We went to a beauty/bath store a few months back and bought some of their bath bombs. While the simpler bath bombs fizzed on par with our original Bath Bomb Recipe, the more complex bombs produced awesome amounts of foam and I was determined to find a way to make FOAMING bath bombs.
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Like most recipes on here, it took a fair bit of experimenting. I'll tell you right now, if you're looking for quick and simple, you'll want to check out our original (non-foaming) bath bomb recipes. These take a bit of patience, but they are awesome. Because they're kind of a pain, I choose to make them in HUGE batches. If you keep them in an airtight (moisture-free) container, they'll keep basically forever.
OK before I get into the recipe, here's a video of one in action!
Now as for the recipe, you'll need to set aside about a week to make these. There's just a LOT of waiting in between each step and if you don't wait the full amount of time they're pretty much ruined. They're high maintenance, but also awesome. (Remember if you're looking for faster, go with our original Bath Bomb recipe). To make our Foam Bombs, you'll need:
Shampoo or Body Wash (the thicker the better)
Baking Soda (aka Sodium Bicarbonate)
Citric Acid Powder
Olive Oil
Measure 4 cups of Baking Soda into a bowl. Add 1/2 cup shampoo or body wash (we always use unscented) and stir really well. You may find that you'll need to use your hands. Keep mixing until the shampoo/body wash is evenly distributed amongst the baking soda. Now add the mix to a large shallow container (a cookie sheet with an edge or a cake pan would work well) and wait for TWO to THREE DAYS. This is very important. You need all the water to evaporate from your shampoo. If there's any left, it will react with the Citric Acid
you're going to add 2 to 3 days from now.
After waiting 2-3 days, your baking soda and shampoo/body wash mix should be dry. If it's not, keep waiting. On the plus side, you can't wait for too long, so if you forget about it for a week or so, that's totally fine. Once it's dry, add 1/2 cup of Citric Acid
and mix to distribute it evenly. Finally add 4 Tablespoons of oil and mix to distribute that evenly. You'll probably need to use your hands to get it fully mixed.
Finally take handfuls of the mix and compress them in your hands. It can be a little crumbly, so trust me it's best to not try to make perfect circles or you'll lose your mind. Just compress small handfuls and if you squish them tight, they should hold if you handle them delicately. Gently place the compressed handfuls of the mix on a sheet of wax paper, or another spot where they won't be disturbed for another TWO DAYS. It will take at least 2 days for the Foam Bombs to harden to the point where they can easily be handled. Move them to a storage container that's airtight and free of moisture and you can add one (or more) to your kiddo's bath for some extra fun.
OK before I get into the recipe, here's a video of one in action!
Now as for the recipe, you'll need to set aside about a week to make these. There's just a LOT of waiting in between each step and if you don't wait the full amount of time they're pretty much ruined. They're high maintenance, but also awesome. (Remember if you're looking for faster, go with our original Bath Bomb recipe). To make our Foam Bombs, you'll need:
Shampoo or Body Wash (the thicker the better)
Baking Soda (aka Sodium Bicarbonate)
Citric Acid Powder
Olive Oil
Measure 4 cups of Baking Soda into a bowl. Add 1/2 cup shampoo or body wash (we always use unscented) and stir really well. You may find that you'll need to use your hands. Keep mixing until the shampoo/body wash is evenly distributed amongst the baking soda. Now add the mix to a large shallow container (a cookie sheet with an edge or a cake pan would work well) and wait for TWO to THREE DAYS. This is very important. You need all the water to evaporate from your shampoo. If there's any left, it will react with the Citric Acid
you're going to add 2 to 3 days from now. After waiting 2-3 days, your baking soda and shampoo/body wash mix should be dry. If it's not, keep waiting. On the plus side, you can't wait for too long, so if you forget about it for a week or so, that's totally fine. Once it's dry, add 1/2 cup of Citric Acid
and mix to distribute it evenly. Finally add 4 Tablespoons of oil and mix to distribute that evenly. You'll probably need to use your hands to get it fully mixed. Finally take handfuls of the mix and compress them in your hands. It can be a little crumbly, so trust me it's best to not try to make perfect circles or you'll lose your mind. Just compress small handfuls and if you squish them tight, they should hold if you handle them delicately. Gently place the compressed handfuls of the mix on a sheet of wax paper, or another spot where they won't be disturbed for another TWO DAYS. It will take at least 2 days for the Foam Bombs to harden to the point where they can easily be handled. Move them to a storage container that's airtight and free of moisture and you can add one (or more) to your kiddo's bath for some extra fun.
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All activities here are activities I feel are safe for my own children. As your child's parents/guardians, you will need to decide what you feel is safe for your family. I always encourage contacting your child's pediatrician for guidance if you are not sure about the safety/age appropriateness of an activity. All activities on this blog are intended to be performed with adult supervision. Appropriate and reasonable caution should be used when activities call for the use of materials that could potentially be harmful, such as scissors, or items that could present a choking risk (small items), or a drowning risk (water activities), and with introducing a new food/ingredient to a child (allergies). Observe caution and safety at all times. The author and blog disclaim liability for any damage, mishap, or injury that may occur from engaging in any of these activities on this blog.
Have you tried speeding up the drying process with either a very low temperature oven, or a dehydrator?
