How to make bath bombs at home as naturally as possible using essential oils & natural colours

Today we are going to show you how we make bath bombs as naturally and safely as we believe possible.
When it comes to natural, there is no specific definition of what the term "natural" really means in relation to bath and body products, so it is very much down to personal definition.
Both citric acid and bicarbonate of soda can be found naturally within the environment, but due to cost and supply and demand issues, the majority of citric acid and bicarbonate of soda used within the bath and body industry is actually manufactured in a lab. For this reason, we don't believe it is possible (by our own definition) to create a 100% natural bath bomb as to us, using an ingredient that has been lab manufactured (even if that same ingredient can be found in nature) makes it synthetic (to us at least!)
We also add an ingredient to act as an emulsifying agent into our bath bombs (for us, this is SCI powder, but other emulsifying agents are available). SCI powder is naturally derived from Coconuts, our suppliers do refer to it as a natural ingredient, but we prefer the term "naturally derived" as to us this seems more honest. We add in the SCI powder to ensure the oils and water in our recipe combine together and do not separate when the bath bomb goes into the water. Making bath bombs containing oil (including essential/fragrance oils) without adding in an emulsifier of some kind can lead to the oil and water separating, leaving a layer of oil floating on top of the bath water, which can lead to safety issues, both in the form of slipping and also in relation to the risk of neat essential/fragrance oils coming into direct contact with your skin, which can cause sensitisation issues. Though there are recipes available online which use oils but do not contain an emulsifier of any kind, we personally wouldn't recommend these for the reasons mentioned above.
If you wish to recreate our bath bombs, then here is the recipe which we used today which will make 6 bath bombs of approximately 170g each.
Portion One (White Part)
Bicarbonate of soda 336g
Citric acid 168g
Cream of Tartar 18g
SCI powder 15g
Grapeseed Oil 9g
Sweet Orange essential oil 5g
Water 8g
Portion Two (Orange Part)
Bicarbonate of soda 336g
Citric acid 168g
Cream of Tartar 18g
SCI powder 15g
Grapeseed Oil 9g
Sweet Orange essential oil 5g
Water 6g
Liquid Annatto extract (from The Soap Kitchen) 2g
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[@carissacouturexo]

Making them I've always had the problem of the oils separating and the tub becoming super slippery with that scummy film. I never knew of this ingredient used as an emulsifier so thank you for this information! Blessings 🙏🌸💗✨️

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

It really does make a difference! SCI is more known for being a surfactant and for the bubbles and foam it creates, but it does emulsify too. So long as you aren't using huge amount of oil (which would be doubtful in a bath bomb) it really does make a difference :-) Good luck and let us know how you get on!

[@eslsparks]

Hi, Ann. I love your videos. They are supper instructive. Thank you for all the great tutorials. I was wondering, what level of humidity do you work in?

[@LowVisionUKTerrysView]

these sound incredible Ann. I have to sleep now, its almost 3am, and im binge watching your videos ( again ) haha ...Terry

[@staceycook5399]

What measurements are all those ingredients? Great bath bombs btw!

[@Nerdbio59]

Hi Ann this is fab and thank you for sharing. Just wondered if you could clarify the water and Sci amounts as I see the purple bath bombs you made in an earlier video used more water and more Sci for the same volume of bircarb/citric acid ? Thank you

[@beyondbathology3174]

see i do use all natural. no SCI OR THAT OTHER ONE SHE SAID.

[@alexandrahalsey2915]

just a tip for you put some cling film over the drying tray and it will stop the bombs having to be dropped into mold keeps their shape perfectly but also supports them. much easier to get out too

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

Ooh, now that is a great idea! I will definitely be implementing that into my bath bomb routine! Thank you :-)

[@boop7313]

Fantastic video! I've been thinking of trying some bathbombs using clays to colour too. I have annatto extracted into oil, I wonder if I could use that instead? 🤔 anyway thanks Anne.

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

Yes! I want to try some with clays too! You could certainly give the annatto oil a go, they may come out a little paler as it may not be quite so concentrated, but definitely worth a shot!

[@boop7313]

@@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany thanks i might give it a go.

