DIY Bath Bomb Tutorial – Lush Dupe!

Don’t you just love Lush Bath Bombs? Well you know you can easily make your own amazing bath bombs at home with easy to find natural ingredients?! Follow the instructions outlined in this bath bomb tutorial to make your own version of Lush Big Blue bath bomb. Your end result will be 3 lemon lavender bath bombs about 8 oz in weight each. They are HUGE! Not only that, but you can save money by making them rather than buying them. Have fun making these and comment below how they turned out for you!

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Tools & Equipment You Will Need

• Digital Scale
• 2 Large bowls
• Several small dishes/bowls
• Sifter/Sieve
• Measuring spoons, droppers, fork, spoon, etc
• Latex or Rubber Gloves, Dust Mask
• Stainless Bath Bomb Mold

Ingredients You Will Need

• 16 oz (1 lb) Baking Soda
• 8 oz Citric Acid
• 4 oz Fine Grain Sea Salt
• 2 oz Corn Starch
• 2 tsp (10 g) Castor Oil
• 1 tsp (3 g) Lemon Essential Oil
• 1 tsp (3 g) Lavender Essential Oil
• 1/2 tsp Blue Ultramarine Powder
• Spray bottle with Rubbing Alcohol

How to Make Big Blue Bath Bombs

1. Start by putting a bowl on your scale that will be large enough to hold 1lb of baking soda. Press the tare button to zero out the scale so you’re ready to measure. You can sift as you measure or simply measure the baking soda out. You want 16 ounces. (In my photos throughout this post, I did a half batch. You can do that also or the full batch. Keep this in mind when looking at my images!)
2. After you have weighed it out, pour the baking soda through your sifter into your largest mixing bowl.
3. Repeat this process sifting and measuring remaining dry ingredients and adding to the large mixing bowl.
4. Now you have nicely sifted baking soda, citric acid, sea salt, and corn starch in your bowl.
5. Measure out 2 tsp of Castor oil with measuring spoons (or 10 grams by weight on the scale if you prefer).
6. Add the castor oil slowly while mixing into the dry ingredients.
7. Measure out 1tsp of each essential oil (or 3 grams each by weight on the scale).
8. Add your essential oils slowly while combining thoroughly into the mixture.
9. Mix thoroughly with a fork and with your hands to break up all clumps and incorporate the oils evenly.
10. The texture you’re looking for is pictured above. The bath bomb mixture should clump together like damp sand and hold shape when you squeeze a handful. If it doesn’t do this, you can lightly spritz with rubbing alcohol as needed to add more moisture (don’t add water).
11. Now you will divide out part of your mixture to color. You can split in half equally or split about 2/3 and 1/3. It’s up to you! Put the mixture to be colored in your other mixing bowl.
12. Add 1/2 tsp of ultramarine pigment powder color to the larger portion of bath bomb mixture and mix in thoroughly.
13. Now you’re ready to mold your bath bombs! Get your bath bomb mold ready. Ensure the texture of each mixture is moist enough to stick together when squeezed. Spritz with rubbing alcohol if necessary
    
14. Fill each half of the bath bomb mold to overflowing. You can pack down the mixture a little as you fill, but you definitely want a lot piled up on top. This is crucial because the packing together is what makes the bombs hold their shape.
    (You can layer your bath bomb molds however you like. I tried 2 different techniques. I put a little white mixture in first and then filled the remainder of each half with blue for the look of the bomb in my hand. Or you can go back and forth between white and blue to create more layers.)
15. Carefully press the overfull halves together VERY FIRMLY and hold together for several seconds.
16. To release the bomb from the mold, I waited a few seconds and then used a regular stainless dining spoon to tap each end of the mold to help unstick the mix from the bomb mold.
17. Slowly and carefully remove each half and lightly place on a folded towel / fabric to let them dry and set up. (If you find the bomb falling apart as you separate the mold halves, you can pack more mixture in and press again)
18. Wait until they’re solid and dry before you use them.

Store them in a very dry environment or wrap them up in plastic or air tight container until ready to use. If they are subject to humidity or moisture, they will begin to react and then when you put one in the tub, it will be a dud!

Here is the cost breakdown (without color – I forgot) for the batch. This tutorial should produce about 3 bombs because I did half the batch size and got more than 1.5 bombs. Divide the batch cost by 3 bombs and they come out to only $2.10 in ingredients ($2.13 each if you add in the ultramarine powder)

Color Alternatives!

Brambleberry has developed an entire line of colorants specifically for bath bombs. I’ve never used them, but they are supposed to be perfect for bombs because they’re liquid and oil based and they shouldn’t leave any colored residue on the tub. Those colorants are called ‘La Bomb’ colorants. I used ultramarine pigment because I try to focus on natural or nature-identical ingredients in my tutorials. I have read to avoid colored mica powders because they do tend to leave a color residue in the tub FYI!

Hope you enjoyed the tutorial! If you have any questions, comment below! If you make your own bombs, head over to the Make Your Soap Facebook Page and share your pics!