropped back into the container. This is important. If your bath bombs are too dry they may crumble and not hold together. On the other hand, if they are too wet, you may get a premature fizz in addition to having difficulty releasing the bath bombs from the mold.

Natural Bath Bomb Recipe with Shea Butter

Ingredients:

8 oz. baking soda
4.5 oz. citric acid
2 oz. refined shea butter
.5 oz. orange peel powder
.25 oz. pink kaolin clay
.25 oz. arrowroot powder
2.5 mL grapefruit essential oil
1 mL sweet orange essential oil
.5 mL cardamom essential oil
carrier oil of choice, as needed

Instructions:

My natural bath bomb recipe is made using the peach bath bomb mold from this set. However, you’re welcome to use any bath bomb mold of your choosing when making my shea butter bath bombs. Likewise, you can always substitute the essential oil blend I used for my natural bath bomb recipe with a peach fragrance oil at the manufacturer’s suggested usage rate.

Begin by weighing out refined shea butter using a digital scale. Place the shea butter into a heat safe container. Heat at 30% power in the microwave until melted. Alternately, you may also use the double boiler method. Once the shea butter has melted, remove from heat.

Next, measure out the essential oils using a fresh graduated plastic transfer pipette for each essential oil. Then add to the melted shea butter. Mix to combine. Then set aside.

Next, weigh out the baking soda, citric acid, arrowroot powder, orange peel powder and pink kaolin clay into a in a separate container. Mix the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Now add the melted shea butter with the essential oils to the dry ingredients mixing as you go. Mix until the entire concoction is the consistency of wet sand. If it’s too dry, stir in a small amount of a carrier oil of your choice, a little at a time, until it reaches the proper consistency.

To make my natural bath bomb recipe, pile the mixture into the peach shaped bath bomb mold. Lightly compact the bath bomb mixture into the mold, then repeat the step. Follow by firmly pressing the bath bomb mixture into the mold. Then unmold. Repeat for each shea butter bath bomb until you’ve used up all of your natural bath bomb mixture.

Once your shea butter bath bombs have hardened, wrap or package as desired for personal use or gifting.

More Bath Bomb Recipes to Try

Once you’d tried my shea butter bath bomb recipe, be sure to give one of these other homemade bath bomb recipes a try.

Natural Bath Bomb Recipes

Spinach & French Green Clay Bath Bombs with Natural Colorants
Epsom Salt Bath Bombs for Natural Pain Relief
Lavender & Chamomile Bath Bombs with Natural Botanicals
Homemade Holiday Peppermint Bath Bombs with Essential Oil
Lavender Essential Oil Bath Bombs with Shea Butter
Lemongrass & Sage Bath Bomb Minis
Natural Cola Bath Bombs with Essential Oils
Rose Petal Vanilla Bath Bombs with Natural Colorants

Creative Bath Bomb Recipes

Fizzing Shamrock Bath Truffles
Cranberry Fig Fizzing Bath Truffles for the Holidays
Moisturizing Bath Fizzy Powder Recipe
Halloween Pumpkin Bath Bomb Recipe
DIY Easter Egg Bath Bombs with Glitter
DIY Mermaid Bath Bombs with Moisturizing Cocoa Butter Shells
Hidden Rainbow Bath Bomb Embed Bars
Hidden Color Pineapple Bath Bombs for Summer Self Care
Rose Essential Oil Bath Bomb Recipe
Homemade Milk & Honey Bath Bombs
Moisturizing Strawberry Milkshake Bath Bomb Recipe

Once you’ve gotten comfortable creating your own natural bath bombs, invite your friends to join in the fun! Learn how to throw a bath bomb party for a girls night in to create self care treats. Or get together to craft homemade holiday gifts for friends and family.

I’m so excited that you’ve chosen to start your natural skin care journey! I hope you’ll stick with me as I continue to share new recipes for natural bath bombs, homemade soaps and fabulous skin care products! You can keep up with my new recipes and healthy lifestyle posts by following me across your favorite social media platforms. Follow me now via Pinterest, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up to receive my newsletter to stay in the loop.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes Tagged With: anti-acne, anti-aging, bath bomb recipe, bath bombs, bath tutorial, crafts, diy, essential oils, natural skin care, shea butter, vitamin c

Easy Bath Bomb Recipe with Natural Ingredients for Beautiful Glowing Skin

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

July 15, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 3 Comments

This easy bath bomb recipe is crafted with a combination of skin conditioning butters and essential oils. Naturally colored with spinach powder and French green clay, this natural bath bomb recipe not only fights the visible signs of aging, it can also help prevent or clear up back acne. While the other skin care ingredients prevent your skin from being stripped of beneficial oils – a known cause of overproduction of sebum that can lead to oily skin and acne.

