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Friday, November 18, 2011

{DIY} Bath Bombs and Lip Balm!

Treat yourself or give as a gift!

A few weeks back my daughter and I tried our hands as making homemade body scrubs. One out of SALT and one of of SUGAR. Not only did they make our skin feel smooth and SATINY….they were also kind of fun to make!  But as cute as homemade bath scrub is in a cute bottle or some other cute packaging….it’s hard to beat the cute Bath Bomb shapes you can make!

What exactly is this explosive device for the tub?
A Bath Bomb is basically scented fizzy moisturizing goodness that you throw in your bathwater…and they are ridiculously easy to make!
Of course you COULD go HERE and pay upwards of $4.95 for ONE bath bomb from the uber trendy online store LUSH.com (that claims to have invented the bomb)! They DO have a heady array of colors, shapes and scents to choose from!
OR, you could do the sensible, frugal, eco-friendly and infinitely more FUN thing….and make your OWN for less than the cost of a pack of gum!

 

Yes, that is a Bath Bomb!
No, do not attempt to EAT!

This cupcake one is the first one that caught my eye (of course! Because I love, love, love, lovey, love cupcakes! Pinterest proof here!)
Don’t they just look good enough to EAT!!!??? I wouldn’t recommend it. But as LOVELY as these bombs are…they are a bit more effort than I want/need to put into a product I’m going to watch dissolve in my bathwater. So I’m looking for something that takes a wee bit less time and/or skill. lol.  These are some other fun ones I found!

 

The RECIPE for these things is pretty universal. I looked a LOT of them…and they all boil down to something similar to this simple, straight-forward one I found here at:  SuperSoapmaking.com

Basic Bath Bomb Recipe

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup citric acid crystals
  • 1 cup baking soda
  • ½ cup corn starch
  • ½ cup of oil (almond oil, canola oil, olive oil, sunflower oil) (Some comments below say this is TOO much oil. Cut back if you are having problems getting them to harden.)
  • 2-3 drops of essential oils (lavender, peppermint, any of your choice)
  • 2-3 drops food coloring (depending on the color you want)

Procedures:

  • In a bowl, place 1 cup of citric acid crystals, 1 cup of baking soda, ½ cup of corn starch and ½ cup oil.
  • Add 2 to 3 drops of the fragrance of your choice.
  • Add 2 to 3 drops of food color of your choice.
  • Mix well with a spoon or with your hands until a soft dough is formed.
  • You can handle the dough and form balls or you can press the soft dough into any molds of your choice. You can put colored bath crystals or herbs or dried rose petals on the muffin pans or molds you are going to use before pressing in the dough.
  • Let the pressed dough or balls set overnight before you unmold them.  More TIPS here

If you have your heart set on making the “frosting” for the Bath Bomb Cupcakes….by all means…go for it!  Here’s a LINK to the “recipe”….knock yourself out.

I’m going to call it good at this point because I think these cute little bombs are perfect in their simplicity.  AND because I have one more project I want to try.  LIP BALM!

I should own stock in the Chapstick company! It seems like I buy at least a dozen tubes a month! (Of course half of them get ruined in the washer or dryer…but that’s another story.)

What can I say?  We live in a semi-arid state…made MORE arid in the wintertime with forced-air heating….AND we’re just super chappy people! I blame our pale, fair-skinned Scandinavian ancestors. (Sorry Olaf and Berta!)  :-)

I realize buying Chapstick is not a huge investment…but making a huge quantity of my own that is vastly superior to the stuff I buy at the grocery store checkout stand (Sorry Chapstick) is very appealing to me!  So HOMEMADE lip balm…your time has come!

This process is a little more involved than the Bath Bombs….but not much. I’m thinking it will just take a little more finesse since hot wax and oil are involved. :-)

MarthaStewart.com

Honey-Kissed Lip Balm
Recipe courtesy of Honey.com

Ingredients:
1 cup sweet almond oil*
1/2 cup beeswax**
2 Tbsp. honey

Instructions:

  • Place almond oil and beeswax in a microwave-safe bowl.
  • Microwave on high for 1 minute or until mixture melts.
  • Whisk honey into beeswax mixture; stir well.
  • Set aside to cool completely.
  • When cool, pour into small containers with lids.
  • Apply to lips as a moisturizer or on top of lipstick for extra shine. Makes about 11/2 cups.

