Hands down, DIY bath bombs can be a great gift idea either for a friend or for yourself.
Yeah, I said yourself. There’s nothing like some good old self care for those days when you need to slow down and give yourself some time to breathe— preferably in a tub full of fizzy bath bombs that you can create yourself!
DIY bath bombs make some of the best DIY holiday gift ideas that you can share with your friends and family, especially those that like long relaxing and fizzy bubble baths.
Related: How To Use Essential Oil For Beginners: An Essential Oils Guide
Now, how exactly do you go about making these bath bombs?
Here’s the simplest step-by-step guide to have the perfect DIY bath fizzies for days.
Bath bomb stats
Cost: $6-$10 for a batch of about 10-12 small bombs
Time to make: A few minutes to put together, at least 24 hours to dry.
Perfect for: Christmas gift idea, Valentine’s favor, a thank you gift, a DIY birthday gift, wedding party favors, or even a girl’s night in!
Bath bomb ingredients
[ingredients title=”Ingredients”]- 2 Cups of baking soda
- 1 Cup of citric acid
- ½ Cup of cornstarch
- ½ Epsom salt
- ½ tablespoon of coconut oil (or your favorite body oil)
- 10 – 15 Drops of your favorite color food coloring (optional)
- 2 tablespoon witch hazel
- 18 Drops of your favorite essential oil mix
- Rose petals (optional)
- 2 bowls
- Your favorite bath bomb molds
- A fork or whisk
- A spray bottle (very optional and not necessary)
- First you take a bowl and dump in all your dry ingredients. You can use a fork to give it a good mix to make sure it’s all evenly blended.
- Then you take your second bowl and add it your wet ingredients, making sure you give them a good mix as well so it is evenly blended.
- Take your wet ingredients, and slowly (you might need some patience for this) sprinkle some throughout your dry ingredient mixture and blend with your hands (you can use gloves if you’d like, I like to feel the texture of the ingredients, it’s super relaxing!) Here is where you can choose to use a spray bottle to spray your wet ingredients into your dry ingredients if you feel it will help you better.
- By the time you’re finished blending both the dry and wet ingredients, you should end up with a moist sandy texture that you can kind of clump together in your hand.
- Now its time to take your molds and stuff them tightly with your newly blended mixture. Seal/clamp your mold together and let it sit for at least 24 hours before popping them out. Either that, or you can let them sit for a few minutes, give them a little bump and remove them, and let them air dry that way for at least a day. They will still end up like the lush bath bombs everyone loves.
- Note: If your molds are more detailed and have more crevices in them, you should leave them in a little longer to make sure all of the moisture evaporates.
- Once you pop them out, you’re ready to stick them in a mason jar and package up your DIY gift OR throw them in a tub full of water and watch the fizz take over!
What is the chemical reaction happening in the bath bombs?
Baking Soda
When you mix two ingredients that has a high PH (baking soda) and a low PH (citric acid) then you get carbon dioxide bubbles when you mix it with water. This is what makes them fizzy.
Citric Acid
Citric acid is an ingredient you’ll find in fruits like lemons or grapefruit, for example. It’s already in a lot of your household items that you use daily. The citric acid is part of the low PH part of the DIY bath bomb equation that makes it fizz once you add water. When you buy the citric acid, you can always make sure you buy the natural extract from the fruit, instead of the genetically modified versions made out of corn.
Epsom Salts
While Epsom salt doesn’t necessarily help the bath bombs fizz, they can be beneficial to your skin once added to a warm bath. Epsom salts are known for use in soaks to help relieve arthritis pain and swelling.
Witch Hazel
This ingredient does wonders for your skin, especially if your skin is prone to redness and discoloration. Witch Hazel is often used as a facial toner (that you can DIY at home) to help even out skin and soften its surface. It can do wonders for your skin, especially if it tends to be dry, when you include it in a warm bath.
Coconut Oil
By now, most everyone knows coconut oil has many benefits for your skin and when eaten. Coconut oil is a healthy saturated fat that can be a good source of energy. It also does wonders for softening the skin and helping repair it.
Essential Oils
Essential oils are by far some of my most favorite beauty oils in the world as they can help give you awesome skin (especially for acne prone skin) and can have relaxing effects through your senses (hence aromatherapy).
Some awesome essential oils you can try to add to your DIY bath bombs are:
Now, you can you package your bath bombs as the perfect gift idea?
Tie them up
Packaging Idea: Camille Styles
These gorgeous bath bombs are packaged pretty simply and lets the fun combination of the flower petals and the bath bomb ingredients be the point of attention in a nice little bow. It’s definitely worth a try!
Decorate a mason jar
This is the perfect example of how you can use your DIY bath bomb recipe to create a cute Valentine’s Day gift for someone special. I love the heart shaped mold idea! Check out the link to get the full directions.
Use ribbon to add a bow
Packaging Idea: Frog Prince Paperie
Add a nice ribbon bow and some clear wrap to your individual bath bombs so their colors stand out! This DIY bath bomb cup cake recipe is definitely unique and worth a try. Follow the link above to check out how to make these gorgeous bath bombs!
Use a small glass container with a lid
Packaging Idea: Something Turquoise
There are all kinds of molds you can use to create the perfect bath bombs. You can also play around with color to make them part of a party theme or holiday theme (like pastel colors for Easter or red for Valentine’s Day).
use printable gift tags
Packaging Idea: Kristen Duke Photogaphy
Use some gift paper to wrap your bath bombs into cute little gifts. This is a perfect idea for birthday favors or even a birthday gift for someone who loves fizzy and scented bath bombs.
DIY bath bombs are easy to make
So its time to try making your own. The fun part about it, besides the fizz in your bath, are the endless ways to mix the colors and extra ingredients like glitter for some fun and unique bombs you can share with your favorite people. Enjoy the recipe, and make sure you share. 🙂
Hi Tara,
Liquid works best 🙂
For the coconut oil do you use a solid or liquid form?