Easy Bath Bombs Your Skin Will Love

If you’ve never made bath bombs before, you may have found that first time a little challenging. There are a number of factors that go into making bath bombs, and unfortunately, they can easily be affected by humidity. While you can’t control the weather, there are tips and tricks for making that perfect no fail bath bomb. These tips, in combination with an easy bath bomb recipe, can help guarantee success from the start.

Many store bought bath bombs are filled with cheap, synthetic ingredients. Not only can these ingredients irritate sensitive skin, they really don’t offer any skin care benefits. Therefore, I created an easy bath bomb recipe that contains natural ingredients that skin loves.

If you’re familiar with my previous bath bomb recipes, then you know how much I love using natural butters like cocoa, shea and mango butters in my bath bomb recipes. Including a body butter in your bath bomb formulation makes the finished product more moisturizing. Additionally, you’ll also find that adding butters to your homemade bath bombs helps your bath bombs harden faster. And it can even help them resist the unwanted effects of high humidity. Therefore, I chose to include mango butter in this homemade bath bomb recipe.

Additionally, rather than use mica powder or lake dyes to color this easy bath bomb recipe, I chose to work with natural, plant-based colorants instead. For this particular bath bomb recipe, I used both French green clay and nutrient rich natural spinach powder. When combined, these two natural ingredients give this easy bath bomb recipe a forest green tint. This is, of course, in addition to the natural skin care benefits these ingredients offer.

Skin Care Benefits of Natural Bath Bomb Ingredients

So, just what are the benefits of using these natural ingredients in your homemade bath bombs? And why are ingredients like mango butter, spinach powder and French green clay good for our skin?

Skin Care Benefits of Spinach Powder

Spinach plays an important role in skin care, whether you’re consuming it and incorporating it into your natural skin care routine. Spinach is naturally rich in iron, folate, chlorophyll, Vitamin E, magnesium, Vitamin A, fiber, plant protein, and Vitamin C. As Vitamins C, E, and A have antioxidant abilities, they are are especially beneficial for your skin. These antioxidants destroy free radicals that cause premature aging. Antioxidants can also help fight the visible signs of aging and even out your complexion. Thereby making your skin look and feel more radiant.

Spinach powder is also amazing at reducing acne to promote clear skin. Whether you use spinach powder as a mask, or in my easy bath bomb recipe, you’ll find that it removes both dirt & oil and reduces inflammation for rejuvenated skin. This makes spinach powder especially useful at treating back acne which tends to be more prevalent in the summer, regardless of your skin type, when incorporated into a bath bomb. However, you can also use spinach powder as an added ingredient in both melt and pour soap and cold process soap recipes.

Skin Care Benefits of French Green Clay

As with other clays, French green clay offers a variety of skin care benefits when incorporated into natural skin care products, such as my easy bath bomb recipe. Green, due to its high content of iron oxide and decomposed plant matter, French green clay (also known as Illite clay) is also rich in dolomite, manganese, silica, copper, phosphorous, magnesium, zinc and calcium. Not only does this clay detox skin to remove impurities, it also cleanses and gently exfoliates skin.

French green clay, like spinach powder, is also suitable for oily, clogged and acne prone skin. As it’s a highly absorbent clay, it is able to hold almost equal its weight in liquid. However, there’s no need to be concerned if you don’t have oily or acne prone skin. French green clay is gentle enough that it’s suited for all skin types. Therefore it makes a wonderful addition to facial masks, soaps and deodorants to gently detox and clarify skin.

Skin Care Benefits of Mango Butter

Like spinach powder, mango butter is also vitamins like A and E, essential fatty acids and natural antioxidants. A highly moisturizing plant-based butter, mango butter is light and non-greasy. And, because mango butter is non-comedogenic, it won’t clog pores or aggravate acne prone skin. This makes mango butter suitable for pretty much every skin type – even if you have acne prone skin.

