Bath Bomb Recipe - Gifts Kids Can Make - Red Ted Art - Kids Crafts (2024)

These DIY Bath Bombs make great Gifts That Kids Can Make – for relatives, Mother’s Day or teachers alike! You can add different scents to them and make them in any shape you wish. Though we love these little heart shaped bath bombs!

If you love bath bombs and want different recipes an inspirations ideas, we also have:

  • Easter Bath Bomb Recipe for you to check out here (lovely Peeps Bath Bomb shapes, so so sooo cute). Or try our
  • Spooky Eye Ball Bath Bombs for Halloween. We do love homemade bath bombs all year round! And I think you will also like these fabulous
  • Dinosaur Egg soaps – wash your hands to release the baby dinosaur! Or keep things simple with these
  • DIY Bath Salts made with epsom salt

Lots of ways to make pamper gifts for friends and family! Our bath experience is based on natural ingredients, but you can add whatever takes your mood. Some people love to add biodegradable glitter to their tub of water…. but we think natural ingredients make the best bath bombs!

Bath Bomb Recipe without Citric Acid, but using store cupboard ingredients!

We have been planning to make Bath Bombs since the beginning of the year. After all, they are such a great gift for Mother’s Day. But clearly didn’t get round to it (again – so much to do, so much to make, not enough time!).

One of the reasons, is that many Bath Bomb Recipes use Citric Acid and I just hadn’t had the chance to get hold of some. But you don’t need citric acid to make bath bombs. A Bath Bomb Recipe without Citric Acid contains that magical ingredient Tartar (also used for making playdough nice and smooth).

So if you are a DIY household and have some Tartar in, you can make bath bombs with the kids – a great gift for friends and family in the run up to *cough* Christmas.

DIY Bath Bomb Recipe without Citric Acid:

Affiliate links added for convenience – if you purchase core items online, you can buy them in bulk and make this a super inexpensive craft!

Dry ingredients

  • 2 cups bicarbonate of soda (sometimes called baking soda or sodium bicarbonate) –US/UK
  • 1 cup cream of tartar –US / UK
  • OPTIONAL: dried lavender or dried flower petals are lovely US/ UK
  • OPTIONAL – some people like to add dyes and glitter, but we tend to avoid these!

Wet ingredients

  • 1-2 table spoons of olive oil or coconut oil or plain oil (the oil gives it a nice soothness in the bath)
  • food colouring
  • essential oils (we used lavender, but experiment with different fragrance oils such as eucalyptus or peppermint would be great too)*(always read instructions) – US / UK
  • Water in a spray bottle

Other items

  • Ice cube trays (silicon best –hearts work better than stars, don’t get shapes that are too intricate or have sharp corners that could break off) – or any other bath bomb molds you like! US /UK
  • Large mixing bowl
  • Water spray bottle

*please always be careful when using essential oils and follow the instructions on the label

Bath Bomb Recipe How To

You can watch the video or follow the step by step instructions below!

Or follow the How to make Bath Bombs Step By Step instructions!

1) Mix your bircabonate of soda, tartar, oil, essential oils and food colouring until you have a colour you are happy with. As food colouring is “wet” it will form little dropplets and you just have to persevere in mixing it in. Keep giving it a good stir. It will still look quite powdery.

2) Give it 2-3 sprays of water. It will start to sizzle and fizz a little, as the bicarbonate of soda reacts with the water. But start mixing it and it will feel a little more “solid”, a bit like wet sand. When you can indent your spoon on the mixture and leave a nice “shape” behind without it crumbling too much you are ready to transfer to your ice cube trays. You can add a couple of sprays of water, if it isn’t lumpy enough yet. Using a SPRAY bottle really is important (we used a cleaned out cleaning bottle), as this disperses the water evenly and avoids, the bircab to just sizzle away in one part of your bowl!!

3) Mix in some lavender. We go carried away and added quite a lot. Less is more as a) you don’t want your bath bomb to fall apart and also, you WILL have a bath full of lavender at the end!!

4) Fill into your icecube trays (silicon REALLY IS BEST, else it is VERY HARD to get out in one go) and press down hard.

5) Let dry for 1-2 days. They get harder over time.

6) Remove gently and done. If you find, they break apart, you didn’t add enough water spray to begin with. You can crumble it all again, spray with more water and start again.

7) Have a nice relaxing bath! See our bath bombs in action!

Now it is bath time and a chance to soak those muscles in a nice bath of full of natural bath bomb goodness. A great way to easy muscle soreness with a nice long soak in the bathtub!

Don’t forget to stock up!!

