How to Make Natural Dandelion Bath Bombs
These bath bombs capture the sunshiny happiness of a field full of spring dandelions!
Dandelion flower infused oil is often used in preparations designed to soothe and heal chapped or cracked skin. It’s also useful for sore muscles and other aches and pains.
A few drops of sea buckthorn oil gives these bath bombs a pretty yellow color, but you could also add a small amount of yellow Brazilian clay for a different shade of yellow.
Today’s the day!
After months of brainstorming, creating and experimenting, my Natural Bath Bombs eBook (and accompanying Natural Bath Care Package) is finally finished and ready to send out into the world!
My goal for the eBook was to simplify the bath bomb making process, yet offer lots of ingredient options, all while keeping the recipes filled with only natural colorants and additives.
I also created a set of companion eBooks and printables loaded with more natural bath care recipes and reference charts, plus a guide that dives deeper into using fresh herbs and flowers as natural colorants in salt, sugar and scrub recipes.
You can learn more about it HERE; I hope you like it! :)
To celebrate the release, I thought I’d share one of my favorite recipes from the eBook, starring one of my favorite flowers – the humble and often under-appreciated dandelion.
To make it, you’ll need some dandelion flower infused oil. You can find how to make that in THIS RECIPE for Dandelion Lotion Bars.
Don’t have dandelions? Try another herbal flower instead, like calendula or chamomile.
How to Make All-Natural DIY Dandelion Bath Bombs
Yield: 4 medium bath bombs
Characteristics: good amount of fizzing, lasts moderately long in the tub
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups (429 g) baking soda
- 3/4 cup (177 g) citric acid
- 1/4 cup (72 g) fine sea salt
- 1/2 oz (14 g) dandelion-infused oil
- 1/2 oz (14 g) shea, mango or cocoa butter, melted
- 10 drops sea buckthorn oil (optional, for color)
- 12 drops litsea essential oil (optional, for scent)
- 10 drops orange or lemon essential oil (optional, for scent)
- small spray bottle filled with witch hazel
- bath bomb molds (I used 2 sets of THESE medium ones for this batch)
How to Make Dandelion Bath Bombs
1. Make the Dry & Wet Mixtures
Stir the baking soda, citric acid and sea salt together, working out any clumps with your fingers, as needed.
In a separate container, combine the melted butter with the dandelion infused oil, essential oils and sea buckthorn oil.
2. Combine the 2 Mixtures
Slowly drizzle the melted butter and oils into the combined dry ingredients, while stirring. Break up any remaining clumps with your hands to make sure the butter is thoroughly incorporated.
Try squeezing a portion of the mixture into a ball shape. If it holds together nicely, the mixture is ready. If it crumbles, spray 4 to 6 spritzes of witch hazel into the mixture, while stirring, and then check again.
Once the mixture holds together in a ball without easily crumbling, you’re ready to press into molds.
3. Filling the Molds
Overfill both halves of the bath bomb mold with the mixture, pressing lightly as you pack it in. Press the two halves together, cleaning out any extra bits that squeeze out from the edges with your fingers. Try not to overly twist the mold as you do this, as that can break the bond between the two halves.
Tap the filled mold lightly on your work surface a few times, then flip over and tap again. Carefully try pulling the top half of the mold off. Keep the bath bomb in the bottom half of the mold for about 15 minutes before removing that side.
If the two sides don’t want to stick together, try scooping the mixture back out of the mold and stir in one or two more spritzes of witch hazel before trying again. You may have to spritz the mixture with more witch hazel between each bath bomb, to keep it workable.
4. Package the Bath Bombs
After removing the bath bomb from the bottom half of the mold, carefully place it on a folded towel or other soft surface and allow to air dry for 24 hours before packaging IF you live in a dry climate, or are experiences really dry indoor winter heat conditions.
If you live in a humid climate, try placing your bath bombs in the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour and then package them. This will help them firm up so you can package them more easily.
Shelf Life
Use within 4 to 6 months for best results.
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I order your new book.
Hi Suzanne, Thanks for buying the book! I hope you enjoy it! :)
Hi Jan,
I ordered your book also, and can’t wait to get started! Can you point me to a brand of witch hazel on amazon? I would love to order from MRH, but shipping is costly and I do not have a large enough order to place with them right now. Thank you!
Hi Talia! Thanks for ordering the book too! :)
I’ve used this kind of witch hazel with good results:
https://www.amazon.com/Dickinsons-Astringent-Natural-Witch-Hazel/dp/B00016WW8Q
I’ve also sourced some from a local drug store or the pharmacy sections in my grocery store, so you might be able to find some locally too.
Hi Jan, I am very curious to know if I could put honey (a small amount) in these? Any suggestions? Honey may seem like a weird additive but history says that Cleopatra bathed in milk and honey.
Hi Charlotte! I add honey powder to bath bombs frequently (gives a nice feel to your skin after a bath!), but haven’t attempted to use liquid honey. I’ve thought of seeing if it will dilute in witch hazel (so a honey infused witch hazel??), but haven’t tried it to know for sure. It’s just one of those random thoughts that have crossed my mind, that I hope to test out sometime. :)
You can use liquid honey, I have tried, just a wee amount of it, mixed in dry ingrediant by hand. It was great.
Hi,
I wanna order a book not ebook? which is link please. Thank you.
Hi Deborah! All of my books are digital ebooks, except for one print book, which you can find on Amazon:
http://amzn.to/2aPioZI
Plus, I’ll be releasing a new print book on Simple & Natural Soapmaking in August. :)
What is the basic ingredients you would use without the oils and herbs?
Hi Wanda! If you want to make a batch of plain basic bath bombs without oils or anything extra, you’d mix 1 part citric acid with 2 parts baking soda. (Example 1/2 cup citric acid mixed with 1 cup baking soda)
Then spritz with witch hazel to moisten & form into bath bombs. Without the oils, you’ll need extra witch hazel to keep the bath bomb together, but be careful not to add too much (or too little).
Help! I’ve tried making several of your bath bomb recipes. The rose milk bath bombs came out beautifully, but the dandelion bath bombs are cracking several days after making them. I tried a recipe from another site too, and they cracked as well. It seems that the recipes that don’t use salt come out great, but recipes with sea salt or Epsom salt are cracking. What am I doing wrong when salt is in the recipe?
Hi Kristen! Sorry to hear that’s happening! Bath bombs can be quite finicky sometimes! Cracks are often a moisture level problem, stemming from too much or not enough liquid in the bath bomb. If your work area is too dry and warm, the bath bomb could dry too fast causing cracks. On the other hand, if the mixture was too wet when molding, it could cause cracks as it expands. Salt tends to absorb moisture from the air – is it really humid where you live? Or is it rainy on the days you’ve made the cracked bath bombs? If so, too much moisture could be a cause. One idea to try is to pop the bath bomb in the fridge to harden up and see if that makes a difference in cracking. Or, since you know it works well, you could try using the rose milk bath bomb recipe as a base formula, then change it up to make other kinds of bath bombs, using different colors and scents. I hope that helps and that future batches are better behaved! :)