Tips & Tricks for Making My Easy Bath Bomb Recipe

Now that you’re familiar with the ingredients I added to my natural bath bomb recipe for their inherent skin care properties, here are a few tips and tricks to help you create the perfect bath bombs.

Bath Bomb Tip #1

When formulating your own bath bomb recipes, it’s important to add dry ingredients in addition to the baking soda and citric acid that give bath bombs their fizz. This not only helps to bind your bath bombs together, it can also prevent a premature fizz. Dry ingredients that are commonly used for this purpose include arrowroot powder, cream of tartar, cornstarch and clay. Just be sure that the additional dry ingredients don’t equal more than one half the weight of the citric acid called for in your bath bomb recipe.

Bath Bomb Tip #2

Before mixing the dry ingredients for your bath bomb formulations, you should sift them first through a sieve. This will help avoid lumps and bumps in your bath bombs.

Bath Bomb Tip #3

Naturally scenting your bath bombs with citrus essential oils can hinder your bath bombs’ ability to fully dry. You can counteract this, however, by adding hard butters to your bath bomb recipe.

Bath Bomb Tip #4

Use water soluble colorants to color your bath bombs such as lake dyes or dyes specifically formulated for use in bath bombs. Otherwise, if you use micas to color your bath bombs, you’ll also need to use Polysorbate 80 to prevent your colorants from staining the tub or skin. It will also prevent a ring around the tub or floating mica. The recommended usage rate for Polysorbate 80 is 1-2% of the total batch weight and should be added to the liquids prior to mixing the dry and wet ingredients together.

It’s also important to keep in mind that not all green colorants, including green chromium oxide, aren’t approved by the FDA for use in bath bombs. So be sure to do your research on colorants before deciding which ones to use. Additionally, if you are selling your homemade bath bombs, it’s important that you use batch certified colorants.

Bath Bomb Tip #5

When using a two part bath bomb mold it’s important not to pack each side before pressing the two sides of the mold together. Otherwise, the two sides won’t stick together. Instead, you should pile each side of the mold loosely with your bath bomb mixture. Lightly compact each side, then pile more of the bath bomb mixture into each side of the mold. Finally, firmly press both sides of your bath bomb mold together. (It’s important not to twist the two sides of mold together when using a round bath bomb mold.) Then gently tap around the edges of the mold with a spoon to release your bath bomb.

For one piece bath bomb molds, use the same process. However, instead of pressing the mold against another half, firmly pack the remaining bath bomb mixture into the mold with your hands. Tap the mold with a spoon to help release the bath bomb if necessary. I like to set these molds onto a cutting board, then tap until the bath bomb slides out when the mold is lifted off.

Bath Bomb Tip #6

Your bath bomb mixture, once mixed should be the consistency of wet sand. When picking up a clump of the mixture with your hands, it should hold together when squeezed then dropped back into the container. This is important. If your bath bombs are too dry they may crumble and not hold together. On the other hand, if they are too wet, you may get a premature fizz in addition to having difficulty releasing the bath bombs from the mold.

Bath Bomb Tip #7

If you’re new to making bath bombs, then I highly recommend Amanda Gail Aaron’s book, Fun in the Tub: Creating Bath Bombs, Solid Bubble Bath, Bubble Frosting and Bubble Scoops. Amanda, the author behind the blog Lovin’ Soap, shares an array of helpful tips and tricks for making bath bombs in this DIY bath bomb book. In addition, she not only provides a combination of easy to advanced bath bomb recipes, she also focuses on formulation and teaches you how to modify recipes to work in your environment.

Making My Easy Bath Bomb Recipe

Are you ready to try my easy bath bomb recipe with mango butter and essential oils? Let’s get started!

As I formulated my easy bath bomb recipe with only natural ingredients, I chose to scent my bath bombs with a combination of essential oils. This essential oil blend is an uplifting combination of lemongrass (or lemon), palmarosa and bergamot essentials oils. However, you have the option of substituting my essential oil blend with one of your choice. Alternately, if you don’t mind using synthetic fragrances, you can also use a skin safe fragrance oil at the recommended percentage rate. (This is determined by the manufacturer and can vary by scent.)

I used the leaf mold and the small round mold from this bath bomb mold collection for my easy bath bomb recipe. (I cannot tell you how much I LOVE these molds!) However, you’re welcome to use any molds of your choosing.

