Bath Bomb Recipe without Citric Acid, but using store cupboard ingredients!
These DIY Bath Bombs make great Gifts That Kids Can Make – for relatives or teachers alike! Easy Heart Crafts are always popular as gifts. But we also have another Easter Bath Bomb Recipe for you to check out here (lovely Peeps Bath Bomb shapes, so so sooo cute). And I think you will also like these fabulous Dinosaur Egg soaps – wash your hands to release the baby dinosaur!
Note: this Easy How to make Bath Bombs how to, was originally shared in Dec 2013 and republished for your convenience!
We have been planning to make Bath Bombs since the beginning of the year. After all, they are such a great gift for Mother’s Day. But clearly didn’t get round to it (again – so much to do, so much to make, not enough time!). One of the reasons, is that many Bath Bomb Recipes use Citric Acid and I just hadn’t had the chance to get hold of some. But you don’t need citric acid to make bath bombs. A Bath Bomb Recipe without Citric Acid contains that magical ingredient Tartar (also used for making playdough nice and smooth). So if you are a DIY household and have some Tartar in, you can make bath bombs with the kids – a great gift for friends and family in the run up to *cough* Christmas. Check out Me and My Shadow for the “traditional” bath bomb recipe.
Bath Bomb Recipe without Citric Acid:
Affiliate links added for convenience – if you purchase core items online, you can buy them in bulk and make this a super inexpensive craft!
- 2 cups bicarbonate of soda (sometimes called baking soda) – US/UK
- 1 cup cream of tartar – US / UK
- 1-2 table spoons of olive oil or plain oil (the oil gives it a nice soothness in the bath)
- food colouring
- essential oils (we used lavender)* (always read instructions) – US / UK
- dried lavender (optional) US/ UK
- Water in a spray bottle
- Ice cube trays (silicon best – hearts work better than stars, don’t get shapes that are too intricate or have sharp corners that could break off) – US /UK
*please always be careful when using essential oils and follow the instructions on the label
Bath Bomb Recipe How To
You can watch the video or follow the step by step instructions below!
Or follow the How to make Bath Bombs Step By Step instructions!
1) Mix your bircabonate of soda, tartar, oil, essential oils and food colouring until you have a colour you are happy with. As food colouring is “wet” it will form little dropplets and you just have to persevere in mixing it in. It will still look quite powdery.
2) Give it 2-3 sprays of water. It will start to sizzle as the bicarbonate of soda reacts with the water. But start mixing it and it will feel a little more “solid”, a bit like wet sand. When you can indent your spoon on the mixture and leave a nice “shape” behind without it crumbling too much you are ready to transfer to your ice cube trays. You can add a couple of sprays of water, if it isn’t lumpy enough yet. Using a SPRAY bottle really is important (we used a cleaned out cleaning bottle), as this disperses the water evenly and avoids, the bircab to just sizzle away in one part of your bowl!!
3) Mix in some lavender. We go carried away and added quite a lot. Less is more as a) you don’t want your bath bomb to fall apart and also, you WILL have a bath full of lavender at the end!!
4) Fill into your icecube trays (silicon REALLY IS BEST, else it is VERY HARD to get out in one go) and press down hard.
5) Let dry for 1-2 days. They get harder over time.
6) Remove gently and done. If you find, they break apart, you didn’t add enough water spray to begin with. You can crumble it all again, spray with more water and start again.
7) Have a nice relaxing bath! See our bath bombs in action!
Don’t forget to stock up!!
- bicarbonate of soda (sometimes called baking soda) – US/UK
- cream of tartar – US / UK
- essential oils (we used lavender)* (always read instructions) – US / UK
- dried lavender (optional) – US/ UK
- Ice cube trays (silicon best – hearts work better than stars, don’t get shapes that are too intricate or have sharp corners that could break off) – US /UK
Easy Bath Bomb Recipe
Equipment
- bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- cream of tartar (in the baking isle)
- essential oils (we used lavender) – always follow instructions on the label
- dried lavender (optional) or sprinkles for decor
- silicon moulds or ice cube trays
- bowl for mixing
- a little water that you can spray
- food colouring (optional)
Instructions
- Mix your bircabonate of soda, tartar, oil, essential oils and food colouring until you have a colour you are happy with
- 2-3 sprays of water
- It will start to sizzle as the bicarbonate of soda reacts with the water. Start mixing it and it will feel a little more “solid”, a bit like wet sand. When you can indent your spoon on the mixture and leave a nice “shape” behind without it crumbling too much you are ready to transfer to your ice cube trays
- Using a SPRAY bottle really is important (use a cleaned out cleaning bottle), as this disperses the water evenly and avoids, the bircab to just sizzle away in one part of your bowl
- Mix in some lavender
- Fill into your icecube trays (silicon REALLY IS BEST, else it is VERY HARD to get out in one go) and press down hard
- Let dry for at least 1-2 days. They get harder over time – the longer you leave them the better
- Remove gently and done. If you find, they break apart, you didn’t add enough water spray to begin with. You can crumble it all again, spray with more water and start again
Video
Notes
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These are great, totally on my to do list now 🙂 You could have so much fun creating different scents too!
