How to Make Bath Bombs as Handmade Christmas Gifts

Do you have a bath lover on your Christmas list? Why not treat them to these amazing handmade bath bombs? These little gems not only smell great but contain luxurious skin softening ingredients not found in the store-bought versions.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Measuring spoons
• An eye dropper if your fragrance/essential oils don’t come with a dropper top.
• One spray bottle filled with witch hazel
• Wax paper
• Measuring cups
• 1-2 medium sized mixing bowls (optional and only if you plan on making different colored and scented bath bombs)
• 1 large metal mixing bowl
• 2-3 metal cookie sheets
• 1-3 clear Christmas ball ornaments (the kind that come in two halves and you make your own ornaments out of)
• Dry Ingredients:
• 2 cups citric acid
• 2 cups baking soda
• ¾ cup cornstarch
• ¼ cup sea salts
• ¼ cup whole milk powder
• Wet Ingrendients:
• 2 tbsp. sweet almond oil
• 2 tbsp. grapeseed oil
• 1 tbsp. vitamin E oil
• 4 tbsp. essential or fragrance oil
• 1 tsp. liquid colorant
• Witch hazel
• Makes approximately 9 3oz. bath bombs

1. First you will need to go shopping for your ingredients. Many of the items, such as the baking soda, cornstarch, sea salt and whole milk powder can be bought at your local grocery store. Harder to find items like the sweet almond oil, grapeseed oil and vitamin E oil can either be purchased at a health food store or online from a bath and body supplier. Fragrance and essential oils, as well as the citric acid, will need to be purchased from a supplier of soap and bath items. For ease of shopping we recommend buying your grocery items from your local store and ordering the rest from a reputable online supplier. Check the resource box at the end of this article for links.
2. You will need a spacious and clean work area to create these handmade Christmas gifts. A kitchen table covered with garbage bags works perfectly.
3. Lay out all your ingredients and tools ahead of time. You don’t want to be scrambling for forgotten items mid-recipe.
4. Wash your hands thoroughly to rid them of any bacteria that may contaminate your bath bombs. You’ll be using your hands to mix and form these bath bombs so make them squeaky clean.
5. Begin by adding all the dry ingredients together in one large metal bowl. Use your hands to mix the dry ingredients until they are fully incorporated.
6. Now add all the wet ingredients except the coloring and fragrance. Mix this thoroughly until all the bath bomb mixture is moistened.
7. At this stage you will need to decide if you want to make all your bath bombs the same color and fragrance or make two or three different types. If you are making a variety of bath bombs separate the moist mixture equally in separate bowls.
8. Now it is time to add the fragrance and coloring. Add the fragrance first and mix the bath bomb mixture thoroughly with your hands. If you have separated the mixture into different batches divide the recommended fragrance amount (4 tbsp.) equally amongst the different bowls. Two bowls would get 2 tbsp. each and three would get roughly 1 and 1/3 of a tbsp. (close counts).
9. Once your fragrance is mixed in well you are ready to add your colorant. Because the colorant is water-based it will cause your bath bomb mixture to “fizz” on contact (as they do when they hit the water in the tub). Don’t worry—this is normal but you do want to act quickly and mix the colorant in thoroughly before too much fizzing goes on.
10. Now you will want to check to make sure your mixture has the right amount of moisture. Humidity in the room can play a major role in this factor. To determine this, take a hand full of the mixture and squeeze it tightly in your fist. Now let go. The mixture should have compacted into a firm imprint of your hand that does not crumble away when set down on the table. If the mixture is too dry simply mist it lightly with the witch hazel filled spray bottle. This will cause some fizzing so be quick to use your hands to mix the witch hazel into the other ingredients.
11. Once all of your ingredients have been well mixed it is time to start forming your bath bombs. Using two halves of a clear, plastic Christmas ornament ball fill each side about 2/3 full of the mixture. Be sure to use strong pressure to pack these halves as tight as possible. This will ensure they stick together better.
12. Now immerse each almost filled half of the bath bomb mold into the mixture and cram them together, catching more of the mixture between each half and filling them up the rest of the way. Tightly press each half together until they have bonded together. Don’t worry if the two halves don’t meet and close—you don’t want them to. Leave a small mixture filled gab between the two halves for easier removal of the molds.
13. Once the bath bomb has been formed carefully remove one half of the mold by twisting ever so slightly and pulling away. Now place the bare side of the bath bomb in the palm of your hand and repeat with the other half of the mold. Place the newly formed bath bomb on a wax paper lined cookie sheet.
14. Getting the bath bombs perfectly round and out of the molds can be tricky for first-timers. If you just can’t get your bath bombs formed and out of the molds don’t fret. Simply use only one half of the mold to make dome (half-circle) shaped bath bombs instead and remove the mold by tapping the open end in the palm of your hand to release the bath bomb. Your handmade Christmas gifts will still smell and work every bit as good.
15. Repeat this process until all your mixture is used up. Any remaining mixture that is not enough to make a full bath bomb can make mini-bath bombs for you to test out your recipe.
16. Now you must let your bath bombs cure. Leave them sit, undisturbed, in a well ventilated area for at least 24 hours. They can be moved (very carefully) immediately to reclaim and clean up your kitchen table but put them somewhere safe where they can cure in peace.
17. Once the bath bombs have cured for 24 hours you can package them up. We recommend placing each bath bomb in a small clear plastic gift bag and securing it with a festive ribbon. Use a small sticky label to let the recipient know the scent of the bath bomb and that this lovely handmade Christmas gift was made by you.

Tips & Warnings

• Want to make your bath bombs really pretty? Add dried flowers into the mixture just before the molding stage. Try dried lavender or rose petals for very pretty handmade Christmas gifts.
• Want to give a bath bomb that has pizzazz? Instead of using a halved plastic ball ornament try ordering fancy soap molds and using those to press your bath bomb mixture. Try a Santa’s face mold or any of the other decorative holiday soap molds that soap suppliers offer.
• Because fragrance and essential oils are able to permeate plastics be sure that you use only metal measuring spoons to measure out your essential or fragrance oils. It is best to keep a cheap set aside for just this purpose to avoid contamination of other foods with the next use of the spoons.
• Don’t let your mixture get too wet or all the baking soda will have lost its fizzy properties. You want the mixture damp enough to stick together but never wet.