Easy Bath Bomb Recipe with Mango Butter

Ingredients:

8 oz. baking soda
4.5 oz citric acid
.5 oz. spinach powder
.25 oz. arrowroot powder
.25 oz. French green clay
2 oz. mango butter
liquid carrier oil of choice, as needed
2 mL lemongrass (or lemon) essential oil
1 mL palmarosa essential oil
1 mL bergamot essential oil

Instructions:

Begin by weighing out mango butter. (You will need a digital scale for this step.) Place the mango butter into a heat safe container. Heat at 30% power in the microwave, or using the double boiler method, until melted. Remove from heat.

Next, measure out the essential oils using a fresh graduated plastic transfer pipette for each essential oil. Then add to the melted mango butter. Mix to combine. Then set aside.

Next, weigh out the baking soda, citric acid, arrowroot powder, spinach powder and French green clay into a in a separate container. Mix the dry ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Now add the melted mango butter with the essential oils to the dry ingredients mixing as you go. Mix until the entire concoction is the consistency of wet sand. If it’s too dry, stir in a small amount of a carrier oil of your choice, a little at a time, until it reaches the proper consistency. (See tip #6.)

To make this easy bath bomb recipe, pile the mixture into your bath bomb mold of choice. Lightly compact the bath bomb mixture into the mold, then repeat the step. Follow by firmly pressing the bath bomb mixture into the mold. Then unmold. (See tip #5 for more detailed instructions.)

Once your homemade bath bombs have hardened, wrap as desired for personal use or gifting.

If you’d like to sell your natural bath bombs, then you will need to follow all labeling requirements for your product. If you aren’t familiar with how to label your homemade bath bombs for sale, then I recommend the book, Soap and Cosmetic Labeling: How to Follow the Rules and Regs Explained in Plain English, by Marie Gale.

More Easy Bath Bomb Recipes

Now that you’ve tried my easy bath bomb recipe with mango butter, here are some other homemade bath bomb recipes you can make.

Once you’re comfortable making bath bombs, you can also make rainbow bar embeds for rainbow hidden color bath bombs. You can find the recipe for rainbow hidden color bath bomb embeds here.

For more natural bath bomb recipes, check out my boards on Pinterest board. You can also find me on your favorite social media platforms including Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up to receive my newsletter to stay in the loop.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, Health & Wellness Tagged With: anti-acne, anti-aging, aromatherapy, bath and body, bath bomb recipe, bath bombs, bath tutorial, crafts, diy, essential oil blend, essential oils, french green clay, gift idea, mango butter, natural skin care, self care, stress relief

Gardeners Soap Recipe with Exfoliating Botanicals

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

June 21, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 1 Comment

This homemade cold process gardeners soap recipe is made with exfoliating botanicals and three skin conditioning body butters. So it doesn’t just get you clean, it also helps to nourish skin!

Life is messy. Sometimes it’s even dirty. So when it comes time to clean up the dirt left behind from your summer shenanigans, projects and gardening, you need a soap that’s created just for such situations.

Formulating a Gardeners Soap Recipe

The problem with a lot of gardening soaps is that they are super cleansing. Obviously if you need soap that’s powerful enough to get off that caked on grime – and whatever else water is fleeing in sheer horror from – they’re likely to strip your skin. You’re clean, but your skin also feels tight and dry. So you try an extra conditioning soap bar instead. Unfortunately, it just doesn’t work as well as you need it to on your muck and mayhem. And in this day and age, no one has time to scrub their skin into next weekend.

So why not make a gardeners soap recipe that embraces BOTH of these characteristics? That’s just what I did! Formulated to be extra cleansing – with the inclusion of exfoliating botanicals to help scrub dirt away – this cold process gardeners soap recipe is also extra conditioning. So you get clean AND your skin stays balanced.

I then took my gardeners soap recipe to the next level by adding a simple blend of essential oils that outdoor bugs and mosquitoes prefer to stay very far away from. And while the general consensus is, that soap being a wash off product, isn’t effective at discouraging biting insects, I figure it can’t hurt.

I used to make my brother lemongrass soap every year before his annual camping trips. He swore up and down it worked for him – he never came home with mosquito bites – so I’m not about to knock that notion totally out of the water.