Oooh lovely, so pleased you like them! We did make some rose ones too, with rose petals, and they are lovely!
oooh they look amazing, and I bet they smell delicious.
I particularly liked how lovely the kids smelt when they got out of their bath!!
Where do you find Tartar (cream of tartar over here) in such large amounts?
I found a 170g pot at our local supermarket – which was enough for our ice cube tray of bath bombs. If that fails, places like amazon always good? Sorry!
Er, cream of tar tar is too expensive and I cant get a hold of Citric Acid. Any suggestions for me to replace those two?
I don’t know of any recipes that don’t use either of those ingredients! Sorry. Though I did manage to get Citric Acid off Amazon? Worth a try?
You can get all three, citric acid, cream of tartare and bicarb from the soap kitchen. wwwthesoapkitchen.co.uk
Don’t know what international shipping prices are though. You’ll need to email them, they use UPS
Try your local Indian or ethnic shop and chances are they’ll have citric acid. That’s where I got mine.
I agree! Cream of Tarter is like $14 for a tiny little box :S I thought this be a really cute Christmas gift my son could make for his teacher, grandma’s and aunties though!
I am trying it with cornstarch instead. Cream of tartar is super expensive! You can also find citric acid on-line at cheesemaking sites.
I believe you can find citric acid in the canning section of your local store
Try looking in your canning section. That’s where I found citric acid
Maggie you are a never ending source of wonderful ideas. This is a lovely gift idea.
What a fantastic idea – and nanny will prefer something the children made rather than some token gift she didn’t even want. I have pinned and google plused this so I don’t lose it. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful! So pleased you like them! And thank you for the social media love!
This is such a brilliant idea! Thanks for this – another great Xmas gift idea :)))
Thanks for linking up to Homemade Thursday xxx
Hello,
How many bath bombs would you say the ingredients above make? I would love to do this with my pupils 🙂
We filled one ice cube tray – so 12 small ones.
We just filled a tray (24) of mini muffins. I hope they come out!
how long do these keep for as thinking of making them as a gift but need to start soon to make enough for the many many people. wish i had this last yr for my sons teacher for christmas not sure his new male teacher will appreciate the lavender scent! may have to experiment for a manly scent.
If you keep them dry, then indefinitely!
These are so pretty! They remind me of heart shaped snowballs.
can i ask how much is a cup only the tubs are 200g does that mean for bicarb 2 of these tubs plz
So long as you keep the quantities the same RELATIVELY to each other it doesn’t matter? I used a small ish tea cup. And just made sure I use the same tea cup to measure it all out…
These look fabulous! My daughter & I are going to make them as gifts for her to give out :). I am wondering when the Olive oil should be mixed in, as I see it listed in the ingredients but not in the directions.
Oops sorry, just mix it in at the beginning!
Hi there,
How can I print out this recipe as I would like to make the bath bombs with my daycare children. We won’t have access to a computer when we make these.
Thank you for your assistance.
You will have to print the whole page I am afraid.. or do a “sceen shot” and print that out?
do you know a recipie that does not include tar tar
I want to do an all homemade Christmas gift giving this year and I think these would be perfect for post Christmas stress! In your opinion, which does more good for the skin – tartar method or bicarbonate method? How do the two textures differ? Does one hold up better than the other? And lastly, have you ever added Epsom salt to the receipe?
Hello Dana – so sorry, I am not sure which is “better”. The Tartar tends to sink a little, whist the bicarbonate ones float better. I need to still try adding Epsom salt!
Hi there
I love these bath bombs they look so cute!!
Just one thing, I was very surprised at how much cream of tartar and bicarbonate this recipe used, as some other websites I read used only a teaspoon or two.
All the shops near me have only 42g of both of these ingredients, please help!
I bought it in bulk online.. and it was reasonable!
Big fan! Wanted to ask, when you say ‘cup’ do you mean like 8 ounces/half pint or just fill a cup? Thank you, I LOVE this website!! Also would it be okay to use vanilla extract instead of essential oils? Thanks again, Tanya xx
Our cup is just a “relative measure” – i.e. use a big cup or a little cup… and I guess vanilla extra would work?
