You might think it’s easy to pick bath bomb supplies. After all, they’re pretty cheap, so it’s not that big of a deal if you make a mistake. That’s true in a sense. But you put so much love and care into making your bath bombs, that it’s a shame if they don’t turn out as well as they could.
Here at The Bathtubber, we’ve made our share of mistakes: We’ve turned our bathtub bright blue with the wrong type of colorant, we’ve made our bath bombs with a hardly detectable scent, and we got bad carrier oils that made our bath bombs crumble. It’s our sincere hope that the products on this list will spare you those problems.
We’ve categorized our materials according to our bath bomb recipes. Most bath bomb recipes begin with the ingredients that are listed below under Supplies for Basic Bath Bombs. The next section is devoted to supplies you’ll need to make Bath Bomb Embeds. From there, you can find additional materials you’ll need to make the Bathtubber’s recipes for these amazing bath bombs: Winter Wonderland, Spring Garden, Summer Swim and Fall Asleep. Also, you’ll find what you need for our Halloween favorite, the Candy Corn Bath Bomb.
Best Supplies for Basic Bath Bombs
We recommend that you master the basic bath bomb before moving onto a more advanced bath bomb pursuits. There’s a lot to master and the basic bath bomb will still light up your bath experience with fizzy fun. Here are the supplies you’ll need for a basic bath bomb. (See our recipe in How to Make a Bath Bomb: The Ultimate Guide.)
1. Bath Bomb Molds
I’ve tried the stainless steel spheres, the stainless steel shapes like starfish and seashells, and these plastic ornament molds. These work best by far. With the stainless steel molds, I often have trouble getting the bath bombs out. Not so with these plastic ornament molds. Plus, these are perfect if you’re giving the bath bombs as gifts, because you just leave them in the molds and wrap in clear cellophane for a really pretty presentation.
2. Essential Oils
You can buy your essential oils one at a time as you need them. But it’s quite cost-effective to buy a whole kit. I found this amazing collection of pure essential oils called Nirvana by Natrogix. It comes with 18 of the most used essential oils. They are all 100% pure, which is important for their effectiveness. Having all of these allows me to play around and test which combinations I prefer. What I also love is that this kit includes a Quickstart Guide that gives a good overview of the benefits of each oil in the collection.
3. Carrier Oils
Carrier oils will dilute your essential oils and deliver the essential oils to your skin without causing irritation. There are all kinds of carrier oils to try but here are my favorites:
You’ll want to melt down the coconut oil before using it in your bath bomb. But I like to use it because it’s so moisturizing for the skin, and it has the added benefit of helping to harden the bath bombs as they dry.
4. Dry Ingredients
I buy my dry ingredients in bulk, because when I get into the bath bomb making mood, I’ll make a bunch of different recipes at a time. After all, it really takes 20 minutes to mix a recipe together. If it’s a rainy day activity—or if it’s holiday time and I’m making gifts—I’m going to make at least a dozen bath bombs. If you are planning to just make two bath bombs, you could find these dry ingredients at the grocery store, except for maybe the citric acid.)
I want to pipe in here about the colorant. You can get a liquid soap dye, and I’ve tried this in my bath bombs. I find the dried mica powder colorant so much easier to work with. Mica is a natural mineral, too, so I enjoy knowing I’m not soaking in some toxic artificial colors. This color is easy to wash off any bathtub. The kit below comes with 24 vibrant colors, each in individual packets. Also, you can use mica to color soaps as well.
5. Witch Hazel in Spray Bottle
6. Protective Gloves
7. Small Paintbrush
Use a small paintbrush to dust off any extra bath bomb powder from your finished product, once you take it out of the mold.
I’m assuming you have measuring cups and mixing bowls but if you don’t, you’ll need those too.