If you’re looking for a leave on mosquito repellent, however, be sure to check out my insect repellent body butter recipe here. You may also want to check out these research based tick repellent recipes with essential oils from the Tisserand Institute.

Now let’s make this cold process gardeners soap recipe!

Homemade Gardeners Soap Recipe

Ingredients:

2.4 oz. babassu oil (15%)
1.6 oz. castor oil (10%)
4.8 oz. pomace olive oil (30%)
2.4 oz. mango butter (15%)
2.4 oz. unrefined shea butter (15%)
2.4 oz. tucuma butter (15%)

5.3 oz. distilled water (33% of oil weight)
2.1 oz. sodium hydroxide/lye (8% superfat)

.1 oz. lemon eucalyptus essential oil
.1 oz. marjoram essential oil
.1 oz. Virginia cedarwood essential oil
1 Tablespoon French green clay
1/2 teaspoon calendula flower powder
1/2 teaspoon cornsilk powder
1/2 teaspoon poppy seeds
1 teaspoon Alpine green mica, optional

Gardeners Soap Making Notes:

If you’ve never made cold process soap before, I encourage you to check out my soap making tutorial on how to make soap from scratch. Or check out the book, The Complete Guide to Natural Soap Making, by Amanda Gail Aaron.

This homemade gardeners soap hardens up rather nicely and is easily cut the next day if using a loaf mold. If you’re using individual cavity molds, however, I recommend waiting an extra day or so before unmolding so your edges come out clean. Alternately you can use a steeper water discount – I’d recommend 30% of the oil weight – or you can also add either a teaspoon of sodium lactate or salt to this gardeners soap recipe to get a firmer bar out of the mold.

I used both the succulent silicone soap mold from Brambleberry as well as this silicone chrysanthemum mold for my gardeners soap recipe. The end recipe yielded four 2.5 oz. succulent shaped soaps and three 4 oz. chrysanthemum shaped soaps.

I chose the botanical exfoliants for this soap based on what I had on hand. While pumice is common in a gardeners soap recipe, I decided to use gentler exfoliants instead. However, you can swap out any of these exfoliants as desired with those of your choice.

Instructions:

This gardeners soap recipe is made using the cold process soapmaking method. You need to follow all safety precautions when making cold process soap from scratch. This includes using heat safe containers and non-aluminum containers and utensils. Protective clothing and eyewear is also highly recommended.

To make this homemade soap, begin by measuring out the water (or other liquid) called for in the recipe in a heat safe container. Then use a digital scale to weigh out the lye into a separate container. Carefully pour the lye into the water in a well ventilated area. Then mix well until all the lye has dissolved and set aside. (This step can emit fumes. Therefore I recommend using an exhaust fan. Alternately, you can mix the lye into the water outdoors.)

Next, weigh out all the soapmaking oils and butters. This includes the babassu oil, castor oil, olive oil, mango butter, shea butter and tucuma butter. Combine the carrier oils and soap making butters in a heat safe container. Then melt the ingredients on the stove, in a crockpot or at reduced power in a microwave. Once melted, remove the melted oils and butters from the heat source and set aside.

While the lye-water and soapmaking oils cool, weigh the essential oils out and combine in a glass measuring cup. Likewise, measure out the clay, mica and exfoliants and combine in a small dish or container separate from the essential oils.

Once both the lye-water and soapmaking oils are about 95°F, you’re ready to continue making my gardeners soap recipe.

Start by adding the clay, exfoliants and mica to the melted soapmaking oils and butters. Mix briefly with an immersion blender to distribute the additives throughout the oil mixture.

Follow with the lye-water. Then mix until you achieve a light trace.

Add the essential oils.Continue mixing the soap batter until you reach a medium to heavy trace. (I overmixed my soap batter to be sure I did not get a false trace as my gardeners soap recipe calls for a high percentage of hard butters.)

Finally, pour the soap into your molds. Cover the tops of the soap with plastic wrap or parchment paper. Then set a tea towel on top of the soap to insulate the soap and ensure goes through gel phase. (You can learn more about the gel phase in soap making at Lovin’ Soap here.)

Unmold your soaps after 24 hours, then leave in a cool, dry location to cure for four to six weeks. At which point, you can wrap and label your soaps for personal use or handmade gifts.