*Sweet almond oil can be found at natural food stores.
**Beeswax can be purchased at craft and beekeeping stores.

You can also make actual TUBES of lip balm. Here’s one helpful tutorial.  In the interest of keeping things SIMPLE…I’m going to stick with the small containers and try to make them look at little more “manly” for my “boys”.  What do you think? :o)





Comment | 55 Comments

55 thoughts on “{DIY} Bath Bombs and Lip Balm!”

  2. butterfly0521

    A couple of questions I am stocking up on supplies for the bath bombs, is there a difference in the citric acid crystals versus regualr citric acid? Also for the lip balm I want to make different flavors will the honey have an affect on the flavoring that I want to use? Such as making cherry, vanilla or tropical punch. Thanks

    Reply ↓
  3. Anonymous

    You can substitute honey for Stevia. I believe it's a plant extract. Then you can add whatever you wish. You can also take out some of the almond oil and add cocoa butter for a nice chocolatey flavor.

    Reply ↓
    1. Jillee Post author

      Summer….I have added a few links to the recipe ingredients above. I have purchased most of mine through Amazon.com. You can also get essential oils at your local health food store. :-)

      Reply ↓
  7. Marlo Knox

    I make lip balm all the time. Now my teenagers, their friends and my co-workers ask for it regularly. I put mine in tubes, like Chapstick. Very inexpensive. One of my favorites is my chocolate lip balm. When melting the coconut oil and beeswax I add a few chocolate chips. It adds color, flavor and scent. And NO calories!

    Reply ↓
  9. McKenna

    I just noticed that you put BYU on one of ur lip balm containers :) and was just wondering if you were by any chance a Mormon? ;) and ALSO! what are citric acid crystals and where can I find them?

    Reply ↓

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    2. melani

      All of these supplies, including chapstick tubes and tins, and essential oils, coconut oil and so on can be found for extremely affordable prices on bulkapothocary.com

      Reply ↓
  14. Gigi

    You can buy ingredients at elements bath and body online. Her costs are VERY reasonable. She even has her own lip balm base you can buy then add your own flavorings and such to it. The balm is great. I don’t work for them, I just have been a long time customer because she has fantastic turn around times, great prices and awesome customer service. She still even takes the time to write a note with every order even though they have grown by leaps and bounds. She also throws free samples in too :) It’s time for me to get busy and make some now!! lol

    Reply ↓
  16. Shana Z.

    I have seen some other instances where citric acid can be switched for ground up Vitamin C pills or unsweetened lemonade packets, could that be used here?

    Reply ↓
  19. Michele Brooks

    would love to find a source for the tubes and/or tins! I have looked everywhere.
    I am going to try this recipe. I had tried one where you use vaseline as a base with cranberries.
    Cranberries didn’t smash well and vaseline is a petroleum product, so I would think this is
    healthier.
    PLEASE some one post where the tins/tubes can be purchased.

    Reply ↓

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  22. Julie

    If you click on one of the links she gave us, you can buy some online. I know where to buy some, but I live in Montreal… It won’t be really useful! But I guess wherever you can find natural products and aromatherapists, the will probably sell some :)

    Reply ↓
  28. Sienna

    I was wondering where I could get a square mold like the one you use for the bath bombs. I would love to make some for favors for my upcoming baby shower. I’ve looked just about every where and can’t find one.

    Reply ↓
  29. Shannon

    I’ve made two batches of bath bombs so far with peppermint for holiday gifts. I tried one, and it works so well! I used to buy the ones at Lush…. Never knew they were so easy to make! Thanks!

    Reply ↓
  30. Caitlin

    Thank you for saving my Christmas budget! I made the lip balm and your sugar scrub for a fraction of the cost I spent last year.

    Both turned out amazing! Thank you!

    Reply ↓
  32. Alina

    PS- Do NOT use witch hazel to aid in the hardening of the bath bombs as suggested on the ” More Tips” link. It totally sets off the fizzing reaction.

    Reply ↓

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