These snowman bath bombs look advanced, but they are actually formulated for a beginner. Just pop one in your bath and enjoy the fizziness along with the Berry Merry Christmas aroma. I love that such a small change really makes such a big difference in these bath bombs.
Table of Contents
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Tips when making bath bombs
Once you have been making bath bombs for a while you will get a feel for the texture of the mix and how to use the molds. Until then, here are a few tips:
Tip 1: Although the making of bath bombs is not difficult, it does have a little bit of a learning curve. I always recommend starting out with a basic recipe and expanding on it as you get more comfortable making them.
Tip 2: Always use weight as a unit of measurement. I could go on for days as to why you should never use volume (ex. A cup or tablespoon). The main reason is small changes in measurements will cause big changes with bath bombs. They might start to fizz prematurely or not stay together if you measure incorrectly. Plus, with volume you cannot scale the recipe.
Tip 3: Vanilla in fragrance oil is not your friend. If you use a fragrance oil that has vanilla, in a few days to weeks, your pretty snowman bath bombs will turn a funky brown color. I learned this one the hard way with an Apple Spice fragrance oil.
Bath Bomb Ingredients
When making your bath bombs you will need:
Bath bomb mold: In order to get the bath bomb shape, you will need to use a bath bomb mold. These come in a variety of sizes. For these snowman I used a small one, but you can really use any size you would like.
Baking soda: This is required in order to get the fizziness, but it is also good in a bath.
Citric acid: Citric acid is derived from citrus fruit and is non-toxic.
Epsom Salt: In most of my bath recipes you will find epsom salt, because it is one of the most relaxing things to add to the bath.
Kaolin Clay: I like to use a small amount of kaolin clay to add to the sturdiness of the bath bomb. The clay can help to keep larger bath bombs together, which is important since we will be painting them.
Avocado Oil: Although we could make the bath bomb without oil, I don’t like to. In addition to the cool fizzyness and scent, I also want my skin to be moisturized.
Polysorbate 80: We use polysorbate 80 to create an emulsion with our oils and the bath water. This will also prevent your tub from getting an oily ring around it.
Scent: I am sticking with the winter / Christmas aroma in these snowman bath bombs and scented them with Berry Merry Christmas fragrance oil.
Ratios for the ingredients
The two most important ingredients are the baking soda and citric acid. When these two ingredients are mixed together and introduced to water, a chemical reaction occurs that causes carbon dioxide. Which, is what causes the fizzing in your bath water. You always use 2 parts baking soda to 1 part citric acid when you are making a recipe.
Consistency is Key
The most important part of making bath bombs is the consistency. You are aiming for a consistency similar to wet sand. To test this, grab a handful of the bath bomb mix and squeeze it into a ball. From a few inches above the bowl, drop the ball. It should stay in tact.
If the ball breaks apart, give another spray and test it again.
Making Snowman Bath Bombs
1. Weigh out all the ingredients.
2. Prepare a spot to set the finished bath bombs.
3. Mix the baking soda, citric acid, epsom salt and kaolin clay together.
4. Add the avocado oil, polysorbate 80 and fragrance oil. (You will need to use your hands to get this properly mixed).
5. Spray the mixture with witch hazel and mix with your hands. You are going for a consistency of wet sand.
6. Scoop a heaping pile of the mixture into each half of your mold.
7. Firmly press the mold together until it closes.
8. Slowly, take off the top of the mold. I found that gently squeezing the mold helps to release it.
9. Turn the mold upside down to release the bath bomb onto the wax paper.
10. Allow to cool for 24 hours.
Paint Ingredients
Mica powder: You will want to use an orange mica for the nose. The cool thing is that it is very shimmery compared to the activated charcoal.
Activated charcoal: This is used to paint the eyes and the mouth of the snowman. If you have a black mica powder, you could use that.
Witch hazel: This is used to wet the powders and make them paintable.
Painting Snowman Faces
1. Scoop a small pile of activated charcoal down.
2. Slowly add witch hazel, until the activated charcoal is wet.
3. Mix well.
4. Paint the two eyes on the snowman bath bomb.
5. Paint the mouth.
6. Scoop out a small amount of the orange mica powder and mix with witch hazel.
7. Paint on the snowman’s nose.
8. Set aside to dry.
Snowman Bath Bomb
Equipment
- Scale
- Mixing bowl
- Bath bomb mold
- Wax paper
- Paint brush
- Witch hazel
Ingredients
- 5.4 ounce | 54% Baking Soda
- 2.7 ounce | 27% Citric Acid
- 0.90 ounce | 9% Epsom Salt
- 0.30 ounce | 3% Kaolin Clay
- 0.20 ounce | 2% Avocado Oil
- 0.20 ounce | 2% Polysorbate 80
- 0.30 ounce | 3% Berry Merry Christmas Fragrance Oil
Instructions
Making The Bath Bomb
- Weigh out all the ingredients.
- Prepare a spot to set the finished bath bombs.
- Mix the baking soda, citric acid, epsom salt and kaolin clay together.
- Add the avocado oil, polysorbate 80 and fragrance oil. (You will need to use your hands to get this properly mixed).
- Spray the mixture with witch hazel and mix with your hands. You are going for a consistency of wet sand.
- Scoop a heaping pile of the mixture into each half of your mold.
- Firmly press the mold together until it closes.
- Slowly, take off the top of the mold. I found that gently squeezing the mold helps to release it.
- Turn the mold upside down to release the bath bomb onto your wax paper.
- Allow to cool for 24 hours.
Painting the Snowman
- Scoop a small pile of activated charcoal down.
- Slowly add witch hazel, until the activated charcoal is wet.
- Mix well.
- Paint the two eyes on the snowman bath bomb.
- Paint the mouth.
- Scoop out a small amount of the orange mica powder and mix with witch hazel.
- Paint on the snowman’s nose.
- Allow to dry.