If you’d like to sell the homemade soaps you make from my gardeners soap recipe, you need to follow good manufacturing practices (GMP) when making your homemade soaps. The book, Good Manufacturing Practices for Soap and Cosmetic Handcrafters by Marie Gale, is a valuable resource if you’re just getting started making your own homemade soaps, skin care products and cosmetics.

In addition to GMP, you also need to follow FDA guidelines for labeling your homemade soaps. If you’re unsure about the rules and regulations regarding labeling cosmetics, the book, Soap and Cosmetic Labeling: How to Follow the Rules and Regs Explained in Plain English by Marie Gale, spells out everything you need to know to legally label your products in the United States.

If you like my gardeners soap recipe, then be sure to pin it for later. You can also try my gardeners soap recipe from last year. It can can be found here.

Not quite ready to make my gardeners soap recipe or simply need a scrubby soap you can use right away? Shop for handmade artisan gardeners soaps on Etsy here.

For more homemade soap recipes and ideas be sure to follow my boards on pinterest. You can also find me on your favorite social media platforms! Follow me on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up to receive my newsletter to stay in the loop.

Filed Under: Soapmaking Tagged With: cold process soap, cold process soap recipe, cold process soapmaking, crafts, diy, essential oils, exfoliating soap, gardener's soap, gardening soap, gift idea, mosquito repellent, natural skin care, soap recipe, soap tutorial, soapmaking, spring, summer, summer skin care

Botanical Skin Care (200+ Herbal Beauty Recipes & More)

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

June 18, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 2 Comments

Take your hobby to new levels through an exploration of botanical skin care. Discover 200+ herbal beauty recipes through an instructional course that will teach you basic skills for designing, producing and using homemade herbal skin care products.

Crafting Natural Skin Care Recipes

If you’re a regular reader of Soap Deli News, then you’re likely already a fan of making your own skin care and beauty products. Compared to my first soapmaking adventure, a lot has changed. These days it can seem like there are unlimited resources to help you on your journey. Everything from group forums and YouTube videos to free botanical skin care recipes on blogs. The challenge can be, however, finding reliable sources for those recipes. As well as help when you need it.

Perhaps you want to take your journey a step further. You may want to formulate your own unique skin care recipes. To do this however, you sometimes need more information than what’s readily available online or at the library.

It’s an awful feeling to invest your hard earned money into natural skin care ingredients and then have a recipe go bust. For some of us, it can sour the experience of creating moving forward. And that experience may prevent us from from otherwise falling in love with a craft we know we’d enjoy.

The very first time I ~~made~~ attempted to make cold process soap, it was a complete failure. I spent my last bit of money on a jug of olive oil from the grocery store and a container of lye. There were no YouTube videos then. And blogs were still in their infancy. In fact, I’m mostly certain MySpace was still a thing. Still, I used a basic soap recipe on a blog with no photos and incomplete directions. I made the recipe as directed and it failed. All because one vital note was missing from the recipe – you need to WEIGH out the ingredients.

I later purchased a soapmaking book that clarified the soapmaking process. However, it took some time before I was ready to dive back into my second attempt. I was very much an introvert at that stage in my life, so that didn’t do me any favors. If you’re a dabbler, like I was – and pretty much still am as I’m always learning and experimenting – then you may be seeking something more to help you move onto that next step. Whatever that next step may be for you.

This is where The Herbal Academy comes in.

New Botanical Skin Care Course

Enrollment just opened on The Herbal Academy’s new Botanical Skin Care Course. I’ve seen a preview of this course, and as with their other online courses, I’m super impressed.

Here’s an overview of the course so you know what to expect.

Described as a makers quest, this potentially life changing exploration of botanical skin care teaches you the many ways that herbs can benefit the skin both inside and out. This educational course will empower you to create your own botanical skin care recipes using natural herbs and other safe, nourishing non-toxic ingredients. With over 200 herbal recipes in the course, you’ll learn how to stock your herbal cupboard with an array of customized herbal preparations for skin so it looks healthier and more radiant.

This informative botanical skin care course also covers the internal use of herbs in teas, tinctures and foods, using an inside-out approach to skin care. You’ll also learn how to craft topical herbal skin care products for glowing skin through the exploration of skin on both a cellular and functional level. This includes valuable information on anatomy and function, as well as nutrition and lifestyle tips will help you better understand the practices that influence the health of your skin. While also giving you a robust foundation in skin health that you can expand on.

