Scented, Fizzy Homemade Bath Bombs

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!

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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.

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