9 All Natural Bath Bomb Recipes to Make at Home

Bath bombs can magically transform your ordinary soak into a spa-like experience.   The fizz seems to melt away your worries.  Your skin feels renewed, and you feel refreshed.

Making a bath bomb at home is easy and then you know all the ingredients. You won't need to include anything artificial to make them pretty or smell nice.  If you want to give it a go, I have collected a bunch of all natural bath bomb recipes for you to try.    

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What is the purpose of a Bath Bomb?

A bath bomb will help take your bath time to another level and make it more like a spa experience.  It does more than just cleanse your skin.  The emollients and softeners in the bath bomb moisturize and pamper your skin. No matter what your skin type, a bath bomb will leave it soft, supple, and silky. 

Some bath bombs also contain essential oils which have their own benefits.   Depending on the specific oil, you can feel more relaxed, energized, awake, for example.  

Why Make Your Own Bath Bombs?

You may be asking yourself, why you should make bath bombs at home when they are readily available at many stores?  Well there are a few reasons!

1. It's easy.  Most bath bomb recipes take less than 30 minutes (not counting drying time).
2. You know what goes into the bath bomb mixture and you can make sure it doesn't include any artificial colors or fragrances.
3. You can tailor the recipe for your preferences.   For example, simply modify the instructions to include your favorite essential oils. (TIP: Try these essential oils for back pain)
4. It will save you money.  Quality bath bombs can be pricey, but the ingredients (especially when bought in bulk) to make a bath bomb are not. 

What Do You Need to Make Natural Bath Bombs?

There are two main ingredients that you will find in most bath bomb recipes - baking soda (aka sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate of soda) and citric acid.  When baking soda and citric acid are combined and put in water, a chemical reaction takes place which produces lots of bubbles.

Baking soda is a salt composed of a sodium cation (Na+) and a bicarbonate anion (HCO3−) and can be found at any grocery store (or you can order it online here). It is worth spending a little more to get Arm and Hammer brand baking soda because it is consistently the finest and most lump-free available.  Make sure to store it in a dry place.

Citric acid is a weak organic acid that has is made up of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen.  It occurs naturally in citrus fruits.  When buying citric acid you want to look for an option that is high-quality and fine (like this one) to make the smoothest bath bombs. Just remember that citric acid will sting if it gets into cuts or scratches and can also be very irritating to the eyes, so you need to be careful.

Depending on the recipe, you may also need essential oils, salts, corn starch, carrier oils, rubbing alcohol, and natural coloring.

Are bath bombs vegan?

It depends.  You will need to look at the bath bomb ingredient list.  Some may contain milk or honey.

Do You Need Bath Bomb Molds?

Not necessarily.  If you want to make the traditional round bath bomb, a stainless steel mold like this is probably the easiest option.  It can also be fun to make other cute shapes.  For this, I would recommend a silicon mold.  (I think this one is adorable!)

If the fizzy bath bomb is not a gift, you don't have to be so particular about the shape (it melts in the bath anyway) so you can use whatever you have at hand.  A small 1/2 cup measuring cup or Tupperware container will work fine.

9 All Natural Bath Bomb Recipes

How to Use a Bath Bomb

Start filling your tub with warm water as you normally would.  When it is about half full, then you can gently toss in your all natural bath bomb under the running water to activate the ingredients.  Stir the water so that the bath bomb dissolves. Make sure to double check the water temperature before getting in the bath.  

Relax in the bath for about 10-15 minutes.  There is no need to rinse off afterwards.  Pat yourself dry and apply your favorite moisturizer.

How to Store Your Bath Bombs

Your bath bombs will typically last about six months as citric acid starts to lose its potency over time.   To make sure they keep for as long as possible it is important to make sure you store them in an airtight container.  Depending on the size of the bath bombs you made, something like this will work well.

More Gift Ideas for Bath Lovers

Any of these homemade bath bombs would make a lovely and inexpensive gift for someone that enjoys their baths.  If you are looking for other similar gift ideas, consider making one of these essential oil bath salts, buying a luxurious bath pillow or bubble spa bath mat, or getting them a bath subscription box.