If you’ve visited any LUSH store, you know the bath bomb struggle and it’s real. With such a wide selection, sometimes all you want is to give up the rose infusions and avocado aloe vera mixes for something simpler, and dare I say, more Desi.
I just recently found out how easy bath bombs are to make, so I thought I’d share my experimentation with you. I chose two deliciously Desi combos: almond-sandalwood (pink) and almond-jasmine (blue). They’re perfect for that pre-wedding day soak or for a cute, customizable gift for your bridesmaids. Try out my recipe with your own colors and scents and be sure to send in pictures of your versions!
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of baking soda
- 1 cup of citric acid (you can get this off of amazon)
- 6 tsp. almond oil (I used a brand called Naissance)
- 1 tsp. each of jasmine oil and sandalwood oil (also Naissance) if you’re making two batches otherwise just 1 tsp. of the essential oils you’re working with
- Food coloring of your choice, adjust as you please ~8 drops or more
- Rubbing alcohol (called ‘Sanitation Spirit’ in the UK) in a spray bottle
- Molds (I used little star-shaped cake tins, but you can use anything you want as long as it’s relatively deep. You can even buy bath bomb molds!)
Note on the ingredients: some recipes call for 1 cup of corn starch to help the bath bombs float. I didn’t think it was necessary after my experimentation but it’s up to you.
Directions:
1. Mix all your dry ingredients together – the baking soda and the citric acid (and the corn starch, if you want)
2. Since I made two batches – one of each scent combo – I divided up the dry mixture. If you only want to do one big batch, don’t worry about this.
3. In another bowl, mix together the oil.
4. Slowly combine the oil mix with the dry mix. Add in the food coloring and try to get an even distribution of color throughout the mix.
5. Spray the mix about 10 or more times with the rubbing alcohol so it starts to hold together like wet sand.
6. Pack the mix into your mold. Heap it on, press it down, and repeat. When you’re close to the top of the mold, heap on some more and press it down. Spray it 1-2 times with the rubbing alcohol and then pack it down. Do this for each mold until you’ve finished up your mix.
7. Turn your molds over on to a plate or tray. Tap the bottoms slightly with a spoon and let the bombs fall out. 
8. Spray the tops of the bombs a few times with the rubbing alcohol.
9. Let your baby bath bombs dry overnight. 
And that’s it! Easy right? I would just say, at the end, your bombs will fall apart if you didn’t spray them enough when they were still in the mixing bowl. So be careful.
This recipe is so easy to customize – if you find the scent is too strong, put in less oil. If you want it to float more, add corn starch. As well, you can change the color and perfume to whatever you want – match it to your wedding palette if you want to pass them out as wedding favors or as tiny, personal thank-you gifts.
Or keep them for yourself and let them fizz you into a dreamy, Desi oblivion.