I love bath bombs from the popular store Lush. But while they claim to be super natural and healthy, a quick google of the ingredients they use to make their products proves otherwise. Better than many products, sure, but they still use several ingredients that I are a little to high on EWG’s Skin Deep score. (If you’re unfamiliar with this database, it’s my go-to service for looking up unknown ingredients and their toxicity level.)

I’ve tried several bath bomb recipes, in search of one that’s quick, cheap, totally natural and safe, and also super effective. I want it to fizz a lot, I want it to fizz for a long time, (or at least my kids do), and I want it to soften my skin while being a great vehicle for safely delivering therapeutic essential oils into my body.

After trying several recipes, this is my favorite for all the reasons listed above. Each ingredient on the list below is linked to the exact product on Amazon that I use in this recipe. I’m linking them because I spent quite a bit of time finding the most natural ingredients (this was a big challenge for a few of them – especially non GMO cornstarch and dye-free coloring.)

This is one of the very best DIY projects to do with your kids, because it’s super fun, they love using their hands to mix together, it’s pretty clean, and it’s quick! Yay!

Ingredients:

1 cup baking soda (I have also found huge bags of this at Costco if you don’t want to order online)

1/2 cup citric acid

1/2 cup epsom salt

3/4 cup organic, non-GMO cornstarch or arrowroot powder  (I get whichever is cheapest at the time)

2 Tbsp oil (avocado oil, jojoba oil, liquid or fractionated coconut oil)

1 Tbsp witch hazel or water

40 drops essential oil of your choice (below I have detailed my favorite combinations)

Natural coloring (optional)

Method:

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients: baking soda, citric acid, epsom salt, and cornstarch.

In a separate small bowl, combine all wet ingredients: oil, witch hazel, and essential oils.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry, using a rubber spatula to make sure you get every drop of oil. Stir for a few seconds and then use clean hands to mix everything together very well. At this point, you can add a few drops of your coloring, if you like. Keep mixing with your hands until the color is fairly uniform throughout. The mixture should feel on the dry side, but will easily compact into balls if you press a handful together. It’s helpful to have a spray bottle of water to very lightly spray your mixture if it is too dry. But go easy here – you don’t want it to be too wet. It should just barely form together.

Press the mixture into your molds. You can use an ice cube tray, silicone molds, or bath bomb molds. The molds I use are here: I’ve tried a few and I like these best because they’re higher quality metal and don’t dent. I first bought a cheaper metal mold, but it dented after our first couple of batches, and it’s almost impossible to get bath bombs out of dented molds. Grr! If you’re using metal molds like this, you will mold them, and then take them out of the mold to dry on a cookie sheet for 24-48 hours or until very hard. If you’re using silicone molds, let them dry in the mold for 24-48 hours before popping them out of the mold. The reason you can pull them out of rounded metal molds is because you’re able to compact them much more densely, so they keep their form while drying. This is nice, because then you just need one or two molds even if you’re doing a really large batch.

My favorite essential oil combinations:

I have linked each essential oil blend to the company I trust and buy from. I’m not company loyal, I’m quality loyal. I’ve switched brands in the past, and I will do it in the future if quality changes. One of the reasons I love this brand is that they are transparent about their quality and purity testing (you can look at test results for each batch). I’ve linked each oil below to the retail website. Please know, you can also sign up for a wholesale membership on this website to receive 25% off all your purchases, including the first one.

For sleep and relaxation: 25 drops of Pure Tranquility, 15 drops True Lavender (this mixture is safe for kids and adults, and is fantastic for help with relaxation before bed, and also emotional and physical stress reduction.)

For muscle pain and tension, and even headaches: 25 drops Relaxing Touch, 15 drops Muscle Mend (safe for ages 12+) (Or you can use all 40 drops with either of these blends alone)

For detoxification and weight loss: 40 drops Trim & Tone (safe ages 12+)

For colds or respiratory support: 30 drops Soothing Aire, 10 drops Frankincense (safe ages 3+). An alternative for kids younger than 3 would be 15 drops Spruce, 15 drops Frankincense and 10 drops Lavender.

Inflammation buster: 15 drops Scotch Pine, 15 drops Frankincense, 15 drops Copaiba

Be sure to comment below when you make these! I’d love to see pictures of your creations!