It is winter outside and we are still in the mists of lockdown #3 in the UK. With so many people stuck inside with their little ones, we've decided to start this series of craft and cooking ideas to keep you and the kiddos entertained.
To kick it off, Felix and I have made DIY bath bombs! We got the recipe from Homemade Organic Skin & Body Care: Easy DIY Recipes and Natural Beauty Tips for Glowing Skin by Carmen Reeves. I love this book. I've had it for a couple of years now and it is my go-to for any homemade body products. You can find your own copy of this book on Amazon.
What you'll need:
- 1/2 cup Epsom Salts (or Sea Salt)
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup citric acid (from your health store or online)
- 2 Tablespoons coconut oil (with a little extra on the sidefor greasing the moulds)
- 3 teaspoons witch hazel (or water)
- 5-10 drops of your preferred essential oil
- A few drops of all-natural food colouring (optional)
- Soap bomb moulds (we used a cupcake tray, but there are various moulds you can use)
These are all the ingredients you will need to make ONE colour batch. We made two colours, so used twice as much ingredients.
Directions:
Combine all dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well. In a separate bowl, mix together coconut oil, witch hazel, essential oil, and food colouring. We use dry food colouring because I feel like you get a richer colour without the added liquid. There are also soap dyes that work great for this. SLOWLY add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients while stirring quickly until the colour is even throughout. It's normal for the mixture to foam slightly, but you'll really want to do this slowly and minimise this because if the liquid is introduced to the dry ingredients too quickly then they will start to reach to each other and your bath bombs will probably expand in the drying process and be less fizzy when you use them. We tried to make green and yellow, but I put a little too much yellow in and it turned out to be more of an orange.
Once properly combined, the mixture should hold together when pressed in your hands without crumbling (you can add a dash more liquid if it's too dry).
Next you'll want to grease your mould with the extra coconut oil or use a silicon mould. We decided to use a cupcake tray because it was easier for Felix to handle (aka I could hold it and try to prevent him from throwing it).
After your little ones have helped you fill the moulds, you're going to want to press and pack them down really firmly.
Layer the colours and continue until you run out of ingredients and allow to dry over night. Once completely dry, remove from mould and store in an air-tight jar or container. Full disclosure.. It was not easy to get them out of the cupcake tray! I defiantly was slamming the tray on the counter to get them out. If this happens to you, don't worry! They are more resilient than you think!
TA DA!
We tried them in Felix's bath and they went down a treat! Felix has really sensitive skin so the coconut oil was really nice and soothing. Next time I might try dipping the bath bombs in shea butter after they have dried. They turned the bath a lime green colour, but didn't stain the bath or his skin.
Let us know if you try it! We would love to see pictures of your creations, so please tag us on social media.
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Thanks!!
