How to make bath bombs without citric acid

What is a Bath Bomb?

Bath bombs, also known as bath fizzers, are dry ingredients that are designed to effervesce once in contact with warm water. Once it hits the water, it releases essential oils, scents, colors, and bubbles to elevate your bath experience. Bath bombs can help condition the skin and soothe sore muscles. Additionally, they may help detox and relax the body and mind.   The great thing about bath bombs is that they contain the precise amount of oils and bath salts that you would normally have to purchase separately. Not only does using bath fizzers speed up the bath time process, but they make the experience so much better.

Composition:

A bath bomb causing bathwater to fizzle Bath bombs' primary ingredients are a weak acid and a bicarbonate base. These are unreactive when dry, but react vigorously when dissolved in water to produce their characteristic fizzing over a period of several minutes. This is an acid–base reaction that involves conversion of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate to monosodium citrate and carbon dioxide:
The other ingredients in bath bombs can vary considerably. However, most have scented ingredients as well as dye to impart a pleasant fragrance and color to bathwater. Lathering agents, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, are also often added to create bubble foams.

The Science Behind Bath Bombs:

The 2 ingredients you must have in order to make your own bath bombs are citric acid and baking soda. A chemical reaction occurs between these 2 ingredients and you must have them both. All other ingredients are not 100% necessary.

How to make bath bombs without citric acid

Start out by gathering your supplies. You'll really want to pre-measure and have everything ready to go before you start. Once you begin, the whole process goes quickly and you don't want to have to scramble for an ingredient. Here's what you'll need:

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/4 cup cream of tartar
• 1/2 cup cornstarch
• 1/2 cup Epsom salt
• 2 tsp essential oil
• 2 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1-2 drops food coloring (optional)
• Silicone mold
• 1 tbsp water (as needed)

1, Combine the Dry Ingredients

In a glass bowl, combine baking soda, cream of tartar, cornstarch, and Epsom salt. Mix together thoroughly with a whisk. You really need to make sure that everything is combined properly. For this step, you don't want to use a plastic bowl. Some experts think that the plastic can mess with the wet ingredients. Fair warning: bath bombs are really finicky. This means you can't just toss ingredients into a bowl, you need to be as precise as possible.

2, Combine Wet Ingredients

In a smaller separate bowl, combine the coconut oil, food coloring, and essential oils. Whisk them all together. You might notice after mixing that the food coloring isn't completely blended into the oils, if that's the case, don't worry just do your best.

3, Combine Wet with Dry Ingredients

Drizzle the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients slowly while mixing constantly. You don't want to dump the wet ingredients in too quickly, as that could start the fizzy chemical reaction. Mix thoroughly until there are no big lumps and the mixture is similar to damp sand. If you grab it with your hand and squeeze the mix should hold its shape.

4, Press Into Molds

Now this might be a little controversial, but making round bath bombs can be really challenging. We know some people might debate this, but we've made a lot of bath bombs and it's hard to make a version that doesn't crumble. So instead, we've found it easier to use a silicone mold. Not only are the bath bombs easier to remove once they're more stable and dried out, but you can make multiple at the same time. When you're working with these molds, you're going to want to press them firmly into the mold. Really push down hard so you're packing the bath bomb mixture into each mold—this will help keep them together.

5, Remove from Molds

Then we like to pop the mold into the fridge for a few hours to help set them. Once they seem pretty dried out and solid, remove the bath bombs from the mold and let them sit overnight to finish drying out.

Once they're done, they're yours to use! Or you can wrap them up in some pretty tissue paper and gift them to friends and family.