Making bath bombs for kids is a great way to add a little fun to your nightly routine. And if you happen to have some kids hanging around, making bath bombs with kids, is a great project to work on together. This tutorial will show you how to make homemade bath bombs your kids will love to make and use.

Why make your own bath bombs?

Commercial bath bombs often have ingredients that are not good for you or the environment. According to ConsumerSafety.org commercial bath bombs often have synthetic fragrances and dyes in them. The term “fragrance” on the label may describe as many as 3000 unlisted toxins. The point is, you just don’t know what is the bath bomb.

Some commercial bath bombs are glitter bombs and have glitter in them. These are certainly fun to see floating in the water, but they are terrible for our water supply system. The glitter is plastic that does not break down.

There are some natural skin care companies that are making bath bombs with safe ingredients, but they are pricey.

By making your own, you’ll know exactly what is in kid’s bath bombs. Plus it really is a fun and inexpensive activity to do with your children or grandchildren.

Ingredients for Kid’s Bath Bombs

To make bath bombs you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Baking Soda
• Citric Acid
• Fine Sea Salt
• Coconut oil (or other oil such as sunflower or olive oil)
• Essential oil (optional)
• Small flower petals or herbs for decorating (optional)
• Small treasures such as a charm or small Legos to hide inside (optional)
• Witch Hazel

Supplies for Kid’s Bath Bombs

You probably already have most of the supplies for making bath bombs in your kitchen. Unlike when you make soap, you don’t need to have dedicated supplies for making bath bombs. The following supplies will make your bath bomb making experience easier.

• Medium mixing bowl
• Small mixing bowl
• Mixing spoon
• Small spray bottle (for witch hazel)
• Plastic wrap
• Clear tape
• Wax or parchment paper and twine (optional)
• Measuring cups
• Measuring spoons
• Bath bomb molds – you can use small measuring cups, silicone candy molds, small silicone muffin tins, plastic Easter eggs, etc.

Creating a Workspace

Whenever you craft with kids, I think it’s important to create a workspace to work in. This helps keep the mess to a minimum. When I make bath bombs with our youngest daughter or grandson, I lay a tablecloth on one end of our dinning table, and everything stays on that tablecloth.

I like to have a variety of dried flowers or herbs and a variety of molds for them to chose from. All of these are just things I gather up from around the house. Sometimes, I’ll include a small Lego or charm in the supplies that they can hide in the bath bomb.

When making bath bombs with kids, it’s important to keep the real goal in mind – for me, the real goal is having a fun, shared experience with them. It’s a bonus if all the bath bombs turn out “right.”

What to do with homemade bath bombs?

Bath bombs aren’t something our family uses regularly, they are a treat. And since homemade bath bombs can loose their fizzy over time (especially if you life in a humid climate), we usually make bath bombs to share.

This a fun project that even small kids can help make and then give as gifts for Mother’s Day, as a Teacher Appreciation Gift, or a Christmas Gift. The beauty of giving homemade bath bombs as gifts is that they are consumable and don’t cause clutter.

Homemade bath bombs also make a fun non-edible gift for holidays such as Valentine’s Day or Easter. You can attach a small card with instructions and give them instead of candy to each child in the class.

Fill your bathtub with warm (hot) water, this will help the coconut oil dissolve.

When the tub is full, unwrap the bath bomb and drop it into the tub, it will start fizzing – now, it won’t fizz as much as commercial bath bombs, but it will fizz and if you hid a treasure it will be revealed.

If it doesn’t fizz, here are some tips to help you make better homemade bath bombs.

Soak (or play, in the case of children) in the bathtub for 20 minutes.

When you get out of the tub, be careful because the coconut oil can make it slippery. Once the tub is drained, rinse it out so it’s not slippery for the next person.

Storing Bath Bombs

Bath bombs should be stored in an airtight container. I wrap them in plastic wrap and then tape the bottom and then put them in an airtight container for storing.

If you’re making bath bombs to give as a gift you’ll want wrap them in plastic and label them. Sometimes I’ll put them in another plastic gift bag with ribbon. If I’ve used measuring cups for my molds and the bath bombs are flat, I’ll wrap them in parchment paper and use twine.

Making Bath Bombs

This recipe is adapted from The Big Book of Homemade Products For Your Skin, Health, and Home by Jan Berry. This is my favorite basic book for homemade herbal type products. Jan does a fantastic job of laying out the basics and teaching the “why” behind them. This way, you can decide where to make changes based on your family’s needs and resources.

I love that all the recipes contain easy to find ingredients, many of which you can grow yourself. These ingredients are all safe and cost effective.

Thanks for sharing!