Besides, if you have a cat like I do, who likes to sit on the edge of the
tub and supervise baths, just picture its reaction to the fizzing!
Bath Bombs
Bath Bombs are like giant alka-seltzers for your bath - they spin, whirl and
swirl in your bath while releasing scent and skin-softening agents. They
make bath time SUPER fun!
Basic Bath Bomb:
1/3 part citric acid
2/3 parts baking soda
Witch Hazel
BLEND BLEND BLEND BLEND the citric acid and baking soda - this step is super
important - if you don't blend well, you end up with a grainy bomb. We
actually use a mixer on our larger batches.
Once you've blended really well, add your colorant. Dry pigments work best -
don't add too much though - the color shows up once you add the witch hazel.
Add your fragrance oils to your personal nose preference.
Now, this is the difficult part. Spritz (with a squirt bottle) the witch
hazel onto your batch while stirring with the other hand. When your batch
sticks together when squished, you need to start putting it in molds - time
is of the essence. If you wait too long, the mixture will get hard. If you
spritz too much, the mixture will be too wet and "grow" (start the fizzing
reaction) on you.
Put the bombs in molds - wait a few minutes and tap them out. Let them air
dry for 3 or 4 hours and voila! Wonderful, hard bath bombs. The harder you
pack the bath bombs, the more dense, heavy, and durable bomb you will get.
Water Softening Fizzy
1 cup Baking soda
1/2 cup Citric acid
1/2 cup corn starch
2-1/2 tablespoons oil ( I use a combo of grapeseed and almond, but you can
use any liquid oils)
3/4 tablespoon Water
2 teaspoons essential or fragrance oils
1/2 teaspoon Borax
Spray bottle filled with Witch hazel
Mix the baking soda, citric acid and corn starch until well blended.
In a separate bowl combine cooking oil, water, essential oil, and borax.
Mix well.
Drizzle wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, pouring with one hand and
squishing it together with the other.
Pack into candy or soap molds. I use a circular 2 oz. soap mold with a
flower pattern on the top (it's tooooo hard to unmold anything with squared
corners). Pack it in really hard, then immediately flip it over and tap it
out onto a lined cookie sheet.
When all are done, lightly mist with witch hazel and let dry overnight.
Next day, turn over and mist the bottoms with witch hazel. Let dry another
day. The witch hazel forms a crust on the outside that keeps them from
cracking and falling apart, although they're still a little fragile. Don't
make them when it's damp outside, high humidity makes it much harder to do.
Moisture Rich Fizzy
Dry ingredients:
1 cup Baking soda
1/2 cup Corn Starch
1/4 cup Epsom Salt
1/2 cup Citric Acid
Wet ingredients:
2-3/4 tablespoons Almond oil
3/4 tablespoon Water
1/4 teaspoon Borax (optional)
1-1/2 teaspoon fragrance oil or essential oil
Colorant
Mix all dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and then in a separate dish or cup,
mix wet ingredients and then combine the two. I use a wire whisk ... the mix
doesn't really even look wet, but it compacts nicely into molds and, after
drying through the night, they are rock hard and fizz for almost 2 minutes.
Make sure to whisk fast when adding wet ingredients to prevent fizzing;
whisk for a good minute and then press mix into your mold.
Fizzy Milk Bath Bombs
1 c. baking soda
1/2 c. citric acid
1/2 c. corn starch
1/3 c. epsom salts (finely ground)
1/4 c. powdered milk (buttermilk will clump so don't use it)
2 tblsp olive oil (tip: infuse calendula petals for an extra therapeutic
bath)
2 tsp melted cocoa butter
1 tsp fragrance or essential oil
3-7 tsp water/witch hazel blend (1:1).
TIP: put in a spray bottle for even dispersion
Mix all dry ingredients together well, drizzle the olive oil and melted
cocoa butter and fragrance/essential oil over the dry mix, mix together with
hands, and then use witch hazel/water blend to get the product to the right
consistency to shove into your favorite molds. Enjoy with your bath!
For an extra moisturizing Bath Fizzy, try this recipe:
1 cup citric acid
2 cups baking soda
1 tsp. fragrance oil
1 tsp. olive oil (or shea butter or cocoa butter)
Follow the basic bath bomb directions above and drizzle the olive oil in
with the fragrance oil.
If you want to substitute some of the baking soda, you can substitute up to
1 full cup with dehydrated milk (goat's milk or regular milk).
If you want a colored bath, add powdered food coloring or liquid food
coloring. If you add 1/2 tsp. of liquid food coloring to the basic recipe,
this should give you a colored bath. If you add 1/8 tsp. powdered food
coloring to the basic recipe, you will get a wonderfully vibrant tub. If
your tub is dirty, or has excess oil in it, this recipe will leave a ring
around your tub.
Tub Tints are a really fun way to add some pizzazz to your bath!
3 cups baking soda
1 1/2 cups citric acid
2 cups cornstarch
3 cc fragrance oil
.15cc powdered water-soluble dye (pigments or micas will NOT work. FD&C Blue
and FD&C Yellow from Bramble Berry WILL work. If you use a pigment on mica,
it may not disperse evenly in the water, and may stain your tub!)
Mix all ingredients completely. The mixture will appear white.
Package into decorative bags and tie closed.
To use, add 1/4 to 1/2 cup per full tub of water. Mix crystals in completely
before getting into the water. Taa-daaaa! Colored bath water!