Bath Bombs follow a pretty simple recipe. Below is a list of ingredients you will need to get started. Everything here will be available locally for most of you. Anything you can't find locally will be in the list below.

• Baking Soda
• Citric Acid

• Carrier Oil (We like sweet almond or olive oil)
• Water
• Fragrance/Essential Oil
• Colorant

Optional Ingredients

• Corn Starch
• Herbs
• Sea Salt

If you're just starting out you most likely already have everything you need in your kitchen! The only thing you're probably missing is a bath bomb mold. These can be found at online retailers like Amazon or EBay. Be sure to check your local craft store too. Michael's, Hobby Lobby, and even Wal-Mart might have the molds in stock. You don't need a scale if you have a nice assortment of measuring cups and spoons. Also a whisk is very helpful for mixing your dry ingredients.

• Bath Bomb Mold
• Mixing Bowls
• Measuring Cups/Spoons
• Whisk/Mixing Spoon

Making Bath Bombs can be very tricky. They need to be just the right consistancy to come out perfect. If your mix is too wet, the bottom of the bath bomb will flatten. If your mix is too dry, they might crack or crumble when trying to separate the mold. There are a lot of varibles here and the only real way to tell what will work for you is through trial and error. Start with this recipe and see how it turns out. Make adjustments as you see fit.

Mix the dry ingredients first.

• 8oz - Baking Soda
• 4oz - Citric Acid
• 4oz - Epson Salt

In a separate bowl, mix your wet ingredients.

• 3/4 tsp. - Water
• 2 tsp. Essential/Fragrance Oil
• 1 tsp Carrier Oil (We like sweet almond or olive oil)
• Colorant (start with a few drops, add until desired color is reached)

After you have your dry and wet ingredients in two separate bowls and mixed well it's time to combine them. Slowly added the wet ingredients to the dry ones while mixing simultaneously. This will help spread the wet ingredients out better so you don't pre-activate your bath bombs. You want your mix to stick together. The consitancy should look similar to this photo. If the mix is having trouble sticking together, add teaspoons of water until you have the right consistancy.

Fragrance is one of the most important parts of making a great bath bomb! So where can you find top notch fragrances? Natures Garden has a fantastic selection of fragrances and they ship orders really quickly. Bramble Berry is also has a great selection of essential and fragrance oils. Amazon also has plenty to choose from and you can buy in smaller quantities than most dedicated fragrance suppliers. Take a look at few different suppliers before buying and see what works for your price range.

• Natures Garden
• Bramble Berry
• Amazon
• Wholesale Supplies Plus

A little fragrance goes a long way. You don't need much for it to have the desired effect.

After making bath bombs they will need to sit out overnight before packaging or using them. You can put a fan on them to speed up the process, but leaving them in a well ventalated area will be enough. There are a few ways you can go about this. Drying racks, similar to what bakers use work great for bath bombs. You want to try and avoid humidity if you can. Excess humidity can cause the bath bombs to "go off" and they will deform before you have a chance to use them.

We use tables with a little padding underneath to try and lessen the flattening effect on the bottom of the bath bombs. It gives us a little more flexability in our batches. Egg cartons actually work great for small batches and will save your counter tops form any extra clean up. They take a lot of the pressure off the bottom of the bath bomb. They also look great as a display (we'll get more into that later).

Once the Bath Bombs are done drying you can stack them in conatiners or baskets. We recommend sealing them up if you're going to be storing them for an extended period of time. If left out the color might start to fade. Also depending on your area the humidity could cause the bath bomb to be less effective. It's usually best to package your bath bombs as soon as possible. If you put them in plastic bags or a container of some kind, then you won't have to worry about extra store precausions.

Cured Bath Bombs are quite sturdy. Don't worry about dumping them all into a single container or stacking them. We actually have a "drop test" we use to make sure the batch turned out OK. After the bath bombs have dried, we take one and drop it on the floor from about chest height. If it lands on the hard surface without breaking, then we know we have a nice solid batch of bath bombs!

The packaging process can be just as fun and creative as making the actual bath bombs! It can be as simple as a plastic bag with some ribbon. We've seen some really creative packaging designs. Bath Bombs in a bottle look great and work really well as a store front display. It will catch the eye of anyone walking by your stand or booth.

For those of you looking to sell online, you might want a simplier approach. Something wrapped in kraft paper or a plastic bag are cheap, easy, and look great! Always be sure to include contact information for your business on your packaging. The customer needs to easily see where they can go to get more.

Setting up an online store has never been easier. With platforms like Weebly, Shopify, Wix, and dozens more, anyone can be up and running in no time at all. Even if you have no experience in websites or online shopping, they make it very easy for anyone to get set up. Shopify in particular has a nice option which lets you sync up your Facebook. This gives your customers the option of buying products directly from your Facebook page!

Everyone should have an online presence but don't let that stop you from going to markets and fairs. There is still huge potential at farmer's markets accross the country. With the health food industry picking up steam over the last few years, you have more people than ever to try and sell to. If you're making bath bombs that are similar in size to ours (4.5oz - just smaller than a tennis ball) then you should have no problem getting $4.00 to $5.00 each.

Give people insentive to spend a little more too. For example, say your bath bombs are $5.00 each, have a deal were they can pick any 5 bath bombs for 20 dollars. This will bring the individual retail price of the bath bombs down to $4.00 each but the customer walks away with a 20 percent savings and you walk away with a $20 transaction instead of a $5.00 one. It's a win win!

We've been making bath bombs for a long time. One of the hardest things to get right is the your mixture. As we said earlier, if its too dry it wont stick together properly and might crumble. If its too wet, the bottom of the bath bomb will flatten and it wont hold its shape. Getting the exact ratio for your environment is very important. Remember, you can also add more wet ingredients but you cannot take them out. Always better to start small and add little by little until you get the correct consistancy.

If you're making these in a non temperature controlled room, like a garage or shed, you might have problems with the humidity as well. For example, if your shop is in Florida and it's humid summer day, you might need as much of the wet ingredients as you would in the winer.

Common Bath Bomb Problems

• Too Wet
• Soft Bath Bomb
• Not fizzing a lot (Also try adding more citric acid)
• Expanding out of the mold
• Too Dry
• Lumpy (Mix dry ingredients better)
• Crumbling or Cracking
• Sticking to the mold

If you end up with a batch that didn't go quite right it's OK! You can still salvage it. Let the "mistake" sit overnight and revisit it in the morning. You can take a crumbled bath bomb, smash it up, and repackage it. Put it in a jar or someother neat, preferable clear, container. You can sell this as homemade bubble bath. I've seen people market this as "Fairy Dust" or "Pixie Dust" to great success. You can even add some sea salt or glitter to spice it up a bit. The possibilities are endless!

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