How to Make Bath Bombs

The perfect activity for a rainy afternoon inside with the kids, bath bombs is as fun to make as they are to use! Check out our handy guide on how to create your own.

What you’ll need

Equipment/tools:

  • mixing bowl
  • whisk
  • plastic moulds

Ingredients:

  • 100g bicarbonate of soda
  • 50g citric acid
  • 25g cornflour
  • 25g Epsom salt (optional)
  • 2 tbsp oil – such as sunflower, coconut or olive oil
  • ¼ tsp essential oil, such as orange, lavender or chamomile
  • a few drops of liquid food colouring
  • orange peel, lavender or rose petals to decorate (optional)

Method

1. Combined the bicarbonate of soda, citric acid, cornflour and Epsom salt in a bowl and whisk.

2. Pour the base oil, essential oil and food colouring into a small bowl. Mix together well, combining the oil with the colouring as much as possible.

3. Add the oil mixture into the dry ingredients slowly, a little at a time, and whisk between each addition. Once the oil is added, add a few drops of water and whisk again – this will fizz, so make sure to mix quickly! The mixture should clump together when pressed in your hand and keep its shape, making sure it isn’t wet.

4. If you’re adding peel or flower petals to decorate, drop them into the bottom of your chosen mould. Pack your mixture tightly on top, pressing down and smoothing out the top with a teaspoon.

5. Leave your bath bomb in the mould to dry for 2-4 hrs, then carefully remove it. It’s now ready to drop into the bath – watch it fizz away!

Top tips for making bath bombs

Be sure to use liquid food colouring, not gels. Gels will clump together when you add them to the bicarbonate, and it’s hard to mix them in.

Once you’ve added the liquid to the mixture, you need to work quickly to mix everything together and push it into the mould as soon as you can.

To allow your bath bombs to dry, leave them uncovered in a cool, dry place (away from taps and humidity). They will take longer to set in humid weather.

If you’ve got more than one colour, why not make a rainbow bath bomb? Layer up the different colours, and they will blend together beautifully.