You will learn basic skills for designing, producing and using homemade herbal skin and body care products. Detailed video and written tutorials guide you as you make botanical body care products, ranging from infused oils, salves, and creams to deodorant, soap, hair care products, and even some cosmetics, plus so much more. The Botanical Skin Care Course also provides plenty of recipes to inspire your skin care journey, as well as suggestions for their use. (Sign up here now!)

Course Overview

Following is an outline of the Botanical Skin Care Course. It has me pretty excited, and I’m sure it’s easy to see why!

UNIT 1: INTRODUCTION TO THE SKIN

Course Introduction; Anatomy of the Skin; Functions of the Skin

Take a trip down memory lane with a fascinating timeline of the history of skin care. You will then zoom in on the skin and discuss basic anatomy and structure, with an emphasis on the many functions of the skin.

UNIT 2: SKIN CARE FROM THE INSIDE

The Skin as an Eliminatory Organ; Nutrition for Healthy Skin; Digestive Health and the Skin; Skin Care in Ayurveda; Skin Care in Chinese Medicine

Discover the connections between the skin and other organ systems with a focus on supporting the skin through dietary and lifestyle interventions. You will gain an understanding of the fundamental importance of considering the individual as a whole and using an “inside-out” approach when addressing chronic skin conditions.

UNIT 3: MAKING HERBAL BODY CARE PRODUCTS

Choosing Ingredients; Making Vinegars, Hydrosol, Oils, and Salves; Bath Products; Creams and Lotions; Herbal Gels; Herbal Soaps; Hair Care and Cosmetics

Build an understanding of the basic preparation methods you’ll need to create a range of herbal skin care products. You’ll be guided by both text and video tutorials and gain confidence in creating bath products, herb-infused vinegars and oils, salves, hydrosols, creams and other emulsions, gels, hair care products, and herbal soap.

UNIT 4: SKIN CARE FROM THE OUTSIDE

Foundations of Skin Support; Skin and Sun; Beyond Oily and Dry: Choosing Individual Herbs; Support for Chronic Conditions; External Care for Acute Skin Conditions; Conclusion

Dive deep into the fundamental concepts and specific herbal approaches for maintaining skin health and supporting acute skin conditions. You will receive plenty of recipes that apply the basic techniques from Unit 3, allowing you to create a range of products for different skin types and specific skin concerns. We’ll also cover herbal energetics as applied to skin conditions, and inspire you with ideas for your herbal first aid kit!

In addition to the course and materials available, you’ll also be able to discuss the materials and ask questions with fellow students and teachers in the student-only online community group.

Ready to get started? Early enrollment is open now. Visit The Herbal Academy to sign up for their Botanical Skin Care Course now. Early registration means big discounts, so don’t delay! The course officially opens on July 1st. Learn more now.

Interested in learning more? Explore The Herbal Academy’s other online herbalism courses here.

For more botanical skin care recipes and ideas, follow me across your favorite social media platforms. You can follow me on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter, pinterest and instagram. Or sign up to receive my semi-weekly newsletter to stay in the loop.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, Health & Wellness, Lifestyle Tagged With: bath and beauty, bath and body, beauty diy, beauty recipes, botanicals, education, healthy living, herbalism, herbs, natural beauty, natural skin care, online course, skin care, skin care recipes

Eucalyptus and Orange Essential Oil Blend for Health, Home & Beauty

I may receive compensation from links on this site. See my disclosure policy.

June 11, 2019 By Rebecca D. Dillon 1 Comment

This natural aromatherapeutic eucalyptus & orange essential oil blend recipe doesn’t just smell wonderful. It actually can be used in a number of ways for health, home and beauty. Learn how to make a simple eco-friendly linen spray & deodorizer, surface sanitizer, smoothing hair shine spray & diffuser blend for stuffy noses. As well as how to add this essential oil blend to your homemade soap & natural skin care recipes. Keep reading to learn more!

Aromatherapeutic Essential Oil Blend

This is the same essential oil blend I used in my latest natural skin care recipe for a homemade coffee body scrub. And, because I love it SO much, I wanted to share a few other ways that you can use this natural essential oil blend recipe.

Whether you’re looking for new naturally scented skin care recipes to try or want an eco-friendly way to freshen your home, you’ll find this eucalyptus and orange essential oil blend has uses for all aspects of health, skin care and homemaking.

