Emma’s Bathing Beauty Bath Bombs
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Bath bombs are dropped into the bath once the bath is full of the right temperature water. They then whirl and swirl; spinning in the bath-tub as they fizz away releasing lovely aromas and filling the water with skin softeners. Fun for all! You can scent them with your favorite essential oils, pack little herbs into them, color them and even make them sparkle. However, they can be lightly scented with hydrosols and essential oils and left plain if you prefer something more natural.
How to Make Bath Bombs:
Gather your supplies:
1 cup citric acid (available from the grocery store)
2 cups baking soda
Witch hazel (from the drug store) or other hydrosol in a spritzer bottle
Food grade coloring
Essential oils
Bowl and spoon to mix
Molds
Put citric acid and baking soda into a big bowl and mix well. This is the key to getting the bath bombs nice and smooth. You may even take an electric mixer to 
make sure it all gets together.
Add your colorant (if using—at SCT we enjoy them without colorant because sometimes they stain your skin or the tub) Powdered colorant is best and remember that a little goes a long way. If you were to add herbs, like a little lavender or rose-petals, this would be the time. Mix, mix and mix some more.
Add your essential oils, and keep mixing.
Now is the time to add your hydrosol. Spritz and mix until the mixture starts to clump together. Be careful…if you add too much it will start to fizz and the mix will be ruined. Too little, and it will fall apart when you take it from the molds. There is no definite amount to use here, as it depends upon the climate. I.e. if it’s damp in the house, it will need less moisture to bind together.
Quickly now, because you don’t want it to harden before it goes into the mold—put the mixture into the molds and pack them down. We prefer to use little muffin tins rather than try to make two halves and stick them together to make a ball. Muffin tins come in all shapes and sizes and you can pick something that you enjoy…perhaps hearts for valentines, sea-shells and starfishes are nice too! Pack them good and hard because they are best when heavy and dense. They will be more durable.
Wait around 5 to ten minutes and then tap them out of the mold.
Let them air dry for around 3 or 4 hours and they are ready to wrap as gifts!
Suggestions for Essential Oils
Essential oils are highly concentrated natural aromatics, not really oils at all! Depending on the type of essential oil and how easy it is to produce, there is a huge variation in pricing. A little goes a long way and we suggest 10 to 15 drops with the recipe above. Use one aroma or mix and match and have fun. We suggest you start with some of the less expensive essential oils to begin with:
Lavender (Lavandula angusta) is a readily available and inexpensive essential oil, good for relaxation and for the skin and non skin-sensitizing, so it’s perfect in a bath bomb.
Mandarin & Tangerine (Citrus reticulata) are both inexpensive essential oils that are cheery and uplifting. Good for children’s baths as children generally respond by finding the aroma calming. A little care has to be taken with the citrus essential oils in baths as they can sting the genitals, so bath bombs are a great way to make sure the essential oils are well dispersed in the water! They mix nicely with lavender to make a great scent.
Peppermint (Mentha piperata) or any other of the mint essential oils make a nice uplifting bath, especially favored in foot baths. It is nice alone and mixes well with the oranges and lavender essential oils.