Detoxifying Bath Bombs
For Christmas this year I gave a few of my lady loved ones some bath bombs to go along with the little gifts the kids made during our attempt at a Cost-Free Christmas (I'll do a special on that one in the run up to the festive season next year ;-) They were well received, looked and smelled heavenly and even the kids got a few little ones each since they love them just as much. There was one left, all on its own, by the time I'd wrapped up the others as gifts and I kept it all for myself. Trouble was, when I used it the other night, after a hectic week of being back on the homeschooling ball, I realised that I needed to make more. Lots more!
The combination of beautiful scent, sparkly fizzing water, moisturising cocoa butter and candle light, as well as knowing how much good Epsom salts does the body, makes this an affordable and necessary indulgence! Honestly, once you see how few ingredients you need to make a batch of these babies, and see how cost effective the ingredients are, you will find yourself with your very own large-bags-of-possibly-suspect-looking-white-powders problem :-)
Though very expensive to buy, bathbombs are cheap to make, not difficult at all (though it can be tricky getting the moisture content right - more about that below) and you can make many in a relatively short space of time. Making them yourself also means you can keep a careful eye on the ingredients; sodium laureth/laurel sulphate is NOT good for you at all, and bath bombs already fizz, so why do you need bubbles as well? And don't get me started on synthetic fragrances, which are highly allergenic and often just totally overpowering. Anyone walked past that large name branded soap store and feel attacked by the smell? Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Yuck; pass.
For the sake of Christmas I coloured these with a little food colouring; not entirely natural but the concentration once diluted in the bath would be so small I figured it was okay for the small gift of three bombs per person I gave out. Chances are they'd likely use one a month (maybe even less) so I consoled myself with that and rejoiced in how pretty they turned out. The addition of edible sparkles was purely extravagant, but made all the difference between a simple homemade gift and one that was really special.
Unfortunately I didn't get many photos as you have to work quite quickly once you start incorporating the liquids but I've given as much detail in the method below that you should be able to find your way through the fairly simple process.
If you are making these just for yourself and your family, you can feel free to omit the colour and sparkles entirely; the rest of the ingredients are what make it good for you and smell so good; in all honesty the colour and sparkles just stick to the side of the bath once the cocoa butter has dissolved into the water (and the sparkles stick to you once you get out, even after you towel off ha ha!) But if you are planning to make these as a special gift, I do recommend the colour and sparkles, it makes it really special. You could also include some homemade dipped beeswax candles if you're so inclined; I'll be doing a post about them next time, along with how lighting affects your hormones and how to manipulate light to heal your body.
So, who could you give these to?
Well, besides the obvious choices such as girl friends, mothers, sisters, aunts, and so on, you'd be surprised to learn that many men are not averse to bath products! For a man who does a lot of manual labour or works out a lot, these are a great gift, as Epsom salts are wonderfully soothing for aching muscles - use a blend of orange, lavender, peppermint and black pepper essential oils to uplift the spirits, unwind the mind, and loosen the muscles; adding a tablespoon or two of cayenne pepper will give it natural colour and generate more heat to ease stiff muscles and joints too. If you feel pretty certain the man you have in mind would NOT like a pack of bath bombs, skip the moulding stage (and the glitter) and simply provide him with a big jar full of the salts mixture and directions to add one to two cups of salts to a hot bath. If you still want it to fizz, make sure the jar you supply is air tight and preferably not glass if it is to be stored in the bathroom.
You may be wondering why these are called detoxifying bath bombs - well the secret is in the Epsom salts. But I'm not the best person to tell you about this; here's a great article for you which includes the hows and whys as well as contraindications that you should be aware of, such as pregnancy, dehydration, and cardiovascular disease, in which case I recommend you check with a doctor just in case. The smaller amounts of Epsom salts in a bath bomb made up as per my recipe should be ok, but please check first!
