The bath bomb craze seems to have a lifetime far beyond what is fair on the ubiquitous "What's Hot" list. These balls' popularity gained traction a few years ago among young and old, for apparently no reason other than their value as bath-time treats and easy gifts. But could cannabidiol (CBD) bath bombs actually have a purpose beyond being a gimmicky bath water colorant? We think so!
Learn why we reckon they could work as part of your beauty regimen, but first, start getting ready to make your own fragrant CBD beauty treats for the bath!
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Making CBD Bath Bombs—Getting Ready & Tips
First of all, get all the ingredients and tools together in your kitchen and familiarize yourself with the tips!
The number of bath bombs you end up with will depend on the mold you use.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup citric acid (or substitutes such as cream of tartar or lemon juice. Experiment!)
- 1/2 cup Epsom salts or Dead Sea Salt
- 15–20 drops CBD oil or tincture
- 1 tsp. water
- 1 ½ tsp. essential oil of your preference
- 3 tsp. oil (coconut or olive oil)
- food or natural coloring (Only a drop or two if you use food coloring. You don't want your bath to look like you slaughtered something in it or to sit with a stained bathtub!)
- Optional: add dried rose or jasmine petals for texture.
Tools:
- a large stainless steel or glass mixing bowl
- a glass jar with a lid or a second mixing bowl
- a whisk or a fork
- a dessert spoon
- a medicine dropper
- a cookie or ice cream scoop
- a bath bomb mold (Commercial bath bomb molds can be bought from eBay, but you could also be creative and use muffin trays, ice cube trays, candy molds, or even round Christmas ornaments!)
Tips:
Before you start—this recipe looks beguilingly easy, and it definitely will be once you get the hang of it! However, it may take a try or two before you've perfected your CBD beauty bombs, so consider halving the ingredients or using only a third. If their shape or fizz is not to your liking, this doesn't mean your attempt has to go to the garbage can! Add the fragments to your bath anyway, and enjoy all the CBD health benefits. Read on for more on those.
The outcome of this recipe could depend on a few factors. We searched advice from the science geeks from Scientific American, and this is what they say: [1]
"Part of the challenge of making homemade bath bombs is adding the right amount of wet ingredients. If you live in a humid environment, you may not need to add all of the wet ingredients.
If the bath bomb mixture appears to continue to puff up even after you have thoroughly mixed in some wet ingredients, then the mixture may be too wet. If this happens, start over making the bath bombs from the beginning, but this time, use less water in the recipe. If you find that this first recipe works better using less water, adjust the following bath bomb recipe similarly.
If the bath bombs are very crumbly, the recipes may not have had enough water in them. To fix this, you can remake the bath bombs but try using a little more water."
Similarly, if they don't fizz at all, it could be because the water content is too high, or perhaps it’s completely unnecessary. Again, experiment!
Scientific American goes on to advise that, especially if you live in a humid environment, you bake your CBD bath bombs in the oven instead of letting them dry at room temperature. This means that you should preheat your oven on its lowest setting before you start the mixing.
Note: if you are going to oven-dry them, you’d best use a muffin tray.
Let's get cracking!
CBD Bath Bombs—The Method
So your ingredients are all ready and the oven is busy heating, if this is the dry-out method you prefer.
- First of all, mix all the dry ingredients well in one bowl with your whisk or fork.
- Now, in the other bowl or jar, add all the wet ingredients together and mix well. Or if you're using a jar, close it and give it a good shake. Don't worry about not getting a full emulsion—oil and water don't mix, ever.
RELATED: Olive Oil For a Radiant Skin
- Now for the tricky part! Using your clean medicine dropper, start adding the wet stuff to the dry stuff, one drop at a time. The secret here is to add the wet stuff in small batches to the dry stuff while continuously mixing. This is so that you do not get any chemical reaction in the dry ingredients—premature fizzing! If you do see a bit of a fizz happening, that's not the end of your CBD bath bombs. Quickly press the fizzy spot down with the back of your dessert spoon. This should stop the reaction, but either add less of the wet mix or perhaps omit the water from the next batch's recipe.
- Once the mixture is complete, it should have the consistency of dry sand. Now you should act quickly! Using your spoon or a cookie or ice cream scoop, measure out the same amount of mixture in your molds and press it firmly down. This you could do with either the heel of your hand or the back of your spoon.
- Once all the mixture is in the molds, let them dry. The simple molds, without any pattern details (like plain balls) or dried petals, should dry relatively quickly. This would depend on your room temperature and the humidity. Especially if the humidity is high, consider leaving them in the oven on the lowest temperature for a few hours—or 45 minutes with the oven door closed.
But How Could These CBD Bath Bombs Add to My Beauty Routine?!
Well, if you know your stuff, you should have spotted the obvious beauty benefits already!
RELATED: 5 Unusual Epsom Salt Uses You’ll Want to Know
The Salts: Epsom salts (which has health properties, too!) or Dead Sea salts act as exfoliants. Once the fizz is out, the salts can be rubbed gently over your skin to get rid of flakiness.
Olive Oil: This is a well-known and wonderful moisturizing agent for your skin. It contains plenty of antioxidants and skin-loving vitamins, is a known antibacterial, and together with the salts, makes for a wonderful exfoliator. [2]
Coconut Oil: Another oil that’s well-loved and praised by dermatologists, this is a fabulous emollient for any dry skin. It also forms a non-greasy barrier on your skin that locks moisture in and pollutants out. [2]
RELATED: CBD Facts You Need To Know
CBD Oil: Then, of course, gorgeous CBD, which sports a host of near-miraculous properties itself. Think anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiallergenic, antibacterial—the list goes on. What's more—the mix of oils ensures that the cannabidiol molecules get absorbed more easily by your body, as CBD is lipophilic. Adding it to a hot bath could furthermore increase your skin's permeability, as skin pores open in the heat. Also, CBD is no longer a Schedule 1 drug...what's not to love?! [4]
Note: never rub a fizzing ball against your skin. That could prove too corrosive, especially for sensitive skin.
RELATED: CBD No Longer A Schedule 1 Drug
So, there's no reason not to make your own CBD beauty product with these stunning bath bombs! In fact, you'll increase their value way beyond gimmicky, trendy, and fragrant...
Sources:
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/sudsy-science-creating-homemade-bath-bombs/
- https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/321246.php
- https://www.elle.com/uk/beauty/body-and-physical-health/beauty-tips/a34531/coconut-oil-uses-and-benefits-for-skin-and-hair/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK425767/
