MNM's Make: Fizzy Bath Bombs

Who would have thought that you hold the power to create the lush sensation of a fizzy bath bomb to relax and unwind in a glorious hot tub in the palm of your hands? Who would have known that you can lovingly craft this gloriously luxurious feeling from just a few simple household ingredients. Well you can!

Here's how:

Dry ingredients
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup corn flour
1/2 cup citric acid
1/3 cup wholegrain oats (optional)

Sift the baking soda, corn flour and citric acid into a bowl.

Grind up 1/3 cup of wholegrain oats in the food processor and add to the dry ingredients if you want to make lovely flecks in your bath bomb.

Wet ingredients
2 1/2 tablespoons oil (I used sweet almond oil but any light oil like sunflower oil would work too) - bought from a health store
1-2 tsp essential oil (I used sweet orange, but any scent lemon, lavender, eucalyptus etc would be lovely)
3/4 tablespoon water
1/4 tsp borax (optional as this is difficult to find in NZ - the only place I found it was on Trade Me and I had to buy a kg for $10 although it can be used for many other household uses - see here)
Witch hazel - bought from the chemist
Food colouring (optional - I kept mine naturally coloured so didn't put any in)

Whisk all of the wet ingredients together in a bowl.

Very, very slowly drizzle the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. The mixture may start to fizz a little and if it does slow down and blend in with a spoon. Once all the wet ingredients have been drizzled into the dry, get your hands in there and scrunch the mixture thoroughly with your hands.

Tip (or spray) a tiny amount of witch hazel into the mixture (only 1/4 tsp at a time, I used 1/2 a tsp in total).

You know you have the right consistency, if when pressed together in your hand, it molds and sticks together, but is easily broken apart as well.

Take whatever you want to use as a mold - I just used one of the kids' stacking cups (approx 1/4 cup) and if you want to, sprinkle a few wholegrain oats in the bottom of the cup.

Pack the mixture very tightly into the molds - even better if you can find a tamper to pack it down with - our coffee tamper just happened to fit the cup perfectly .

Once the mixture is firmly in the mold, tip it upside down and gently bang it against your hand until it loosens and comes out.

Place on a plate or tray and leave to dry out overnight before you pick them up, by this time they will be rock hard.

There are so many fun combinations of different scents you could try with these.  

Hope you have as much fun making these as I have!