The addition of the green clay also helps to pull toxins from the body - like a face mask. You can add more than I suggest in the recipe if you want to, but no more than about a quarter cup as it may affect the fizzing action of the bombs and you may need more moisture to bind them together. I only had about a tablespoon left in my apothecary stash so I used it up in these.
I add a cupful of Epsom salts to the bath every time I bath, and sometimes a cupful of apple cider vinegar as well, for the minerals, the magnesium and the detoxing effect. The amount of Epsom salt in one bath bomb is admittedly not quite enough to give you a thorough detoxing, but, if used regularly alongside a healthy lifestyle with plenty of daily movement, deep breathing, sleep, minimal alcohol and processed foods, they go a good ways to gently transporting out of your body the natural build up of toxins in the lymph system. I do find that I get a bit thirsty afterwards, so have some good clean filtered water or chamomile tea ready for after the bath. If you choose to add more Epsom salts to the bath along with the bomb, I'd recommend going to bed straight after - it can leave you feeling a bit heavy and tired, but you'll feel great the next day.
So without further ado, here's the recipe!
Detoxing Sparkly Bath Bombs
Gather together:
- Large bowl (and smaller bowls if making different colours)
- 2 cups bicarbonate of soda/ sodium bicarbonate / baking soda
- 2 cups Epsom salts
- 1 cup citric acid (I get all of my bicarb, Epsom salts and citric acid from this garden supply store)
- A small spray bottle filled with witch hazel or mineral water (witch hazel is better as it's less likely to make the bombs react ahead of time, you can find it at your local pharmacy) and an optional tablespoon of rosewater which you can get in the baking aisle at the supermarket. I made up an infusion of horsetail and comfrey leaf for mine as they are good for the skin, get them here.
- 1 tablespoon of French green clay (I get mine here)
- 3 tablespoons, approximately 15g, of finely grated cocoa butter (a microplane works well for this!)
- Essential oils of choice - I used 12 drops of Ylang Ylang, 9 drops of geranium, 18 drops of tincture of Benzoin (if yours is very thick it can be useful to warm it slightly by wrapping it in a warm cloth for a few minutes), 6 drops of frankincense and 15 drops of grapefruit - please check for safety of the oils you intend to use, especially if the person you are giving it to has any health conditions or is pregnant or nursing. I get my essential oils and cocoa butter here; cost effective as well as being good quality with great service.
- Optional - food colours, edible glitters and any additions of your choice such as dried flowers, herbs or spices (cinnamon, cayenne pepper, turmeric etc can give a nice scent/warming action/yellow tint respectively). I was going to add some little jasmine flowers but decided not to in the end, they can clog up the drain, so consider that before you use anything bigger than individual petals.
- Whisk
- A mould of some description - I recommend using a proper bomb mould if you can, but if you don't have one (or six, you can find them easily on ebay or online, but they can be pricey) you most likely have something around the house that will work. I used some silicon cupcake moulds, dedicated to soap making, inside a muffin tin. But I warn you, if this is your first attempt I do not recommend using silicon moulds as the mixture needs to be really well packed which is difficult with a mould that gives. Simply using a muffin tin would work well, as the bombs come out easily if they were packed tightly enough, but a large tray can be unwieldy.
- Other mould possibilities - ice cube trays, chocolate moulds, trimmed down yogurt pots, shot glasses, etc - anything that has smooth sides (or only vertical ridges), is wider at the top than the bottom and is sturdy enough to withstand pressure and being banged on the counter!
- Gloves if you have sensitive skin - citric acid can be irritating. When I had eczema on my hands really badly, I had to use gloves, but now my eczema is gone I find I don't have any problems handling the citric acid.
Let's start!
Blend the powders (aside from the sparkles) and grated cocoa butter into a large bowl. If you are making more than one colour, divide your mixture now.
Add your colours and sparkles if using and blend well after each addition - only add a few drops of colour at a time and whisk thoroughly in between.
