Eucalyptus Bath Bombs

I have a super simple DIY project that is so perfect for winter.  These Eucalyptus Bath Bombs are so heavenly for sore muscles, cold nights or for when you might be feeling a bit under the weather. They make a wonderful gift too- my daughter’s teacher is recovering from a cold and I just sent a little basket of these in.  Hopefully she enjoys them.

You can make these in any fragrance you like or color you like but I choose a combination of Peppermint, Eucalyptus and Lavender for these and I love the pretty, fresh white color. These would be so lovely sitting by the tub in a large glass jar.

Again any fragrance you like works for these but the Eucalyptus is so aromatic, Peppermint is my favorite fragrance and can be invigorating and Lavender is a lovely, calming fragrance- perfect for bedtime.  Just a perfect combo to inhale during your bath.  And I have to say my entire house smelled amazing after I made these.  I really should diffuse these scents more often.

Bath bombs are really simple (and affordable) to make yourself once you pull together a few basic ingredients.  It took me a few tries to get them right- ultimately the secret is using proper coloring and careful use of water.

Here goes:

This recipe makes 2 of the large bath bombs in an ornament or 3 of the smaller bath bombs in an actual mold.

If you add too much water the bath bomb will still work but it requires a lot more of the mixture to create a bath bomb.  It is important to spritz the water while you whisk away.  If you simply pour the water in, the citric acid will have an immediate reaction and start fizzing and your bath bomb mixture will be ruined.

So here are the ingredients you need to assemble- they are pretty affordable and you can buy in bulk and make tons of these.

• Citric Acid Powder- make sure to get powder and not granules.  This can be found in bulk bins at specialty grocery stores, in small containers from Ball in the canning section of Walmart or purchase in bulk from Amazon here.   This creates the fizz on your mixture.
• Epsom Salts-  Grab in the first aid section of any large store or in bulk from Amazon here.   Some come fragranced already if you want to skip using essential oils.
• Corn Starch- helps hold everything together- grab it in bulk from Amazon here.
• Baking Soda- grab in bulk at Costco or from Amazon here

That is basically it- I had most of this stuff on hand and just purchased the citric acid.

• Bath Bomb Mold- these come in various sizes and are super sturdy.  Click here to see tons of options.
• Some people prefer to use inexpensive Christmas ornaments instead.  Purchase these online (click here) or in craft stores around the holiday season.  Please note these make very large bath bombs and they can crack/break with a lot of use.  Mine are starting to chip on the sides and for a few dollars more I could have just bought a mold that would last forever.

You can use any coloring you like for these.  Many people like food coloring but I have found it hard to use.  Food coloring tends to create speckles in the bomb as it doesn’t completely dissolve with the dry ingredients.  I prefer actual soap making colorant- plus you can be totally certain the color won’t discolor someone’s bath tub.

Soap Coloring can be found here or in craft stores.

You can also dry pigment but I have not personally used this. (Find colorant here.) The colors are certainly beautiful!

Oh and for essential oils, I used Young Living oils.

And the last thing to address is how long these last- I would say a month or two easily just be careful not to get them wet or in extremely humid climates you might run into issues.

 

Enjoy your soak!  Please come back and let me know what fragrances and colors you experiment with.

And here are a few other posts you might enjoy:

Peppermint Body Butter

Homemade Lotion Bars 

Oatmeal Bath Bombs