Create DIY Bath Bombs

Do you struggle to get your DIY Bath Bombs to turn out how you want them to? I know I did. I have literally spent days trying to master making my own Bath Bombs. They would either be too dry and crumble, too wet and expand out of the moulds, break apart when I opened the moulds or I would destroy them by opening them too early. I just cant help myself. I want to know if they worked so I open one to see. And yep it cracks. 

Tips for making DIY bath bombs

Here are a few tips I have learnt along the way for making DIY Bath Bombs.

1. Use a mix of water and oil to wet your mixture.
2. I use Young Living’s V6 Carrier oil as the oil in my bath bombs. V-6™ Enhanced Vegetable Oil Complex can be used to create custom massage oils or to dilute essential oils for sensitive skin.
3. Use a spray bottle to apply this to the dry ingredients so you can keep checking how wet the mixture is getting. It is hard to say how much liquid you should use as this varies depending on how humid it is where you live. The more moisture in the air the less liquid you will need.
4. To check the consistency pick up a small amount and squash into one hand if it stays together then this is what you are after. This is kind of like wet sand at the beach but not quite as wet. If it crumbles a bit add a couple of light sprays of water and mix well again. Check the consistency in your hand again and spray more water if necessary.
5. Use natural non-toxic food colouring. Most parents know the effect of yellow and red food colouring when children eat them but they can be just as bad if children are soaking in them in the bath.
6. Choose good quality essential oils. As an aromatherapist I recommend Young Living essential oils and you can read why here.
7. Wait at least 48 hours before opening your moulds to have a look at your DIY Bath Bombs. That will give your bath bombs plenty of time to set.
8. Keep your DIY bath bombs in an air tight container or bag otherwise they won’t fizz as well at bath time.
9. Drop one or two of the DIY bath bombs into your bath for an aromatic and fizzy bath.

Why make DIY Bath Bombs?

Many store bought bath bombs contain the listed ingredient “fragrance,”which is simply a broad category that hides hundreds of toxic chemicals behind that word itself. Companies are not required to reveal the actual chemicals that are within the “fragrance” category, hence keeping the public in the dark about the true toxicity of the products we use on our little ones. There is a reason you can smell those shops from a mile away.

These fragrances contain Phthalates (DBP, DEHP, DEP and others): A class of plasticising chemicals used to make products more pliable or to make fragrances linger longer. Phthalates disrupt the endocrine system and may cause birth defects. The last thing we want to be laying in for half an hour or more is a chemical that is going to mess with our hormones or cause birth defects.

So what CAN we use in your DIY Bath Bombs instead? When you’re looking for effective, naturally derived, fragrances to scent your DIY Bath Bombs you cant go past Young Living essential oils.

Essential Oil Blends for DIY Bath Bombs

Some of my favourite essential oil blends for DIY Bath Bombs include:

• Joy – is an uplifting blend of pure essential oils that creates magnetic energy and brings happiness to the heart, inspiring romance and togetherness. This blend is calming, balancing, uplifting and relaxing. Joy has an alluring and sweet scent, and can promote love, happiness, and confidence. Use Joy to help release emotional blocks.

• StressAway – contains a unique combination of Lime essential oil and Vanilla extract. It’s this distinct mix of Vanilla and Lime that gives Stress Away its unique and pleasant aroma, among other benefits. Stress Away also includes Copaiba, which has a history of beneficial properties in topical application; Lavender, with its refreshing and calming scent; and Cedarwood, which features the powerful plant constituent cedrol. These ingredients are expertly blended with the exotic scent of Ocotea, a unique Ecuadorian-sourced essential oil.

• Peace & Calming – is a gentle, sweet blend of Tangerine, Orange, Ylang Ylang, Patchouli, and Blue Tansy. With a comforting, fresh aroma, this soothing and uplifting blend creates a relaxing environment that’s great for the entire family. Peace & Calming promotes calm focus, and can help channel mental energy into a positive outlet.

• Sensation – combines fragrant, feminine essential oils that are uplifting and refreshing. This blend encourages feelings of love and affection. Sensation is uplifting, stimulating, energising, calming and balancing, with an alluring and exotic scent. It can be used to nourish and support healthy skin, and may assist with breaking down emotional blocks. The intoxicating scent of Sensation enhances the excitement of experiencing new heights of self-expression and awareness.

• Seedlings Calm – A bottle of lullabies! Dreamland is only a few drops away with Young Living SeedlingsTM CalmTM essential oil blend. This soothing, gentle scent was formulated with the littlest members of your family in mind. With its soft, relaxing, floral notes, this special blend can help the whole family unwind together.

• Acceptance – encourages feelings of self-worth and acceptance of others. This blend is great to have in your personal collection. Use this blend when going through a transition, trying to adapt to new changes, or taking on new ideas. Acceptance has a tranquil scent that inspires self-exploration, peace, and strength, and has a calming and balancing effect on the mind.

• Awaken – consists of 5 other blends, and contains Geranium and Sandalwood essential oils. Expertly formulated to help you gain awareness of your limitless potential, Awaken™ is the first step towards making positive life changes. Awaken can be used to enhance meditation and visualise the manifestation of your goals, so you can open up to your true, authentic self. It also helps to release negative memories, and move forward in harmonic motion into the here and now.

• Harmony – is a blend of pure essential oils that contains scents to provide an uplifting aromatic experience. This spiritual and emotional blend is balancing and calming, and may help with releasing emotional burdens, focus, stubbornness, or restlessness, by creating harmonic balance in the mind, spirit and body.

• Lady Sclareol – is an oil blend created especially for women to enhance the feminine nature and provide a relaxing experience when diffused. This energising blend is calming and emotionally balancing, and can promote love and confidence.

DIY Bath Bombs Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups bicarb soda
• 1 cup citric acid
• 2 tsp Young Living V6 Carrier oil
• 20 drops of Young Living essential oil
• 10 drops water
• 5 drops non toxic food colouring

Method:

In a large, clean mixing bowl, add your dry ingredients. If possible, use a sieve or sifter when adding your dry ingredients to the bowl to ensure they are free of clumps. Mix well.

In a spray bottle add liquids and spray in to dry ingredients until you get a damp sand like consistency.

Add decoration to what will become the top of the DIY bath bombs before filling the mould with the mixture. I like to use things such as rose petals or gold leaf.

Press the mixture into moulds, or use melon ballers to form your DIY bath bombs.

Press both sides of the moulds together firmly and wipe off any excess.

Allow them to dry at least 48 hours, depending on the time of year, temperature and humidity.

Happy DIY Bath Bomb Making!!!

Learn more about DIY Bath Bombs from the Maestro Bath Bomb Maker herself, Donne Cuzzola.

More Recipes

Enjoy making your DIY Bath Bombs. If you would like more of my recipes for natural body products grab a copy of my FREE ebook – If I wouldn’t eat it I won’t use it on my body.