Lavender Bath Bombs

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Fragrant lavender bath bombs with skin loving ingredients that are easy to make.

Bath bombs are a wonderful addition to a relaxing bath. Not only do they provide skin nourishing ingredients, they are also fun to watch as they fizz up in the warm water. There are so many different ways to scent and color them. In fact, bath bombs are a great way to utilize a variety of herbs or flowers from your garden or any essential oils you have lying around. For today’s DIY, we are making a calming lavender variation which incorporates lavender oil as well as dried lavender buds. 

As you can tell from the multitude of lavender recipes, we love using this fragrant flower for various things, whether in DIYS or in food recipes. Lavender has natural soothing properties which makes it the perfect addition to DIY skincare. Some also accredit lavender essential oil to combat symptoms of anxiety and stress. In addition, a pilot study has suggested that the scent of lavender can also help alleviate emotional symptoms related to pms. Whether or not these claims are true for you, it’s at least worth giving lavender a try.

That being said, we advise to use caution when using essential oils. Pregnant or nursing women should consult a physician before using essential oils. If small children or pets are in the home, be sure to store your essential oils out of reach. Some essentials, while safe for humans, can be toxic to pets, so please do your own research before using them in your home. 

Okay, now that we got all that serious stuff out of the way, let’s take a look at the ingredients for our bath bombs. 🙂

Ingredients for lavender bath bombs

While these bath bombs require ingredients you might not have at home, you can find all the needed things on Amazon. In fact, Amazon is the perfect place to search for DIY skincare ingredients, especially if you want to save some money on otherwise sometimes pricy ingredients.

Each ingredient in our bath bombs has its own purpose.

• Baking soda – creates the base for our recipe, contains antibacterial properties
• Sea salt – helps the skin to hold hydration
• Citric acid – makes the bath bombs fizz up in the water
• Cornstarch – helps slow down the chemical reaction so the bath bombs fizz longer
• Sweet almond oil – moisturizes and softens the skin 
• Lavender essential oil – provides fragrance and soothing properties
• Witch hazel – adds moisture to our bath bomb so they stick together, contains anti-inflammatory properties
• Violet soap color (optional) – ads a pop of color 
• Dried lavender buds (optional) – for decor, feel free to omit them

Making bath bombs isn’t complicated, but those who are new to the process may find step-by-step photos helpful, which is why we have included them. Feel free to skip right down to the recipe though, if you don’t want the extra info. 

To begin, thoroughly combine the dry ingredients. Make sure to sift the baking soda to remove any lumps before combining it with the rest of the ingredients.

Combine the essential oil with your carrier oil (in this case, we are using sweet almond oil) and add it to the dry ingredients. Use your hands to distribute it evenly.

Fill the witch hazel into a spray bottle and spritz it onto the bath bomb mixture. Use one hand to spray and the other to mix it all together. Your bath bomb mixture should resemble the texture of crumbly sand.

You’ll know that your mixture has the correct texture if it holds its shape when you press it together like so. If the mixture is still too crumbly, add more witch hazel.

Now divide your mixture into two bowls. You’ll want to divide it 1/3 to 2/3s. Dye the 2/3 mixture with soap coloring. We used a mixture of 2 drops of pink and 3 drops of blue to get a violet color. Feel free to add less or more coloring to get your desired shade. You can also omit the dye altogether if you’d like to leave your bath bombs white.

Add a few lavender buds to one of the molds and add some of the white mixture on top. Fill the other half with the white mixture as well, leaving some room for the violet mixture.

Overfill both halves with the violet mixture and firmly press both halves together. (If working with clear plastic molds, make sure you are using the correct halves as they come in pairs.) Press the bath bombs together for a few seconds.

Let the bath bombs harden overnight in the molds. To demold, gently tap one of the halves with a spoon before opening the molds. Avoid twisting, as this can break the bath bombs! Then carefully tap the other half to release as well. Make sure you are handling your bath bombs as gently as possible as they are still quite soft at this stage. 

Once you demolded all your bath bombs, let them air dry for 1-2 days until they have completely hardened, before packaging them in airtight containers. Use within 3 months for optimal fizziness. 

Tips for success

• When adding the witch hazel, try to use as little as possible so the mixture won’t get too wet, but also add enough so it holds its shape when pressed together.
• Don’t pack the mixture into the molds too tightly, or else the halves won’t stick together.
• Be sure to really overfill both halves before pressing them together, otherwise your bath bombs will fall apart when demolding.
• Don’t tap too harshly, instead lightly tap the molds a few times before removing them.
• Handle your bath bombs with care before they had a chance to completely dry, they will still be quite soft and can break easily.
• Let your bath bombs harden completely before packaging them, otherwise the retained moisture will cause them to fizz prematurely.
• If you want to gift these or are making them for an event, make a few extras just in case you break one or two when demolding.
• Practice makes perfect – the first time you demold the bath bombs may seem a bit tricky, but after doing a few, you’ll soon become a pro!
• Package bath bombs in airtight containers, away from moisture and heat.

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