  • bicarbonate of soda (sometimes called baking soda) –US/UK
  • cream of tartar –US / UK
  • essential oils with different scents (we used lavender)*(always read instructions) – US / UK
  • dried lavender (optional) – US/ UK
  • Ice cube trays (silicon best –hearts work better than stars, don’t get shapes that are too intricate or have sharp corners that could break off) – US /UK

Easy Bath Bomb Recipe

An easy bath bomb recipe that kids can make, that does not require citric acid, just store cupboard ingredients

Active Time20 minutes mins

Equipment

  • bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

  • cream of tartar (in the baking isle)

  • essential oils (we used lavender) – always follow instructions on the label

  • dried lavender (optional) or sprinkles for decor

  • silicon moulds or ice cube trays

  • bowl for mixing

  • a little water that you can spray

  • food colouring (optional)

Instructions

  • Mix your bircabonate of soda, tartar, oil, essential oils and food colouring until you have a colour you are happy with

  • 2-3 sprays of water

  • It will start to sizzle as the bicarbonate of soda reacts with the water. Start mixing it and it will feel a little more “solid”, a bit like wet sand. When you can indent your spoon on the mixture and leave a nice “shape” behind without it crumbling too much you are ready to transfer to your ice cube trays

  • Using a SPRAY bottle really is important (use a cleaned out cleaning bottle), as this disperses the water evenly and avoids, the bircab to just sizzle away in one part of your bowl

  • Mix in some lavender

  • Fill into your icecube trays (silicon REALLY IS BEST, else it is VERY HARD to get out in one go) and press down hard

  • Let dry for at least 1-2 days. They get harder over time – the longer you leave them the better

  • Remove gently and done. If you find, they break apart, you didn’t add enough water spray to begin with. You can crumble it all again, spray with more water and start again

Video

Notes

Bath Bomb Recipe - Gifts Kids Can Make - Red Ted Art - Kids Crafts (9)

Looking for Christmas Gifts that Kids Can Make? Take a look:

The video tutorial is also available on Youtube

Bath Bomb Recipe - Gifts Kids Can Make - Red Ted Art - Kids Crafts (2024)

FAQs

Bath Bomb Recipe - Gifts Kids Can Make - Red Ted Art - Kids Crafts? ›

The most important ingredients in your recipe are baking soda and citric acid. Bath bombs are generally made with an approximately 2:1 ratio of baking soda: citric acid, though I've found that a 2.25:1 ratio is also acceptable and cuts your costs a bit. Baking soda is readily available from the grocery store.

How do you make bath bombs at school? ›

Activity instructions
  1. In one bowl, mix together two tablespoons of bicarbonate of soda with one tablespoon of citric acid or cream of tartar.
  2. In the other bowl, mix together a tablespoon of water and 3-4 drops of food colouring and essential oils (this step is optional).

What makes a perfect bath bomb? ›

The most important ingredients in your recipe are baking soda and citric acid. Bath bombs are generally made with an approximately 2:1 ratio of baking soda: citric acid, though I've found that a 2.25:1 ratio is also acceptable and cuts your costs a bit. Baking soda is readily available from the grocery store.

How do you make a preschool bath bomb? ›

Method
  1. Put the bicarbonate of soda, citric acid, cornflour and Epsom salt in a bowl, then whisk until fully combined.
  2. Pour the base oil, essential oil and food colouring in a small bowl. ...
  3. Very slowly add the oil mixture into the dry ingredients a little at a time, whisking between each addition.

How do you make bath bombs with toys? ›

Add your toy, then cover it with more bath bomb mixture. Fill the other half of the mold with the mixture and spray both halves lightly with witch hazel. Press the halves together and allow the bath bombs to sit for about an hour, then carefully remove them from the molds and set them out to cure.

How to make bath fizzies for kids? ›

ingredients
  1. 1 cup citric acid (can be found in wine making shops or where you buy canning supplies)
  2. 1 cup baking soda.
  3. 12 cup light oil (canola, olive, sunflower, whatever is handy)
  4. 12 cup cornstarch.
  5. food coloring (optional)
  6. scented oil (optional)

How do you wrap a bath bomb as a gift? ›

Cover it in tissue paper for an easy gift.

Tissue paper is not only lovely, it's also a traditional bath bomb wrapping. You can simply cover the bath bomb in a sheet of tissue paper. Once the bomb is completely wrapped, use a sticker to affix the end of the tissue paper to the bomb.

How do you color bath bombs with lakes? ›

Lakes: Because lakes are colorant on a substrate, they are not water soluble. If you use them in bath bombs you need to include polysorbate 80 in your formula to properly disperse them in the bath - otherwise, much like a mica, they'll just float on the surface of the water.

How do you make bath bombs stick together? ›

They typically need witch hazel to hold together. From there, you can customize them with colors, fragrances, and additives. Find bath bomb making supplies here.

What do bath bombs do for kids? ›

Bath bombs can be a lot of fun! They fizz, they turn the bath water pretty colors, and they smell good!

How do bath bombs work for kids? ›

As the Klutz instruction book in the kit explains, bath bombs fizz because of a chemical reaction between baking soda (or “sodium bicarbonate”) and citric acid. When dropped in water, the two chemicals mix and create a reaction that generates carbon dioxide in the form of lots of tiny bubbles.

How do you add color to a bath bomb? ›

As you mix the wet phase of the bath bomb recipe, add the liquid colorant to the water after you add the borax but before you add fragrance oil. If you're using a water-soluble dry colorant, add enough water to it to make it equal a half-teaspoon or so. (You can always add more water later.)

How do bath bombs get their color? ›

Liquid Crystal Dyes

They're highly-contentrated liquid colorants made with FD&C dyes, glycerin, water, polysorbate 20, and a preservative.

How do you color bath bombs naturally? ›

Alkanet root makes purple, madder root a brick red, french green clay an olive green, annatto a bright yellow, paprika for a red/orange, spirulina/parsley/dried spinach powder for green, indigo for blue. I always infuse these with oil, so not sure how to use in a bath bomb - that would take some experimentation.

References

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