There’s nothing more special than a kid-made gift – especially if it’s a gift that comes with some well deserved pampering. That’s why my 4 year-old daughter and I decided to make scented homemade bath bombs for the wonderful moms and grandmoms in our lives. This kid-made gift is sure to please!
P.S. Looking for some easy ways to add super cool, hands-on science to your classroom or home? Hop over and grab 30 Science Experiments your kids will love!
Getting Ready
To make 12 muffin-sized homemade bath bombs, we first gathered a few supplies:
-
- 1 cup baking soda
- 3/4 cup corn starch
- 1/4 cup Epsom salt or cane sugar
- 1/2 cup citric acid (available in natural food stores or online for canning})
- Food coloring (optional)
- Essential oils (optional)
- Large bowl
- Measuring cups
- Mixing spoon
- Sifter
- Spray bottle with water
- Anything that can serve as a mold (silicone molds, plastic eggs, muffin tin lined with saran wrap, etc.)
Homemade Bath Bombs
Once I gathered all the supplies, A quickly ran over, excited to make her grandmom some fizzy homemade bath bombs. First, she measured out the baking soda, cornstarch, Epsom salt and citric acid and mixed them in a large bowl. Since this recipe is pretty forgiving, it’s a perfect measuring activity for younger children as well.
A sifted the dry ingredients to break up any chunks. This was a pretty dusty step (which is why we did it outside) and one I’m not sure was really necessary.
Next, I asked A what scent she wanted to make. She chose orange and jasmine. A added several drops of orange food coloring to the water in the spray bottle and slowly began spraying the dry mixture. She loved watching the mixture fizz each time she sprayed it. The key was to lightly spray it, wetting it enough that the mixture formed a clump when squeezed but not so much that it lost its fizziness.
Next, A added several drops of orange and jasmine essential oil and thoroughly stirred the mixture. Then, she scooped the mixture into the silicone muffin liners and firmly pressed it down. The homemade bath bombs were really coming together!
A and even her little brother, Q, loved mixing up this fizzy concoction so much we ended up making 3 more batches. Both kids had a cold, so in addition to lemon-lavendar and pink grapefruit, we made some sinus clearing peppermint-eucalyptus using peppermint baking extract.
You can use whatever molds you have on hand – even cookie cutters on a baking pan or an ice cube tray would work well. We also made egg-shaped bath bombs with leftover Easter eggs. They turned out super cute!
For the egg molds, gently remove half the egg shell after an hour or so to allow it to completely dry. Leave the bombs out to dry overnight and then gently pop them out. Store them in an airtight container or package them up for that special someone who deserves a little extra R & R.
Now all I need it to get my kids to give me a little quiet time so I could enjoy a few of them. I guess I’ll have to wait until Mother’s Day!
The Science Behind It
When you drop your fizzy bomb into the tub, the water sets off a chemical reaction between the citric acid and the baking soda (sodium bicarbonate). That’s why the dry mixture fizzed when it was sprayed with water. During the reaction, carbon dioxide is created making those relaxing, fizzing bubbles.
Want More?
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About how many does this recipe make?
Hi Natalie,
This recipe makes about 12 muffin tin sized bombs. I hope you have fun making these!
mine exploded prematurely.. I guess I put to much water in it??
Mine kept exploding out of the eggs too! I even tried taping the eggs shut and it just found a way to ooze out. I didn’t think I overdid it with the water but apparently I did.
I’m sorry Delane! I hope with a few tweaks your bath bombs turned our awesome!
Warmly,
Kimberleigh
Can you dry them in a low temp oven?
Hi Susan,
You should be able to or even just an oven that is off is sometimes warmer and drier than the kitchen. I’m not sure if drying them too fast would cause it to crack though. It’s worth a shot. Will you let us know if it worked? Good luck!
How long does it take for them to dry?
Totally crafty newbie question here…you mention citric acid (for the science explanation) but that’s not listed as an ingredient. Am I missing something? Kids can’t wait to make these for party favors! Thank you 🙂
Hi Meredith,
Citric acid is listed in the ingredients under the Epsom salts. These are super fun and I think easy to make wig kiddos so I hope they have a blast. My best tip is to go slow and light on the water. It’s harder to fix once too much water is added than going slow and adding a spray or two at a time. Good luck!
I am wondering if you use different essential oils, can you store them all in one baggie? Or would you have to separate them?
Hi Teresa,
I think it would depend on the oils you used. Some are pait strong and would easily mix with the others. Peppermint, eucalyptus, and lavender come to mind as some of the stronger scents that I would keep separate. Hope you have fun making these!
When do we add the food coloring? Maybe it’s written but I keep missing it? I would do a lot better with directions written out without photos or a storyline, kind of like a food recipe card…just a suggestion 🙂 Thanks for a fun recipe.
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for reaching out! Great question.
The food coloring is mixed in with the water. Then the dyed water is sprayed onto the dry mixture.
I hope this helps!
Warmly,
Kimberleigh
Can you use citric acid powder?
Hi Reva,
I think citric acid powder should work. The kind I use resembles sugar in that it is small crystals, but I think powder would react the same way. I would be careful when adding the water and go super slow so the powder form doesn’t react quickly. Good luck!
I want to make these at school for my kids’ moms. Do you think they can dry before 3 if we make them first thing in the morning?
Hi Julia,
Yes they should dry by then! This will be so fun for your class. One tip, make sure to go really light on the water. I know kids usually like using spray bottles and can easily overdo it. If that happens you can add more dry ingredients to help stop the fizzy reaction but it can be tricky. It’s better to just take it really, really slow when adding the water/dye/scent mixture.