Steamy Bath Bombs/Shower Tablets
Place in the corner of any shower or tub and breathe in rejuvinating essential oils.
Throw in a bath, or put in a cute mini dish to last for 3 showers. Breathe, relax, restore.
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid
1/2 cup Epsom salt
1/2 cup cornstarch
2 tablespoons olive oil
Essential oils
25 drops fir needle essential oil (Abies balsamea)
15 drops black spruce essential oil (Picea mariana)
15 drops scotch pine essential oil (Pinus sylvestris)
Witch hazel (or other hydrosol) in a spritzer bottle
Evergreen needles (optional)
Alternate Blend:
Menthol
Tea Tree
Eucalyptus
Rosemary
Lemon
Blend the baking soda, citric acid, Epsom salts and cornstarch together in a large bowl. Stir well and break up any clumps within the mixture.
In a small bowl blend together the olive oil and essential oils.
Drizzle them onto the previous dry mixture. Stir well.
Now you need to moisten your salt mixture without getting it too wet. Spray the witch hazel around the bowl, pausing to stir every 10-15 sprays or so. (If an area in your bowl gets too moistened, it will start fizzing; stir it in to stop the reaction.)
After stirring, take a clump of it in your hand. The mixture is ready when it forms a molded clump in your hands, basically the consistency of damp sand.
Once you have the desired consistency, immediately start pressing it into molds. If using evergreen needles, place a couple in the center of your measuring cup. Less is better here as lots of needles can be a bother to clean up after your bath. Pack the measuring cup with the mixture. Use the heel of your hand to pack it in firmly and to create a relatively level space at the top.
Once it’s packed in the mold, you can tap it out onto a sheet of parchment or wax paper. The first time I did this, the mold crumbled. I added a bit more witch hazel to the mixture and then slightly tweaked my tapping technique. By the third one, I was getting a perfectly shaped fizzy. Which is all to say that if it doesn’t work the first time, just keep playing with it and it’ll come to you. Any crumbled fizzies can be repacked into the mold. Sometime I need to remoisten the mixture before finishing making the fizzies
You can use these right away but they will easily crumble. For best packaging results, let them dry out for 24 hours. Yield: 6 (1/3 cup) bath bombs
You can also use red algea salt from Mountain Rose Herbs in place of the evergreen needles. For the photo below, I added two tablespoons of red alaea salt to the base dry mixture and then sprinkled some fresh salt in the measuring cup for the top portion.
—
Aloe Bubble Bath Bombs
Ingredients
Two Leaf Wax Tart Molds
1 cup Sodium Bicarbonate (Baking Soda)
½ cup Citric Acid
½ cup Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSA)
Irish Green La Bomb Colorant
.5 oz. Aloe Extract
Witch Hazel
4 mL Kentish Rain Fragrance Oil
Instructions
In a large bowl, combine the baking soda and citric acid. Use your hands to break up any clumps. Citric acid has a tendency to take off nail polish, so wear gloves to protect your manicure. =)
Add the SLSA and use your hands to thoroughly incorporate. SLSA is extremely powdery, so make sure you are in a well-ventilated room when adding it into the mixture. You may choose to wear a surgical mask to prevent sneezing!
Begin adding drops of the Irish Green La Bomb Colorant, and mixing in with your hands in between each few drops. Use your hands to break up the drops of color into the powders. Keep adding drops until you get a minty green color. Keep in mind adding too much can color your tub. We added 8-10 drops of color.
Once the color is mostly mixed into the powders, add the aloe extract. Use your hands to mix in the extract thoroughly. You will find that the additional moisture helps mix in the color as well.
Add the Kentish Rain Fragrance Oil and use your hands to mix thoroughly.
Check the moisture level of your fizzies. You may find that the mixture is quite dry and powdery. If so, add sprays of witch hazel until the mixture is a similar texture to wet sand. The mixture should hold its shape when squeezed in your palm. Below, you can see that the mixture forms a ball when squeezed in your hand. This means that the mixture will hold its shape in the mold as well.
Fill each cavity completely with the bath bomb mixture, and use your fingers to press it firmly into each cavity. Allow the bath fizzies to sit in the mold for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.
Once the fizzies are completely dry, press the back of each cavity gently to release them from the mold. These bath bombs tend to be a little bit more delicate, so handle with care. To use, drop 2-3 bath fizzies into the tub. To help promote more bubbles, place the bath fizzies into the tub while it fills up with water. Below, you can see an example of the bubbles once the fizzy is introduced to water.
Tools:
heart shaped mold (this one’s for boiled eggs, but it works perfectly!)
Materials:
8 oz. baking soda
4 oz. citric acid
4 oz. corn starch
4 oz. epsom salt
2 tsp. coconut oil
2 tsp. essential oils (I used eucalyptus, but any essential oil will work)
3 drops food coloring
3/4 tsp. water
Start by combining the baking soda, citric acid, corn starch, and epsom salt, stirring until evenly combined. If you have any large clumps, strain through a sifter or break them up with a fork.
Next, in a separate container, warm up your coconut oil until it’s slightly liquid and add in a few drops of the essential oil, food coloring, and water. Give this mixture a good stir.
Now for the fun part, slowly add the coconut oil mixtures to your dry ingredient a little at a time. If it starts fizzing, just mix a little faster. You should end up with something the consistency of sand that stays together if you pinch it. If your mixture needs more moisture, add in water a drop of a time — it doesn’t take much.
Fill your bath bomb mold and press firmly, packing in as much as you possibly can. Sprinkle a few dried rose petals in the center and continue to fill. Snap the two halves together and allow to dry at least 24 hours. If you have extra, try filling a silicone ice tray for fun cube shapes to mix in with your hearts.
You will Need
Looseleaf Chamomile Tea
Dried Rose Buds
1 cup Baking Soda
1/2 cup Citric Acid
1 cup Arrowroot
Water
1/2 cup salt, such as sea salt, epsom or Himalayan
2 tbsp oil, such as olive, coconut or Argan
Essential oil/scent of your choice (optional)
Food colouring (optional)
Moulds, such as a large ice cube tray
Variations:
