There's nothing like a hot bath to soak away the stresses of the day or to pamper your self prior to that all-important date. Most bathtub connoisseurs go the additional step to add bath salts or bubbles to their ritual. Unfortunately, a whole lot of bathtub products contain some rather suspect substances (believe parabens, petrochemicals, synthetic fragrances. . ., but there are tons of DIY remedies for this dilemma, and homemade tub bombs are not only fun, they leave your skin feeling soft and rejuvenated.

Bath bombs work a whole lot like those volcano projects you built in grade school, the ones where you added vinegar to baking soda for an explosive, fizzy reaction?except the acid in bath bombs is great deal far more body-friendly, and there's no mess to clean up at the end of the day. They combine baking soda and citric acid powder, which react only as soon as you drop the bomb into water. In the bathtub, the bombs bounce around, fizzing and releasing vital oils into the h2o and air, making your bath a fun and luxuriously custom affair.

You can get bath bombs at a great deal of drugstores, and several organizations produce some fantastic nearly-natural bathtub bombs. But they're fairly effortless to make, and if you have a scent or skin sensitivity, this is the perfect solution for you.

You'll need:

Sodium bicarbonate (baking soda)

Citric acid (fine)

Witch Hazel

Important oils

Molds (max. diameter 2 inches)

Rubber gloves (optional)

How to Make Your Own Bath Bombs:

To make bathtub bombs, blend one component citric acid and two parts sodium bicarbonate (baking soda). If you love sea salts or Epsom salts in your bath, you can also add a single component of either salt, just be certain it's a fine grain. Make certain these dry components are blended well, otherwise your bathtub bomb might be a dud.

Once the dry ingredients are blended, add in your essential oils for scent. Vital oils are derived from plants, so many folks who are sensitive or allergic to synthetic scents can handle the real thing. If you have pollen allergies, steer clear of oils from flowers and opt instead for herbs. There is no limit on your creativity here. You can add just 1 oil, such as lavender, or a personal blend, such as rosemary and mint.

The next step is a bit tricky. Utilizing a spray bottle, spray witch hazel into the combination although blending continuously. As soon as the mixture starts to stick collectively when you press down on it, you require to get it into the molds.

Most bath bombs are spherical, but you can also use rubber ice-cube molds to make far more festive shapes like hearts, four-leaf clovers and even Santa Claus. Be certain to firmly pack the mixture in the ice-cube molds.

Making a sphere is a little more effort, but completely worth it if you're gifting the bathtub bombs. Merely pack the mixture into two dome molds, heaping further mixture on top, then squeeze the open ends of the molds together to create a sphere (don't worry if some of the blend spills out at the seam?spillage means the mixture is dense enough so that the tub bomb won't crumble when it hits the h2o).

Right after a number of minutes, gently tap the bombs out of the molds and allow bath bombs to dry on a towel for at least a handful of hours, but preferably overnight. Wrap tub bombs in plain tissue paper and store in a plastic, airtight container until you're ready to use them. Don't shop the bombs in metal containers, and don't rest them on metal between baths, as the substances will react with the container.

Each tub bomb should last at least a couple of baths, if not much more-it really just depends on the size of the bomb...and how long you soak in the tub!