Skully’s secret bath bombs

Difficulty: Intermediate
Time: 1 hr 30 mins
Yields: 12 mini bath bombs

These bath bombs have a hidden secret. They might look plain and unscented, but place them in water and they’ll reveal a colourful surprise and release a delicious fragrance of sweet orange, pumpkin pie and spice. Check out the video at the end of this post!

I made these bath bombs as an alternative to sweets for trick-or-treaters at Halloween. I’ve noticed the last couple of years, that there are more and more parents concerned about the amount of sugar their children consume, so I wanted to offer them a sweet-free option. These are mini sized bath bombs, made with the smaller bath bomb mold from Pure Nature, and they’re just the perfect size for kids.

ONE: Combine 2/3 baking soda and 1/2 citric acid in a bowl.

TWO: Add a teaspoon of orange saffron mica, and wearing gloves, mix everything together with your hands, making sure you break up any clumps in the mixture.

THREE: Add 1 teaspoon of polysorbate 80. This is an optional step,  although the mica won’t stain the bath tub, it can leave a ring of colour along the sides of the tub. Mica doesn’t easily mix with water and the polysorbate 80 helps disperse the mica in the water.

FOUR: For these bath bombs, I combined pumpkin pie fragrance from Candlescience and sweet orange essential oil to create a blend that reminded me of Halloween and trick-or-treating: warm and fruity with spice overtones. Add 1 teaspoon of each to the bath bomb mixture. And again, wearing gloves, mix everything with your hands.

FIVE: Spray with a little water, if necessary, until you reach the right consistency. I made this a little wetter than usual, because I will need to be able to form them into balls with my hands. I tried using a little meat ball former, but I found that I couldn’t remove the balls properly and they kept breaking up. So instead, I decided it would be quicker and easier to mold them by hand. Be careful, though, that you don’t over-wet the mixture!

SIX: Form 12 little balls using up all of your bath bomb mixture. The easiest way is to grab a handful of mixture and squeeze it in your hand. Then carefully release and start firming it up in the ball of your hand. Leave them to dry for several hours or overnight.

I’m sorry I couldn’t take any pictures, because I was using both my hands and they were covered in orange bath bomb mixture.

SEVEN: When the little orange balls are dry and hard,  you can prepare the unfragranced white bath bomb mixture. Combine 1 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of citric acid in a bowl.

EIGHT: Spritz with water until you have the right consistency. Wear gloves (unlike me), especially if you have painted nails, because the bath bomb mixture will eat your polish. I’m wearing Jamberry wraps, which can withstand the chemicals of the bath bomb mixture. (Yes, I love my colourful Jamberry wraps!)

NINE: To assemble the bath bomb, check out the image above. Add a little bit of white bath bomb mixture in one half mold, add the orange ball, and fill the sides up with more white mixture. Loosely fill a second half mold and squeeze the two filled molds together. Remove one mold (sometimes you need to tap the mold lightly to let it release the bath bomb), and carefully place it bath bomb side down and lift the other mold off.

TEN: Form all 12 bath bombs and then place them somewhere to dry out and harden. Leave them for at least 3 hours or preferably overnight.

ELEVEN: Once your bath bombs have dried and hardened, it’s time to paint them. Mix 1 teaspoon of dark violet purple mica with 1 teaspoon of 99% isopropyl alcohol. Using a paint brush, paint a skull face on your bath bombs. Leave them to dry for a couple of hours and then wrap them up in cling foil or cello bags to prevent them getting moist.

Happy trick-or-treating!