DIY Bath Fizzies

I have been making DYI bath products for a few years now and most recently have taken up crafting artisan soap. Before I moved here to Virginia I even had started a little soap business for myself. That has taken a little bit of a back seat through the move and trying to get our garden established. I am hoping to get back into crafting artisan soaps this fall and winter. while its not a get rick quick kind of trade it does have the potential to bring in some income for our homestead. At some point I will post a video on making soap - once I get more comfortable with creating videos.
I was inspired by @goldendawne to create this post as she was so kind to share her dishwasher tablet recipe I wanted to share one of my own Bath Fizzie recipes. The one thing I totally love about making bath products and soaps is how customizable they are. Once you become comfortable with the ingredients and the science behind the products crafting your own recipes becomes part of the fun.

I make these on the regular for my kids. I even put little shopkins in the center from time to time as a little added bonus.
to make a bath fizzie you need the below pictured ingredients:
below is my basic recipe:
30 ounces Baking Soda
15 ounces citric acid (same as used for canning)
5 ounces Epsom Salts
1 ounce Kaolin Clay (you can use corn start instead) helps to make the bath fizzie harder.
1 to 2 ounces Sweet Almond Oil (or oil of choice) *this is optional if you don't want the tub to be too slick.
Fragrance or essential oils (in this recipe I used 3 drops Mandarin Orange and 4 drops Patchouli)
colorants (cosmetic mica or natural colorants can be used).
97% rubbing alcohol or Witch Hazel in a spray bottle.
it is also helpful to have a digital scale for measuring, pipets for measuring your essential oils (I got like 500 disposable ones from amazon for a reasonable price), bath bomb molds (ice cube trays will work too).

I first start by mixing my dry ingredients. word of caution - the citric acid can be irritating so you may want to invest in some masks. I would also suggest using a sieve to eliminate any little clumps. If using a colorant now may be a good time to add it as well. I like to keep my bath fizzies white as I don't like having to clean the tub up afterwards. once you have all the dry ingredients well mixed and no clumps are present you will want to add your wet ingredients. If adding oil, I would do that first as this will dramatically determine the moisture content of the bath fizzie. Next add the fragrance if you are adding it.

once the wet ingredients have been added you want to look for a mixture that will clump together when you squeeze it in your hand. If the mixture does not stick together well you can add a couple spritzes of your alcohol or Witch Hazel to dampen the mixture.
next you will want to mold your bath fizzies. I am using my bath bomb molds. Again, I bought them on Amzon for less than 20 dollars for the set of three. The small, medium and large bath fizzie and I think it came with a really easy recipe to follow too. You will not want to firmly pack the bath fizzie molds unless you are using a silicon mold or ice cube tray. those you want to make sure you pack firmly. with the Bath Fizzie Molds you want to scoop the mixture into both halves of the mold with heaping amounts. You will then squeeze the two halves together as pictured above.

If using an ice cube tray you will just want to firmly pack the mixture into the tray or mold and let sit out overnight to harden up. If you are using the round molds the next step is probably my FAVORITE! you need gently tap the outside of the bath fizzie mold with a spoon, knife or in tonight's case I used a measuring cup. This helps to release the bath fizzie from the mold.

Once you have given it a couple good taps gently remove the top mold roll it over into your hand to remove the bottom mold - VIOLA you have a pretty round little bath fizzie to enjoy or gift to friends. I like to clean up my edges to make them nice and round too.

bath fizzies are a lot of fun to make and make a great family activity to make with your kids. I am not sure which my two like more - making them or taking a bath with them.
Hope you enjoyed this quick how to create your own Bath Fizzie - would love to see some of your creations too!
Happy Homesteading friends.

**If you do not have a digital scale - that is okay. Basically it is a 2 to 1 ration of Baking soda to Citric Acid ( 1 cup Baking soda to 1/2 cup Citric Acid) plus any other additives you may like to add.