Hi, me again.
I wanted to know if you could use vanilla extract instead of essential oils?
Thanks a bunch, Tanya (and family!)
Sorry, I forgot I had asked already!
Hello!
Your batch of bath bombs turned out lovely, what food colouring did you use (or not any)? Thank you M!
Nancy xx
Amazing, how long do they last if we were to give as an Xmas present? Can we make them months before? Got all my ingredients ready and my children can’t wait to make them. x
Yes, we made some last year and still have 2-3 left.. they last aaaages!
I love the idea! Planning to make them at school AND at home. Just wondering how many drops of essential oils are we supposed to add? I’ve been reading a bit about them lately and looks like there’s a proportion that needs to be kept so you don’t damage your skin. Could you help with that? Thanks!
Good question! Most essential oils give you a ratio? But always err on the side of caution, I think we added 20 drops or so. Which probably worked out at 2 drops per bath bomb?
This such a great gift idea – I would think the kids would have fun making them. Thank you for taking the time to respond to the comments – your added insights were helpful. Pinned to my “Gifts Kids Can Make.”
Oh wow, these look amazing! I am going to ask my big sis and bro to help me make some for our Mummy x
Did you use any food colouring in your bath bombs? If so which colour and how much? xx
I experimented, but to be honest, I think you are better without!
I cannot wait to try this recipe! You said that the bath bombs harden over time. Is it easier to get them out of the ice tray sooner or later? Thank you!
Yes, it has less chance of crumbling if you leave it longer!
Is the oil in these ok being rinsed down the tub? Wondering if it is bad for the plumbing.
AHHH! Tried these and mine didn’t fizz at all 🙁 any idea what might have gone wrong? On the plus side they look cool and smell delish!
Mmmmh not sure?
Could i use coconut oil ?
I made these using coconut oil and eucalyptus essential oil. I can’t wait for them to dry so we can try them out during cold and flu season.
Great idea!
Hi! How do you get them out of the trays?
I used silicon trays, so you can gently pop them out.
Fantastic idea will be making them in school for Mother’s Day gifts! Any idea roughly how many the recipe makes?
I live in the US and tried this recipe. It worked great up until I put the bomb in the bath and to my 3 year old a dismay, it did not fizz. Any idea why? What’s the ingredient that makes it fizz? Bicarbonate of soda right? I bought baking soda here but have been told it’s the same.
How long will these last for as I would like to make ahead ?
If you store them dry, they last forever I reckon!!
Is tartar essential? Do I have to have it?
For this recipe yes… for a different one, no!
Hi,
I followed the instructions and they seem to be a bit flaky. Any idea what to do?
Can I add more water?
Hello, you can recrumble the mixture and start again. I am thinking yes, add a LITTLE more water (not too much – it is a tricky balance). Then pack it in as HARD as you can. Also the they get a LOT HARDER over time. So the longer you leave them in the molds before removing the better!
How many can you make with this amount ?
I confess, I can’t remember :-/ sorry!
I have a jacuzzi tub, and I know that bath bombs can cause the jets / pump to clog, but I was wondering if anyone knows if this recipe is safe to use if I leave out the dried lavender (or any larger particles). Would the other small particles (cream of tartar, baking soda, etc) still clog the jets?
Sorry, no idea :-/
How many individual pieces does this recipe make roughly please. Thanks in advance 🙂
I depends on your ice cube tray? I think I filled 2/3s of mine.
My kid always make Fridge magnets all the time. You share lots of great ideas. Now I am thinking to make a homemade gift for my kid.
Thank you
Yay!
Wow these looks so beautiful and attractive. Its heart shape is so cute and these bath bombs are very interesting for use. Kids will love to do such activities. I will also try if get the material for the same.
Kids get very exited while the make something for their loved ones. My kid made cookies last week for her dad and she was so exited to make it and show it to her dad. She wanted to take part in every small things. She was not even allowing me to touch any thing in the kitchen except to instruct her what next to do. Kids are very enthusiastic about thing they want to do.
Awww I agree, it is so lovely when they enjoy making something for someoone special so much!
How many bath bombs does this make. Sorry, Typo.
It made about 12-14 Ice Cube sized bathbombs
i cannot find the how-to vidio
The video is loaded under “Bath Bomb Recipe How To” section? Do you maybe have a video blocker on?
Thanks Maggy for sharing such a good post on Bathing items and bathing furniture specially for kids. I have several customers need kids furniture occasionally and I found this post and tips for my business very useful. Thanks
Loved it.Thank you for sharing