“Calgon, take me away!” Remember those commercials from the ’70s in which a harried woman has had it with life and longs for a relaxing Calgon bath? Well, that woman obviously never heard of bath bombs.
If you haven’t tried them yet, bath bombs are tablets or spheres packed with skin conditioners and fragrances that disperse when dropped in a tub of water. They contain citric acid and baking soda, which react when wet to create a fizzy bath. I used to make pilgrimages to Vancouver to visit the Lush store, the birthplace of the bath bomb, to stock up on them. But now, Lush is in Southern California, and better yet, I’ve learned how to make my own.
The recipe is very simple. While you can purchase bath bomb molds on Amazon to make perfect spheres, it’s just as easy to make them in a muffin tin. Then the next time you need some luxurious me-time, you can say, “Jonathan, take me away!”
What you’ll need:
1 cup of baking soda
1 cup of citric acid
1 cup of cornstarch
1/2 cup of almond oil
Lavender essential oil
Purple soap dye (optional)
1. In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients — the baking soda, citric acid and cornstarch. (The cornstarch slows down the chemical reaction to make the fizzing action last longer.) Sift the ingredients through a strainer if your ingredients are lumpy.
2. Pour the almond oil in a jar. Add about 15 drops of lavender essential oil, and shake the jar vigorously to mix. You can also add about 20 drops of purple dye for coloring, but this is optional. If you do, make sure it’s water-soluble dye formulated especially for soaps so it does not stain your bathtub or skin.
3. Mix the oils with the dry ingredients. Use your hands to really blend all the ingredients well. The mixture should feel like moist sand so that when you ball it up in your fist, it retains its shape. If it’s too dry, just add a few more drops of almond oil to get the right consistency.
4. Place a small sprig of lavender at the bottom of a compartment in a muffin tin. Pack the bath bomb ingredients in the muffin tin, using your fingers and then the bottom of a glass to firmly press down. (I prefer to make one at a time instead of several at once.) Flip the muffin tin upside down and release the bath bomb into your hand. Set it down, and let it dry and harden for at least 48 hours.
Jonathan Fong is the author of “Flowers That Wow” and “Parties That Wow,” and host of “Style With a Smile” on YouTube. You can see more of his do-it-yourself projects at jonathanfongstyle.com.
