DIY Bath Bombs to make at home (A fun activity to do with kids)
I often take my kids to the shop to get groceries, as well as any other nonfood essentials we might need. They love joining, because they get to help choosing what to get. They get a say in what will be for dinner or what soap they would want to try. It does sound a little more romantic and trouble free than it actually is, but generally we do make it out alive and without too many fights. Last time I took them to the drug store, they got hooked by the colorful packages of bath bombs for kids with their favorite characters printed on them and a little surprise in them. The prices for these bath bombs were a bit steep to say the least. Plus, you donβt really know whatβs inside, right!? So, I figured there must be a DIY way to do bath bombs at home.
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There are of course many posts out there are about how to do their own bath bombs at home. I was very happy though to come across the following recipe via www.byrdie.com for DIY bath bombs to make at home and making it a fun activity to do with the kids.
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What you need for the DIY Bath Bombs
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The reason why I particularly loved this recipe is that it gives so many alternatives on what to use and surprisingly most of the ingredients are commonly found in your pantry (or at least in mine). And if not, they are easy to find in your local supermarket.
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Ingredients:
- 1 cup baking sodaΒ (Make sure to use baking soda and not baking powder)
- 1/2 cup citric acidΒ (as an alternative, use the same amount of either lemon juice, cream of tartar, buttermilk powder, or 1/4 cup each of baking powder and apple cider vinegar)
- 1/2 cupΒ Epsom saltΒ (I omitted this one)
- 1/2 cup cornstarch
- 3/4 tbsp. water
- 2 tsp.Β essential oilΒ (lavender, eucalyptus, rose, orange, and lemongrass are popular for the bath)
- 2 tbsp. oil (jojoba, sweetΒ almond,Β coconut, olive, or evenΒ baby oil)
- A few drops of food coloring
- A mold of your choice, such as regular or mini-muffin tins, candy pans, or round plastic molds specifically for bath bombs
- Optional: dried flowers or sugar cake decorations, like flowers or stars
Picture by ι«ιζ°θθηΉζ’ε© (Maria Montessori & Reggio Emilia Β Study Center)
How to make DIY bath bombs with kids
Step 1Β : Mix all the dry ingredients together, except the citric acid.
Step 2: Find a jar with a lid and pour all the liquid ingredients in. Close the lid and shake vigorously.
Step 3: Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ones and use your hands to combine everything. At this point add the citric acid. A slight fizz might appear, which is normal.
Note: The mixture should be a bit crumbly, similar to wet sand in the sand pit. Donβt add water at this point as it would ruin the bath bomb by fizzing prematurely.Β
Step 4: You now can press the mixture into the molds you have chosen. You can slightly overfill the molds and make sure to press as tightly as possible. Loosen your bath bombs from the molds and let them dry overnight,
Step 5: Ideally give the bath bombs a day or two to completely dry before using them.
Step 6:Β Take a bath and enjoy the burst of colors and bubbles.
A few notes on our first try with the kids joining in:
First and foremost, they were super excited to make their own bath bombs. They got to choose their favorite colors and molds for the bath bombs. No surprise they went for purple, pink and our new dinosaur cookie cutters.
They were involved in the pouring, shaking and mixing, and enjoyed putting the mixture into the molds. I have to say they did a pretty amazing job and it just made my heart full to see them so happy.
I guess, I donβt have to say that we did not wait for 1-2 days for them to dry completely. We used a few right away. For obvious reasons they fell apart immediately, and we also missed out on the fizz. But since the water turned all pink and purple they were happy enough to play around.
With our second batch a few days later, we still missed out on the fizz. We probably made a mistake while mixing and pouring the mixture. We did have a big fizz while making the bath bombs, so that is probably why. I have to admit it was a bit hectic, over excited kids and all and I didnβt read the instructions super carefully.
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We havenβt kept the bath bombs for that long, but it seems that you can keep them for up to 6 months if they are stored right. For this wrap your unused bath bombs in tinfoil or keep them in an airtight container.
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Takeaways on making DIY Bath Bombs at home with kids
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So the takeaways for us in making DIY bath bombs at home are:
- Read the instructions carefully and follow the recipe to the dot.
- Maybe omitting the Epson salts didnβt help the fizz either
- Be aware of your hands getting dye on β It might last you a few days to get rid of the color.
- A super fun activity for the kids and lots of anticipation to use what they did with their own hands.
- Bath bombs are surprisingly easy to make and who would have thought that you have most of the ingredients at home.
Let us know how you enjoyed the DIY Bath Bombs to make at home as a fun activity to do with kids. We would love to hear your experiences.
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