Homemade Fizzy Bath Bombs

I'm not sure if I've ever discussed my homemade bath bombs here on ChemKnits, but last winter I decided to make up a small batch for Christmas gifts (and to use myself.)  One of the biggest comforts while pregnant was taking a nice relaxing soak in a tub.  The tub was the only place where all of my achy muscles could relax and for those brief periods I could leave all of the third trimester aches and pains behind.

Bath Bombs - the Simple Version

• Baking Soda - 8 oz
• Citric Acid - 4 oz
• Epsom Salts - 4 oz
• Corn Starch - 4 oz
• Essential Oils - 2 tsp (~10 mL)
• Olive Oil - 2.5 T
• Water - 1 T

Mix the dry ingredients together well, eliminating any clumps.  Separately mix together the liquid ingredients.  Combine, stirring fast to stop any fizzing until you get the consistency of damp sand.  Press into a mold (I use a cupcake tin).  Remove from mold and let dry completely.  Store in ziplock bags or similar.  Enjoy a relaxing bath!  One match makes 5-6 cupcake sized bath bombs. (For more detailed instructions, check out the whole Homemade Bath Bombs Tutorial that I wrote a few years back.)  

My old kitchen scale disappeared somewhere along my move.  I had it with me at my in-laws before we could move into our house but somewhere between Brookline and Newton I can no longer find it.  

I now have a American Weigh Scales AMW-SC-2KG Digital Pocket Scale and even though the stage is small, I like that I can weigh things up to 0.1 g. (For this project I"m weighing in ounces, but for yarn and dye reasons I liked increasing the precision of the scale.)

Mixed and ready to mold (left), Dry Ingredients (right)

Pressed into the mold.  Press the sandy mixture in to the mold tighter than you might expect.

When you press them into the mold, press down tightly so it is really compact.  In the above image I probably could have made only 5 bath bombs by filling the cupcake tins higher, but this way the fizzy relaxation will last a bit longer.

If I were to just use the bath bombs myself I store them in zip lock bags.  However, for gifts I put the cupcake shaped bath bombs inside some 3.75" x 6" clear treat bags, like shown in the image below.  

This time I made three scents.  Orange, Grapefruit and Orange Mint.  For the third scent I used 1/4 tsp Mint extract and 1.75 tsp Orange oil... the mint is strong!

Aren't they cute?  I can't wait to use the extras myself!