Eucalyptus and Orange Essential Oil Blend

To make, simply combine 3 parts eucalyptus essential oil with 2 parts peppermint essential oils, 2 parts orange essential oil, 1 part rosemary essential oil and 1 part tea tree essential oil in an amber glass bottle. Then shake to combine.

Here’s an easy breakdown to make a batch of this essential oil blend to use throughout the year, broken down into ounces and grams.

Eucalyptus and Orange Essential Oil Blend Recipe

.15 oz. / 4.25 g eucalyptus essential oil
.1 oz. / 2.8 g peppermint essential oil
.1 oz. / 2.8 g wild orange essential oil
.05 oz. / 1.41 g rosemary essential oil
.05 oz. /1.41 g tea tree essential oil

Ways to use Your Eucalyptus and Orange Essential Oil Blend

For Homemade Beauty Recipes

You can then use this essential oil blend in you homemade beauty recipes such as melt and pour soaps, body butters and scrubs – even natural homemade deodorant for summer! I recommend .05% for leave on products and up to 2% for wash off products such as homemade soap recipes and body scrubs.

Or try swapping out this eucalyptus and orange essential oil blend in one of these natural beauty recipes.

For Natural Hair Care

I also love using this blend for natural hair care. Combine 12 drops of this essential oil blend with 1 oz. fractionated coconut oil. Then simply mist or smooth a few drops over hair for a healthy looking shine.

For Seasonal Allergies & Colds

As this natural essential oil blend contains eucalyptus essential oil, I also found it worked wonders at opening up my nasal passages caused by seasonal allergies. Simply use this blend in an essential oil diffuser. Or, combine 24 drops of essential oil with 2 oz. of witch hazel in a spray bottle to mist onto your pillow before bed. (You can also use this as a spray deodorant!)

For Home Scents & Sanitizers

Alternately, I also found that this essential oil blend works beautifully as an odor neutralizing spray, sanitizer and air freshener in my home. Simply combine this blend in a spray bottle with either vodka or 99% isopropyl alcohol to deodorize and sanitize surfaces. It can also be used as a linen spray to freshen laundry. (Shake before each use.)

For Laundry Care

You can also add this essential oil blend directly to your wool dryer balls for freshly scented laundry that’s also eco-friendly.

How Much Essential Oil Should I Use?

Confused about how much essential oil to add to your recipes? Check out Mountain Rose Herbs’ new essential oil dilution calculator here. Or try their easy essential oil conversion calculator when you’re not sure how to make conversions from drops to larger units of measure. Plus get pro tips for using essential oils for home, health and beauty.

An Easy Way to Learn About Essential Oils

Ready to start your essential oil collection but aren’t sure where to start? Simply Earth offers a monthly essential oil recipe box that’s perfect for you! Each monthly box comes with four essential oils as well as additional ingredients and recipe cards. Use the essential oil recipe cards to craft simple essential oil recipes for health, home and beauty. Then store the index sized cards in a recipe box for future reference or to duplicate your favorite recipes.

There’s no monthly commitment to try Simply Earth. Buy a single box or individual essential oils when it fits your budget. Discover all the benefits of Simply Earth’s essential oil recipe boxes here. Or check out my reviews of past boxes from Simply Earth here.

Ready to explore new essential oils? Order this month’s box with right away! (Use coupon code: SOAPDELIFREE to receive a FREE bonus box worth $40 with your first order. You’ll also get an e-coupon for $40 off your next box. Get yours now!)

Interested in learning even more? Explore more ways to use essential oils in your home as well as for health and beauty applications by visiting my essential oils & herbs board on Pinterest. And, of course, don’t forget to pin this post with my eucalyptus and orange essential oil blend recipe for later!

For more ideas for using essential oils as well as my own original bath and beauty recipes, be sure to follow me across your favorite social media platforms. You can find and follow me on Blog Lovin‘, facebook, twitter and instagram. Or sign up to receive my semi-weekly newsletter to stay in the loop.

Filed Under: Bath & Beauty Recipes, Handmade Home, Health & Wellness, Lifestyle Tagged With: allergy relief, bath and beauty, bath and body, essential oil blend, essential oils, essential oils recipes, eucalyptus, handmade home, health and wellness, healthy homemaking, lifestyle, natural alternative, natural beauty, natural skin care, non-toxic, orange, summer skin care