After a long day, very few things are as relaxing as taking the perfect bath. That might include setting the mood with just the right candle, turning on a "spa music" playlist, and dropping a cosmic bath bomb into the water. Or maybe your kid has refused to take a bath for several days and you're getting desperate and think a color filled bath bomb might just be the ticket.
But, that store-bought bath bomb might turn your long-awaited bath into a stew of chemicals that might not be so great for you.
The biggest worry is the fact that most bath bombs list "fragrance" as one of the main ingredients. Fragrance is a catch-all term that companies can use to keep their formulations as trade secrets. But, as an umbrella term, it can be used to represent any combination of over 3,000 chemicals (1), many of which have been linked to health problems like endocrine disruption (which means they mess with the normal functioning for hormones in your body) and cancer (2, 3).
So, instead of creating a bath and adding a bath bomb full of these fragrance chemicals and the weird glitter and colored dye you can never get off the tub, try making a batch of your own. They are simple to make, you can control what goes in and personalize them with your favorite scents, and they make a great gift. With all of these recipes, if you're looking to add some fun colors, we suggest using natural food dyes without artificial colorants.
Here are a few of our recipes we like from around the internet.
Real Simple
This article talks about how to make ones that are different in color and have fun add-ins like dried lavender or glitter. We would suggest biodegradable glitter as opposed to the one they recommend, cause we are never a fan of plastics in hot water.
Good Housekeeping
These authors talk about using molds and how to choose different essential oils for different occasions. Read up on essential oils here before you go crazy and add like a full bottle to your bath bombs
Wellness Mama
She talks about using dried herbs as natural scents and has some suggestions of unique ones to try.
Resources
