I just love these simple bath bombs, the oatmeal looks great and the essential oils smell so lovely.
Adding a little extra whoa to your bath bomb is so easy. You can follow my tutorial on how to make bath bombs at home and just substitute a portion of the dry bulking mixture for something a little more skin-loving. In this case, I am removing some of the cornflour and replacing it with some skin-loving oats.Â
About The Oats
Oats are excellent for the skin and their addition here makes for a superb soothing moisturizing bath soak. Plus, it brings an interesting alternative to your standard bath bomb recipe.
The oats on top give the bath bomb a stylish and natural look. You do not need to worry about them clogging up the plug as they should happily fit down the drain and will not turn your bath into oatmeal (there is not nearly enough for that).
The ground oats can be bought ready ground (colloidal oatmeal) which is almost like a powder. You can use ordinary oats, but you will need to grind them, but they do not need to be ground completely into a powder. A quick blitz in a blender or food processor will be sufficient, and it will give the finished bath bomb an interesting texture.
Polysorbate 80
This can be controversial, as people often worry about it being contaminated with 1,4 – dioxane and ethylene oxide. Although these are well known toxins/contaminants, the polysorbate 80 that we buy and use in cosmetics is a certified safe ingredient if used at the right quantity.
Its function in this bath bomb is to help the butter emulsify and disperse into the bath water.
If you want to make this oat bath bomb totally natural you can omit the polysorbate 80. However, the butter will not emulsify into the bathwater, it will just kind of float around on the top of the water. Unless you use an emulsifying wax, like in my shea butter bath bomb recipe.
Plus, the bath will need a wipe down to get rid of any slippiness or scum once you have let the water out. Personally, this does not bother me as I am used to adding oils to my bathwater. Having said that I would not leave out the polysorbate 80 if I was giving this as a gift.
You may also find that you need to give the mixture a couple more sprays of witch hazel so that the bath bomb holds together well.
Keeping with the natural tone, there are also some wonderful essential oils to fragrance the bath bomb. Lavender and sweet orange smell lovely in a bath bomb and are very cost-effective. You can also buy ready blended essential oils that can target problem areas.
Watch The Basic Technique First
Oats So Simple Bath Bombs Recipe
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Equipment
- Mixing Bowl (Glass, Aluminium or PET)
Ingredients
- 520 grams Baking Soda (Bicarbonate of Soda)
- 242 grams Citric Acid
- 14 grams Ground Oats
- 56 grams Shea Butter
- 8 grams Polysorbate 80
- 9 grams Essential Oil or Fragrance Oil (Chammomile and Honey)
- Whole Oats (A few pinches will do)
- Witch Hazel (With spray bottle)
Instructions
- Sift the Bicarbonate of Soda into a good-sized container then add the ground oats to it. Gently melt the butter by giving it a few quick blasts in the microwave. Add the polysorbate and fragrance/essential oil to the melted butter.Mix the butter and oils into the bicarbonate of soda and ground oats. You may need to get your hands in to break up any lumps and give the whole thing a good old mix.Now it's time to add the citric acid, once again you may need to get your hands in to make sure everything is well combined. The mixture should be the consistency of slightly damp sand. If it is so dry that it does not hold together you will need to give it a couple of sprays with the witch hazel. Do be cautious here as you do not want to set the citric acid off by making the mixture damp.To get the oats embedded in the top of your bath bomb, simply throw a pinch of whole oats into the base of one-half of your bath bomb mold.
- Then pack the mold with the bath bomb mixture, you need to pack it high and press it in firmly. Fill the other half of the mold in the same way, you do not need to add the oats to this half. Firmly press the two half molds together, if you have multiple molds you could leave them overnight until removed, this will give the bath bomb a little time to harden. Otherwise, carefully remove one half of the mold and then place the bath bomb onto a secure surface before removing the other half of the mold. You will want to remove half of your mold which does not have the oats in it first.leave the bath bomb to harden for at least twenty-four hours or until it's hard enough to be picked up without it falling apart. Although the bath bombs can be used immediately, I tend to give them another 24 hours for extra hardness.
Substitutes
Whilst I am using, shea butter simply because it is one of my favorites. You can substitute it for any butter you wish, in equal measure.
I have made this bath bomb with different fragrances many times and the only one that was disappointing was vanilla as it turned the bath bomb beige.
Simple Lavender & Oatmeal Bath Bombs
Oats and lavender are a match in heaven are great for sensitive skin. I have made these lavender bath bombs using the same recipe as above only I have replaced the oat decoration with a few lavender buds and fragranced it with lavender essential oil.
I have also added a few drops of purple food coloring, which I added after mixing the butter and oils into the bicarbonate of soda and ground oats (end of step 3)
Final Thoughts
These oat bath bombs fizz brilliantly in the bathtub and they make my skin feel wonderfully soft afterward. Whenever I’ve have had a stressful or tiring day, I like to indulge a little and add two of these bombs to the bath.
Making your own bath bombs is so satisfying and easy. I think the hardest part of making them is getting the feel of the texture right before pressing it into the mold. Once you have mastered this, there’s no going back and I’m pretty confident you will never want to buy another bath bomb.
Bath bombs do not keep well in humid or damp conditions. They are best stored in a cool dry place or wrapped in plastic wrap until needed. If correctly stored the bath bombs should keep for a good eight to nine months.
This is the best bath bomb recipe I have ever come across. At first I was surprised by how much ground oats were called for, but it all came together so nicely. The bath bombs came out of the molds easily. I can’t wait to post these because I’m sure my customers will love these. I wish I could add a picture!
That’s great, Tamara.
I’m pleased you liked the recipe; it’s also one of my favorites.
Angela x
Do you have any more recipes that I can purchase?
Hi Jameelah,
Sorry we don’t currently have anything to sell… but watch this space as something’s coming very soon!