A DIY Bath Bomb Is a Little Luxury That’s Surprisingly Easy to Make

Whether you’re looking to level up your own self-care game or you’re searching for a small yet thoughtful gift to give a friend, DIY bath bombs should be your next project. While they look impressive, these little luxuries are actually a snap to make — you’ll just need a few ingredients, all of which you can pick up from your local grocery store, and about an hour to mix them together.

This standard recipe includes Epsom salt, which aids aching muscles, as well as skin-softening oils. You can also customize it to include whatever scents you prefer, although this recipe calls for lavender, which promotes relaxation. Once you master this DIY bath bomb method, you can experiment with different scent blends to create your own unique bath bombs. Here’s how.

• Bath bomb mold: Metal works best, but hard plastic is OK, too. Avoid silicone.
• Whisk
• 1 1/2 cups baking soda
• 1 cup citric acid
• 1 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup Epsom salt
• 4 tablespoons organic coconut oil (if you are allergic to coconut, you can substitute jojoba oil) 
• 3 teaspoons organic lavender essential oil
• Optional: Powder or liquid soap dye (note: Do NOT use food coloring. Soap dye is formulated to be skin safe and prevent color rings in your tub.)
• Optional: Dried flowers

• This DIY will make eight medium-sized bath bombs. 
• If you want multiple colors in your bath bomb, you’ll need to divide all your ingredients before mixing.
• This bath bomb relies on coconut oil for the coconut scent, but if you want a stronger coconut presence, use 2 teaspoons of lavender oil and 1 teaspoon of coconut fragrance oil.

Whisk all the dry ingredients (baking soda, citric acid, cornstarch, Epsom salt). If you are using powdered soap dye, add it here; if you only want to color part of your batch, make sure to divide the dry ingredients before mixing the dye into one batch.

In a separate bowl, blend the coconut oil and essential oils. If you are using liquid soap dye, add it here; if you only want to color part of your batch, make sure to divide the wet ingredients before mixing the dye into one batch.

If you divided either your dry or wet ingredients, you will need to make sure to divide the corresponding wet or dry ingredients as well.

Slowly pour the oil blend into the dry mix while whisking. If you pour in the oils all at once, you risk activating the dry mix. Your bath bomb mix should be able to clump easily without feeling wet.

The humidity of the room where you make the bath bombs will affect how you need to adjust the recipe. If you feel like the mixture is too dry, slowly add more coconut oil; if it’s too wet, add more cornstarch.

If you have a decorative element, add that to the bottom of one half of the mold. Generously scoop the bath bomb mix into each half of the bath bomb until slightly overflowing. If you’d like to achieve a two-color look like the one shown here, alternate dyed and undyed mixture.

Firmly press together the halves and gently twist them in opposite directions a few times to loosen the mold. If your halves aren’t coming together, add more mix in the middle and press again. Gently twist the mold and slowly remove one side. Leave in the other half of the mold to dry.

Let the bath bombs set in a dry location for 24 hours. Then, remove the lower half of the mold to reveal your completed bath bomb.