What You Need to Make Bath Bomb Embeds
Embeds make your bath bombs extra fizzy. They can also make your bath bombs spin. From the list of supplies and ingredients described just above, you’ll need citric acid, baking soda, witch hazel and a spray bottle. It’s optional to add mica colorant to your embeds. But you’ll also need a mini-silicone mold. (You can also use an ice cube tray.) Here’s what I use:
Mini Silicone Mold for Embeds
Additional Supplies for Winter Wonderland Bath Bombs
In addition to the basic bath bomb supplies, here are some other supplies you’ll need to make the Winter Wonderland bath bomb:
1. Mini Snowflake Soap Mold
This recipe calls for a mini-snowflake made of soap to herald in the feeling of a winter wonderland.
2. Shea Butter Crafting Soap
We like to use shea butter crafting soap in this recipe, but you can definitely use any bar of soap you have around instead. Just cut a bar into cubes and melt down.
4. Biodegradable Glitter
We are so happy to find this product! We almost did away with glitter in our bath bombs because of the environmental impact of microplastics on the ocean. But this glitter is made of plant matter. Yay!
5. Shea Butter
Yes, you can substitute a different carrier oil in this recipe. Just keep in mind that what’s great about shea butter is it’s seriously hydrating in the winter. Also, helps harden your bath bomb as it dries.
What Else You’ll Need for the Spring Garden Bath Bomb
This recipe uses all of the basic bath bomb ingredients plus Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSA) , to make the bathwater frothy. And of course, to make this exquisite bath bomb, you need some dried flowers!
1. SLSA
Use a well-ventilated room (or a face mask) when working with SLSA because it’s a super fine powder that you’re bound to inhale. It’s made from palm oil and this one is 100% organic. It definitely makes bathtime more fun by adding froth and, if you add a bit extra, it can make bubbles.
2. Dried Flowers
I searched far and wide until I found a dried flower kit to my satisfaction. This one offers 12 different flower varieties that are gorgeous and don’t contain any extra dyes. Keep these in a cold, dry spot. So pretty!
Make Sure You Have These Ingredients for the Summer Swim Bath Bomb
1. SLSA
We also used this ingredient to make the Spring Garden bath bomb. But in this recipe, we add a little extra to make the bathwater bubbly instead of merely frothy.
2. Expandable Water Toys
These look awesome on the top of your bath bomb! They don’t expand quickly, though, but rather slowly take on water until they reach 600x the original size. So after your bath, you can transfer your sea creature in a bowl of water to watch it grow even more.
3. Biodegradable Glitter
This recipe uses the same glitter as needed to make the Winter Wonderland bath bomb. We love this biodegradable glitter that won’t pollute our water systems.
What Else You Need for the Fall Asleep Bath Bomb
Besides the Basic Bath Bomb ingredients listed above, you’ll need.
1. Dried Flowers
I cannot express enough how beautiful these dried flowers are. They contain no added dyes and are 100% natural. You get 12 different, brightly colored gorgeous varieties. (We also use these in the Spring Garden Bath Bomb and they really take any bath bomb you can dream up to the next level.)
2. Avocado Oil
If you already have another super hydrating carrier oil, then feel free to use it. Avocado oil has many healing properties, including calming itchy skin and nourishing dry skin.
3. Oatmeal
Oatmeal is incredibly soothing for your skin. It’s used to soothe irritation and dryness. If you have Quaker Oats, just blend a little and use that. Or order this oatmeal that is already ground. You can add it to any bath bomb and your skin will thank you for it.
Additional Supplies for Our Halloween Candy Corn Bath Bomb
In addition to the basic bath bomb supplies above, you will need the following to make the candy corn bath bomb:
1. Mini-Halloween Silicone Soap Mold
There are lots of fun and scary silicone soap molds to choose from. However, for this recipe, it’s important to get a MINI soap mold. (Kind of funny that I wrote the word “mini” REAL BIG.) But anyway, the reason it needs to be mini is that your soap mold will fit into the center of your Candy Corn Bath Bomb and say “Boo!” to the bather. Here’s the one that I like best:
2. Bar of Ivory Soap
If you’re wondering if it has to be Ivory, yes it definitely does. The reason? Ivory soap is the only soap that floats. If you’re curious about why this is important, see the full post.
3. Castor Oil
In any bath bomb recipe, you can use whatever carrier oil you have. We like castor oil because it is quite thick and works well to bind the bath bomb. And it’s very hydrating.