Add essential oils if you are using, one variety at a time, and no more than 6 drops at a time, whisking well after each addition.
If you have used a fair bit of colour and essential oils you may find that the mixture is starting to resemble damp sand already. Scrunch a bit in your palm tightly and if it holds its shape well, especially if it does when you drop it into the bowl, then you probably don't need to add any more moisture.
This is the tricky part - you have to get it just; just; damp. If it is too damp it will expand due to some reaction taking place prematurely, but if it is too dry it may be too crumbly to hold together. I will say this though, my bath bombs usually expand a little; English climate is just too damp to be able to get this 100% right on any occasion except maybe the warmest summer day; but they do still work beautifully and as long as you haven't majorly over-dampened yours, they shouldn't expand too much and should still fizz exuberantly in the bath. Trust me ;-)
So what you want to do now is spray two or three sprays at a time of the liquid into the bowl and then whisk thoroughly and test after each addition. Test it by clamping it into your palm. If it holds its shape but falls to bits when you dump it back into the bowl, it's a little too dry still but nearly there. When it holds it shape both in your palm and keeps intact mostly when you dump it back into the bowl, you can start moulding. Trust yourself - it may still feel pretty dry, but don't be tempted to add more moisture. If you really aren't sure, you can always mould one, bang it out of the mould and see if it holds together. If it does (and doesn't start to expand a little) you have created a perfect mixture! Well done! If it does crumble a little you may need to add just one or two sprays more. If it starts to expand a bit immediately you may have over-done it a tad, but unless the whole lot starts fizzing you should still be able to make usable bombs.
Pack the mixture into your moulds as tightly as you can. Add a good mound of mixture to the mould and compress it fairly lightly with your fingers or a spoon until you can see if it needs more or not; if it does, add some more before you compress it all the way down otherwise it may separate at the join when you tap it out. Keep adding more until you're fairly certain there's enough in the mould and then really give it some elbow grease. It needs to be compressed enough to withstand a hard bang on the counter to remove it without falling to bits. If you're making layered bombs with your different colours, follow the same method just switching between your colours as you fill your mould. If you are using a muffin tray on its own, do one bomb first, follow the next step to remove it and make sure it's holding together well before you go on and fill all the cups. If you are using silicon moulds I recommend drying them in the moulds and then gently peeling the moulds off the bombs once completely dry - about 24-48 hours later.
Now, once you have moulded your bombs, you should have no problem getting them out by turning them over and giving them a sharp bang into a cloth-lined counter top. They should just pop right out and be sitting pretty when you lift your tray. If you have a single mould such as a sphere or egg shape which is common, you will have to unmould after each one. I made some egg shaped ones a couple of years ago with a friend and we found the best way to get them out was to carefully squeeze the pointy ends of one side of the mould to release it from the bomb and then turn it over onto our hand and do the same for the other side. I imagine a similar method would work for spheres though I haven't tried them. If anyone knows of a good method be sure to leave us a comment!
If your mix is expanding a wee bit, and you have used a shaped mould that you want to keep it's shape and not lose any definition, you can dry your bombs in the mould - provided you have enough moulds to get the rest done while you're waiting. You can't dilly dally once you've reached this point, one must forge ahead! If it turns out your bombs are just not pretty enough to give away after all, console yourself that you won't care when they're in your tub! Then, with your new-found knowledge and experience you can whip up another batch, knowing exactly what you're looking for in the texture and make perfect ones to give away the second time round, yes?
The possibilities are pretty endless with these; you can add so many lovely things like the flower petals, herbs and spices mentioned, or make so many pretty varieties such as snow white ones with some silver glitter or layered pink, green and yellow for Easter, pink ones with rose petals for Valentine's day, lilac ones with lavender flowers for Mother's day and so on and so forth! Be creative and experiment to your heart's content. Be warned though, making these can be pretty addictive - as can soap making - do not attempt it if you don't want to be consumed by a sudden new passion!
Happy making ;-)