ReplyDeleteOR possibly even using dry shampoo, then adding a little more oil to hold it all together?
I would try those things, but I'm more of a shower person. It would be fantastic to make my own bath bombs with a hidden toy inside them, like a lot of novelty bath bombs sold in Japan contain.
I'm sure those things would work - I didn't want our oven smelling like shampoo, hehehe, so I just let it air dry. Ooo, dry shampoo is a great idea - if that foams when you add water to it, it would do the trick! And yep, we show how to hide stuff in our regular bath bomb recipe - so fun!
DeleteDry shampoo actually has no cleansing or foaming agent - It's basically just a sprayable or sprinkle-able powder that absorbs the oils in your hair, making it seem clean. So dry shampoo probably would not work, sadly :(
DeleteOh, good to know! It would definitely need the ability to foam when wet. Thank you!!!!
DeleteThese will not harden for me. The powder still foams in the bath so it isn't a complete loss. Any tips for future attempts? How exactly do they harden since nothing is evaporating after the oil and acid are added?
ReplyDeleteOh no! Have you tried adding more oil? The oil evaporates over time and that's what causes them to harden. Was the shampoo you used initially a bit on the watery side? I tried them with two different shampoos and the one that was more watery took an extra day to harden.
DeleteThanks, we live in a very dry climate so I probably needed more oil to start. I will use coconut oil next time. My kid still loves to put it in the bath by the spoonful so maybe I will not worry about the molding part.
DeleteI bet that was it. Hopefully it works better for you next time and glad that in the meantime the powder is a hit! :)
DeleteIf it is okay to say, I recommend coconut oil over olive oil. I find it mixes easier & evaporates faster. It harden though at a relatively warm temp, so I think it might slow the drying part if the room is lower than 70 degrees, But as long as it's over 70, they dry out better for me with coconut oil...and I live where summers are humid, so I need all the help I can get. When it is humid, I also set them on a towel and point a fan on them & then gingerly rotate. That seems to aid. If it is hot enough out, I have had them dry in a day set in the sun.
ReplyDeleteOhhhh, good call! I usually stay away from using coconut oil in our recipes because of the cost, but it might be worth it in this case!
DeleteI'm going to make bath bombs for my younger nieces but I think they would love the foaming bombs better. I noticed you formed them with your hand. Why didn't you use a mold? I want to use different shaped silicone molds and add some food color to make them colorful. Will this cause a problem for the 'foaming'? If not, when do you suggest I add the food color?
ReplyDeleteThank you
Hi Natalie! So a few answers - they take FOREEEEVVERRR to dry in the silicone molds and then we had trouble removing them without breaking them or breaking off features of the mold (like with the stars, we'd lose parts of one of the points of the stars, etc, etc). You could definitely try though I suspect you'd have the most success with non-flexible molds (like a metal, glass, or hard plastic mold?). If you are adding food coloring, add it to the shampoo and stir. It will be slightly more annoying to break up the baking soda after the mixture has dried, but it's not too bad. I used the bottom of a spoon to crush it up. Hope that helps! :) :) :)
DeleteThanks for your advice.
DeleteI am just trying to figure out why this recipe would take weeks. Purchase some slsa (which is way better than the sls or sls in the shampoo or bodywash) and add that to your basic bath bomb recipe and it will be ready within 24-48 hrs.
ReplyDeleteSure! I tried to use common ingredients that are easy for folks to get ahold of. But you are welcome to sub that for the shampoo to skip the evaporating step.
DeleteDo these harden like original bath bombs or is it more crumbly...wondering cause previous comment bout they are pain to shape? (...so once I let the first part dry for few days and star preparing to add citric acid) is what u have drying in a solid form?? Or loosely spread to dry? And once I'm ready to start forming the bomb would a cookie cutter work just as well like the original recipe?....I make lot diy projects I even have small home based business I started out making candles, wax melts, bath products, even animal products (who don't love a nice smelling pet lol), just starting home made decor, but I had customers ask for bath bombs (i carry lot of bath nd body works, victoria secret, and higher end perfume/cologne fragance oils but sale mynproducts half cost or more than those places) and I started researching online nd fount your recipe ( lot cheaperthan ordering from my suppliers and paying shipping costs when I can run to walamrt or dollar store by my house.so thnx so much for sharing all u do. Do u have recipe for the new LUSH inspired where it combines the jelly bath product nd bath bomb?? Those are so cool but can't find diy on it. Might have to just experiment myself lol.
ReplyDeleteThese are a bit more crumbly than the plain bath bombs I have a recipe for. I've never tried using a cookie cutter -- always a silicone mold -- so I'm not sure how that would go.
DeleteHave you tried using tear free shampoo? My son has skin reactions to a lot of things so I try to stick with very gentle products for him.
ReplyDeleteAnd for hard plastic molds may I suggest plastic eggs from the dollar tree. You need the ones that open lengthwise to be able to remove the bombs successfully but they do make a fun shape for kids. I made regular bath bombs in them last year.
I haven't -- I think that would work, but if it's on the watery side of things, I would perhaps try to add it to the baking soda and let it dry out for a day or two before adding the citric acid so it didn't react a lot of the bath bombs out of the gate. And that's a great idea for a mold!
Delete