Bath bombs are so relaxing and easy to make at home. With just a few ingredients and your favorite essential oils, you can have a spa day any day of the week. Bath bombs make excellent gifts as well, so really, it’s hard to go wrong making them yourself. It just takes about 1-2 days to cure before they can be used or packaged.

There are many different combinations for recipes, but the basic recipe can be found here. It involves citric acid, baking soda, and cornstarch. When making a bath bomb, Epsom salts or Dead Sea Salt can be added as well. Just remember the correct ratios when straying from the base recipe. I found a really helpful guide on how to change the base according to tastes. Personally, I do not like having as much oil as the basic recipe calls for so I greatly reduced it in my own batch. I prefer to add just enough oil to hold the bomb together well.

Bath Bombs: Basic Recipe

1 Cup Citric Acid
1 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Cornstarch
1/2 Cup Carrier Oil
10 Drops Essential Oil

While this recipe is solid, I created my own that includes Dead Sea Salt. In the guide that I linked, it says that it can be added up to 25%. The guide also states never to take away from the baking soda if adding another dry ingredient. That is because the soda acts as a softening agent against the citric acid. I could either take equal parts of citric acid and baking soda out, or I could just take away from the citric acid. Keep in mind that the closer the ratio of those two ingredients, the more fizzy it will be. The bath bomb I made doesn’t need to be super fizzy, so I just took away from the citric acid. Also, the recipe above makes quite a few, so I halved it for personal use.

Bath Bombs

1/4 Cup Citric Acid
1/2 Cup Baking Soda
1/4 Cup Cornstarch
1/4 Cup Dead Sea Salt
2 Tbsp. Carrier Oil
10-15 Drops Essential Oil
Dye of Choice

Have a cookie sheet with wax paper ready to go before getting started. It will hold the bath bombs while they cure. Add all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Carefully whisk them until they are combined. Be sure to keep the whisk in constant contact with the bottom of the bowl in order to avoid a cloud of acid dust. It may be a good idea to wear a mask while stirring because the citric acid can cause irritation. After the dry ingredients are mixed, drop the carrier and essential oils in slowly. The liquid will cause a mild reaction, which is normal. The dye I use is liquid, so I add it at this time. If the dye you have is dry, it should be added with the other dry ingredients before the liquids. The consistency needed for molding should be sort of like moist sand for building sandcastles. One of the best ways to achieve the right texture is by hand-mixing. When the mix is ready, take the molds and overfill each side. Try not to pack each side because they will stick to the mold. Only pack once both sides have come together. It takes some practice getting it right. This recipe makes two  6.5 oz. bath bombs with about 3 oz. leftover for bath fizzy salts.