[@melwing9090]

Can I please ask who can I contact to approve the bombs that I make as I wish to sell them. Thanks

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

You need to find a company who offer CPSR's. We recommend Ann-Marie at Soaposh as this is who we use and the service is always quick and helpful.

[@lyndawest8612]

Ann, once again, you explain fully and clearly. Thank you for the time and effort you put into these videos. Big thumbs up

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

Thank you Lynda. I am really enjoying making the videos at the moment and could happily sit and film all day - unfortunately I don't have the time to do that as other things need doing too but it is so nice to hear that other people enjoy what we film too :-)

[@christals5340]

I just made some using this recipe, I can't tell you how long I been scratching my head at how I could make bath bombs naturally as possible, thank you so much Ann. I am so excited to see the results, one batch I put french pink clay and purple brazilian clay using a natural fragrance oil that smells like raspberry and sweet pea and the other batch I left uncolored and scented with a natural milky coconut fragrance :)

[@jacquelinefaison45]

Really enjoyed your video i'm starting to make bath bombs so thanks so much

[@phatwombat4241]

interesting and informative, as per usual. Love listening to your voice.

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

Thank you :-)

[@chanelblue702]

Great video. Thank you for sharing.

[@maryward633]

Thanks Anne great tutorial as always 👍

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

Thank you Mary :-)

[@45623344]

Loved the video, can’t wait to try this recipe! One question, though, do you think I can skip the blender and mix by hand? Thank you for sharing!

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

Thank you! Yes, you can definitely skip the blender and mix by hand. It may take a little longer to make sure everything is nicely worked in but it is certainly do-able!

[@Leahsluxuryaromas]

I absolutely love my bath bombs like this, beautiful products! You are looking amazing Ann, that figure!! 🤩💛

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

Thank you so much :-) We plan on making more bath bombs like this as I love how these turned out and I want to try other natural colourants in them

[@Wings91]

😲 I've never seen a bath bomb made before, but wow when you released it from the mold! 😲 it's essentially still just powder with such a tiny amount of moisture!

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

It is, they are still very soft and fragile when first un-molded, but they do hardening up really well over 1-2 days. If too much moisture is added they end up losing their shape and expanding a bit when they react with the air.

[@sueenright3327]

I can’t seem to locate the Annatto extract on the soap kitchen website-is it still available do you now. Thanks Anne threat video as always 😀

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

Hmm, you are correct Sue, I can't see it on there anymore either - that's frustrating! If the liquid extract can't be sourced, you could potentially infuse annatto seeds or powder into the oil used in the bath bombs and hopefully that would impart the colour into the bombs

[@Allahguest]

May I ask you where I can find your bomb mold please ?

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

I sourced the 3D printed mold from Cada Moulds in the USA and the white drying tray was purchased from Soaposh in the UK :-)

[@tanjaturner4684]

say if wanting to use fragrance oils how much would i need to use

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

If you wanted to use fragrance oils you would need to check the IFRA documents to see how much can be safely used within bath bombs. Assuming the limits are high enough, we tend to add up to 2% fragrance, though we have gone as low as 1% with some of our bombs and still had a good scent from them. 2% is the highest we are allowed to go according to our safety assessor, but if you are not UK based then there may be different limits in your country :-)

[@sueenright3327]

Sorry that should have been ‘great’ video , threat lol

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

Haha, It's ok. we knew what you meant Sue :-)

[@Wings91]

Is there any other thing you could use from the pantry to replace the SCIi, if you don't have any onhand?

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

You could use another surfactant such as slsa or sla, but those aren't really pantry items I suppose! If you have any powdered buttermilk (or even coconut milk) that would work as a substitute. You could also leave out the SCI, however if you did this you may find that the oil does pool on the surface of the bath though, so if you have any polysorbate 80 to hand I would add some in (equal to the oil amount) to combat this happening.

[@Wings91]

@The Sussex Handmade Soap Company thank you. It's like a completely different language isn't it!

[@LowVisionUKTerrysView]

Thanks

[@ginzgee7032]

Thank you 😘

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

You are welcome :-)

[@penelope55855]

Awesome 😎

[@TheSussexHandmadeSoapCompany]

Thank you :-)