How To Make Bath Bombs Foam

This recipe for how to make Bath Bombs foam is incredibly easy. Seriously, when you hear what the ‘magic’ ingredient is, you’ll probably face palm yourself.

So here’s how this recipe came to exist:

I’ve made and shared quite a few bath bomb recipes on this blog already. What can I say, I just love to watch those suckers fizz, spin and float in my bath tub.

The beauty of making your own bath bombs is that you can make them look however you want. You choose the colors, the shapes, the scents. Just look at my Geode Bath Bombs for example!

But non of my DIY Bath Bomb recipes so far have made them fizz AND foam. Now, I was on a mission.

Most recipes for making your bath bombs foam only require just one simple ingredient: SLSa powder.

Now, SLSa is already a big improvement compared to its sibling SLS. SLS is short for Sodium Lauryl Sulfate. It’s a cheap and an effective surfactant, but it can be harsh and irritating for your skin. SLSa is short for Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate and often used as an alternative in natural soap products.

So you just have to add SLSa to the dry ingredients to create foaming bath bombs. That sounds simple enough, doesn’t it? But for me, the whole point of making my own skin care and bath products was to avoid ingredients I can’t pronounce.

Here’s the quick video tutorial you can skip to if you want to see how I made them:

A simple DIY solution

I knew from a DIY point of view, I could come up with an even simpler Foaming Bath Bomb recipe. And the ‘secret’ ingredient can probably be found in your bathroom right now. Enter: Bubble Bath. Yes, that container of deliciously smelling liquid gel that you love to pour underneath a running tap.

My reasoning behind adding this new ingredient was very simple: bath bombs require a liquid to make the dry ingredients stick together. What if that liquid was part bubble bath?!?

I know that the bubble bath mixtures you buy at the drugstore or online will probably contain SLS, SLSa or something similar. The point of this DIY tutorial is that you can make bath bombs that fizz AND foam with simple ingredients you might already have at home.

You can experiment with whatever bubble bath you want to use. Pick a brand (and ingredient list!) that you like!

The first time I used bubble bath in a bath bomb recipe was for my Valentine’s Day inspired DIY Bubble Bar Bath Bombs. As you can tell from the pictures in the post, the ratio bubble bath/liquid I used was a little too high. The bubble bath bombs had expanded in their molds and looked like deflated, sunken bath bombs. I’ll let you be the judge if you like that look!

Now I’ve tweaked the recipe and learned that if you keep the amount of liquid under control, you can create beautiful foaming bath bombs and even perfectly round shaped bath bombs with this recipe!

How To Make Bath Bombs Foam

What I used:

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup citric acid
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 – 3 teaspoons bubble bath
• 1 to 2 teaspoons witch hazel
• liquid coloring (optional) or mica
• dried flowers (optional)

To help you find the ingredients you need for this how to make foaming bath bombs tutorial I’ve added links in this post to places you can find them online. I’m part of the Amazon affiliate program so I get a small commission when you buy something via these links. But feel free to Google the ingredients to find your own or buy them from local health stores in your area!

1. Mix dry ingredients

Combine baking soda, citric acid and corn starch in a mixing bowl. Blend all the ingredients together with a whisk, spoon or fork.

The citric acid and baking soda will react together when you drop them in a large container of water (aka your bath tub) and that’s what makes your bath bombs fizz.

The corn starch is there to make sure the mixture doesn’t start to fizz in the bowl before it even ends up in your molds.

2. Add bubble bath to the mixture

Add about 1 tablespoon of bubble bath to the dry ingredients.

You might want to start by adding 1 teaspoon at a time. Mix well in between and check regularly to see if the mixture starts to clump together. Adding 3 teaspoons in total should be enough.

You can check the mixture by taking some in the palm of your hand and squeezing it together. If it holds together instead of falling apart you know the mixture is ready.

It’s important that you don’t add too much liquid to the batch. If you do, the mixture will start to swell and expand in your molds. That’s what happened to my Valentine inspired DIY Bubble bar bath bombs. They still dried when I left them alone overnight and besides their wonky shape they did the job just as well!

3. Add coloring and more liquid

This step is optional. You might want to add some color to your bath bomb mixture. Or divide it into several batches and layer several colors.

I decided to add a little bit more liquid to the mixture as I didn’t feel the ingredients stuck together enough. I like to add a little bit of coloring to the witch hazel to make sure it blends well with the mixture.

I went a little light with my coloring, but they’re actually supposed to have a faint lavender color.

I added 1 and a half teaspoons of witch hazel in total. The weather has been very dry where I live lately so this might be waaaaaaaaay to much liquid for your batch. I always recommend to start with one teaspoon or even half a teaspoon. Start slowly and build up!

Check regularly to see if the mixture sticks together. It should still feel dry, but still hold together. If the mixture looks or feels damp you’ve probably added too much liquid. You can try adding more corn starch to see if you can still balance the mixture!

4. Fill your molds

You can use a fun shaped mold, like the heart shaped molds I used. Or you can use regular round shaped bath bomb molds.

To decorate my foaming bath bombs I scattered some crunched dried flowers at the bottom of my molds. You can also decorate your bath bombs with cake sprinkles, jojoba beads or mica.

Next I scooped the foaming bath bomb mixture into the molds and left about an inch of room at the top. That way there was still some room if they were to expand a little as they dried. Press the mixture down to make sure all the ingredients stick together.

Give your foaming bath bombs time to dry. Mine only needed a good 2 hours until they were completely dry. Pop them out of their molds and they are ready to use!

Your foaming bath bombs will work best if you use them within three months.

Just drop one in your bath water and watch it bubble up into a beautiful floating, foaming bath bomb!

Enjoy,

Ina

Continue to Content

How To Make Foaming Bath Bombs

With this easy recipe you can make bath bombs that fizz AND foam. You won't need SLS or SLSa powder. All you need is the bubble bath from your bath room!

Print

Ingredients

• 1 cup baking soda
• 1/2 cup citric acid
• 1/2 cup corn starch
• 1 tablespoon bubble bath
• 1 to 2 teaspoons witch hazel
• liquid coloring, optional
• dried flowers, optional

Instructions

Mix dry ingredients

1. Combine baking soda, citric acid and corn starch in a mixing bowl. Blend all the ingredients together with a whisk, spoon or fork.

Add bubble bath

1. Carefully add about 1 tablespoon of bubble bath to the dry ingredients. Check regularly to see if the mixture starts to clump together.

Add liquid and coloring (optional)

1. Mix a little bit of coloring with the witch hazel. Start by adding 1 teaspoon to the bath bomb mixture. Check to see if the mixture sticks together. Add 1 or 2 more teaspoons of liquid until the mixture no longer falls apart.

Fill your molds

1. To decorate my bubble bath bombs I scattered some crunched dried flowers at the bottom of my molds. You can also decorate your bath bombs with cake sprinkles, jojoba beads or mica.
2. Scoop the bath bomb mixture into your molds. Press the mixture down with your fingers to make sure all the ingredients stick together.
3. Give your bubble bath bombs time to dry. Mine only needed a good 2 hours until they were completely dry. Pop them out of their molds and they are ready to use!

Notes

- It’s important that you don’t add too much liquid to the batch. If you do, the mixture will start to swell and expand in your molds.

- Your bath bombs will work best if you use them within three months.

If you like it, than don't forget to put a pin on it!

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

If you like this DIY than don’t forget to put a pin on it!