A hot tub is one popular way to relax, energize the body, and soothe the skin. We generally grab bath additives from the market that often contain not-so-good-for-the-skin ingredients. But, if you are a little bit health conscious and creative, there is always a better solution out there_the DIY bath bombs.
Yes, you can now make your own bath bombs, bath balls, and bath additives at home. If you have missed our previous recipe about homemade toilet cleaning bombs, you can check it out here.
Another good thing about homemade bath bombs is that they don’t require a host of ingredients. You just need some vegetable fat, an aromatic oil of your choice, some soda, and citric acid, that’s all you need. Vegetable fat cares for the skin, the aromatic oil adds a pleasant scent, Soda and citric acid ensure that the water foams and bubbles nicely.
DIY Bath Bombs: The Recipe
The recipe uses common and readily available ingredients. You may already find all or most of the ingredients in your kitchen.
Ingredients:
- 250 g baking soda.
- 125 g citric acid.
- 80 g vegetable fat (e.g. coconut oil or cocoa butter).
- 60 g cornstarch.
- Aromatic oil (such as lavender or rose oil).
- Food coloring, dried flowers or herbs, sea salt (optional).
- A pot
- A bowl
- 1 spatula
- Gloves
- Molds (silicone molds, ice cube molds, cookie cutters, etc).
DIY Bath Bombs: Preparation:
1. Put on your gloves. Add baking soda, cornstarch, and citric acid to the bowl and mix the ingredients with the spatula. You can add some food coloring if you like.
2. Melt the vegetable fat in a saucepan. Now, pour the oil into the boil containing the soda-starch-citric acid mixture. Stir it gently and thoroughly. Be careful as the chemical reaction may cause the mixture to bubble.
3. Add the aromatic oil and mix again.
4. Now pour the mixture into the available molds. Alternatively, you can shape the dough with your hands. For an appealing look, you can sprinkle the bath bombs with dried flowers, herbs, or sea salt.
5. Let the bath bombs air dry for at least 3 days. Once dried, you are good to go and remove them from the mold. Your DIY bath bombs are ready to give you a soothing bath.
Store excess bombs in airtight containers, plastic so they don’t lose moisture and scent with time.
Bath Bags Instead of Bombs
If you don’t want to play with the molds and wait for the drying process, you can skip that step and make bath bags instead. Simply fill a bag with fresh herbs (chamomile, cinnamon, rose petals, etc) and put in the final mixture in the above recipe. The herbs exude a pleasant scent and have a soothing effect on the body.
4 Other Bath Additives: For Next Day Use
Another alternative to the solid bath balls is liquid or pudding-like bath additives. Below are our four different liquid bath additive recipes:
Recipe 1. Liquid Bath Additive With Lavender
- Boil one liter of water. Pour it into a bowl with 60 grams of lavender flowers.
- Let it stand for 10 minutes, then strain the mixture.
- Pour the additive directly into the bathtub.
Recipe 2. Lavender-Milk-Honey Bath Soap
- If you like it a little easier, mix a few drops of lavender oil with a cup of milk and 2 to 3 tablespoons of honey.
- Mix the ingredients well and that’s all. Your healthy bath liquid is ready to use.
Recipe 3. Benzoin Siam and Rose Geranium
- Three drops each of Benzoin Siam and rose geranium and four drops of bergamot mixed with a cup of cream make a skin-caring bath additive.
Recipe 4. Orange/Lemon Oil and Yogurt
- Mix five drops of orange or lemon oil with natural yogurt. Add 2 tablespoons of honey and mix well. For a great vanilla flavor, add the pulp of a vanilla pod.
Related: Lavender Bath Salt Recipe: Promote Skin Health, Experience a Soothing Bath
Which Oil Imparts What Benefits?
Natural oils are all not the same. Like the different scents they give out, they also offer different health benefits. Below is a generalized list of oils and their possible health-enhancing effects:
- Relaxation: lavender, rose, lemon balm, chamomile.
- Refreshment: lime, bergamot, mint, grapefruit, rosemary.
- For colds: eucalyptus, thyme, peppermint.
The Right Water Temperature for a Soothing Bath
The temperature of the water should be around 37 to 38 degrees. Higher temperatures can stress the circulation too much. Bathers should stay in the tub for 10 to a maximum of 20 minutes. Such a warm bath is recommended no more than twice a week so that the skin does not dry out too much.
Have you tried any of the above recipes already? Are you looking forward to trying one? We would love to hear your thoughts. Enjoy your soothing bath!
