Friday 24 February 2017

Bath bombs

Back at Christmas time, my nieces made bath bombs while we were at my parents' house.  Sylvia is quite keen on bath bombs for her bath at the moment so I decided to make some at home.  We have now made them about 3 times and I am writing up the recipe in a way that I find easier to follow than that on the CSIRO website.

My mum originally looked for bath bomb recipes because she had heaps of epsom salts leftover from coating candle holder jars over Christmas.  Then she found an even easier recipe.  It came from the CSIRO.  For those not in Australia, CSIRO stands for the well regarded Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

We liked the recipe because it had easy to purchase ingredients.  One of my nieces happily donated some of her body glitter and I tried one batch with dried rose petals but Sylvia prefers none of this.  The recipe is quick to make - probably about 10-15 minutes.  It is also great for anyone who wants to use up bicarbonate of soda - I have gone through a lot in making this recipe.  I actually ran out of bicarb  in the last batch (top and bottom photo) and had a little less than needed, so I added a little more citric acid instead.

The problems I have had with these bath bombs are that they leave an oily ring around the bath and when we put them together after they dried, they stuck together.  Small problems.  I think they are really soothing and softening in the bath and so easy to make.  We have bought some individual silicone cupcake moulds which are great to store them in.  I am sure they would make great presents in the cupcake moulds with some cellophane wrapping. 

To see more gift ideas on Green Gourme Giraffe, check out 10 Foodie Christmas Gifts.

Bath Bombs
From the CSIRO
Makes 4 mini muffin sized ones

10 tbsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
3 tbsp citric acid
body glitter or dried petals (optional)

3 tbsp olive oil
15-20 drops food colouring
10-12 drops essential oil

Mix bicarb soda and citric acid in a medium mixing bowl.  Add in a few shakes of glitter or dried petals if using.  Mix food colouring, essential oil and olive oil in a small bowl. Slowly pour liquids into dry ingredients and gently mix until you have a sandy consistency.  Pat into mini muffin cups or other moulds.  I use silicone moulds and don't need to grease them.  As the mixture dries it clings together and expands slightly.  However even once dried, if out of the mould they can stick to each other or a container if not kept in some sort of packaging or individual container.

NOTES: The CSIRO recipe calls for sweet almond oil but as I don't have it in the house and I know some people say olive oil is very good for the skin we use the olive oil instead, which we always have about.

On the Stereo:
1989: Taylor Swift

9 comments:

  1. Great, I do like bath bombs - and the last time a long time was gifted some for Christmas by my husband from LUSH, but they are quite pricey these days. So THANK YOU to you, your nieces and to your Syvia for sharing a recipe of a different kind - You can't eat it, but you enjoy it another way. Def. gonna try these for a fraction of a price too.

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  2. Sounds like fun. Sadly, my little apartment has no bath ...

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  3. I love bath bombs - I've made them a couple of times with friends but your recipe definitely looks easier! I'd be all over the glitter and rose petals. Such fun! I love the Lush versions for that reason (so many fun bits/smells to them) but homemade is much more in keeping with my budget!

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  4. What a great reference post for making these at home. I don't have a lot of baths (prefer showers) but I can see Mini Bite being into these sorts of things as she gets older!

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  5. I LOVE this post! I absolutely adore bath bombs. Always have. Always will. I can't imagine how I have gone this far in life without trying to make my own. My mom actually made me some before and said it wasn't hard. And this would make lovely gifts. I'm definitely going to try making some.
    Question about the citric acid... is lemon ok to use? What did you use as your citric acid?
    ps. store bought bath bombs also leave that darn ring around the tub :/
    If you just quickly wipe at it with a damp cloth immediately after the bath is over, it comes right off.

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  6. Hi Kimmy - you should try them - I would love to hear if your mum tells you how she made them - the citric acid is a powder and I just bought it at the supermarket near the baking powder and baking supplies so hopefully you can find it easily too. I would not use lemon instead of the citric acid as the powder keeps it dry and the wetter it gets the sooner the bicarb and citric acid start to react and bubble.

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  7. Brilliant! Miss GF would go wild if I let her loose with this post and a load of ingredients! So easy and yes..... perfect gifts!

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  8. I know this is old, but I had to comment on the using saran wrap for making bath bombs without citric acid. I’ve been wrapping mine in Saran Wrap for years. I’ve had bombs over a year old that I’ve used that still smelled amazing. Just saying. Love the blog by the way. 😍

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  9. Much appreciated, that was a truly cool read!
    bath bombs

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