DIY Rose Bath Bombs

I’ve always loved the look and smell of roses. Some may say that both flower itself is old fashioned and the scent destined to grace only the wrists and necks of the older generations but I’m here to say that’s flipping ridiculous. Seriously, Google “perfumes that don’t smell old-ladyish” and you’ll see that an inordinate amount of ladies are more concerned with not smelling like an old lady despite liking smells like roses and baby powder. I figure where scents you love,  you’re around yourself all day, right?

So I love the smell of roses and I’m not going to apologize for it. And when I dried some roses I dyed really pretty colors in the past few weeks I looked at those pretty, vibrant roses and decided that I wanted to use them for something more than decoration… I wanted to give them a purpose. And so I put them into bath bombs. This was learning experience for me and I’m really only happy with one though I made 3 but that just means I’ve got some tips to make some GORGEOUS rose bath bombs for you.

Oh, wait… Want to see how to dye and dry your roses first?

• Learn how to rainbow dye your roses pretty colors here.
• Learn how to dry your roses and preserve them here.

For this project you will need:

• Dried Roses
• Cornstarch
• Citric Acid
• Baking Soda
• Plastic globe ornament OR bath bomb mold
• Oil of choice (I strongly recommend Sweet Almond)
• Rose essential oil (I love the all of the floral scented oils from this set)
• Soap Colorant of Food Coloring

To make your base for your bath bombs use a ratio of 1 part citric acid, 1 part cornstarch to 2 parts baking soda. I mixed up batches of 1 cup citric acid, 1 cup cornstarch and 2 cups of baking soda, for example. Place all dry ingredients in a bowl and stir until well incorporated.

Add 2 tablespoons of the oil of your choice plus enough rose scented scented/essential oil for a nice, strong scent. I used probably 20-30 drops per batch.

Mix together well until the oil is evenly distributed through your mixture and give it a quick squeeze test. Grab a small handful and squeeze it in your hand. If it easily sticks together then it’s ready to go. If it easily crumbles then you need to add more oil. If it makes your hand super greasy, it’s time to start adding the 1 to 1 to 2 ratio of citric acid, cornstarch and baking soda in small increments until you get the proper results in your “squeeze test”.

*First beautiful rose bath bomb tip: The weight of the oil you use will greatly impact the results of your bath bomb. I tried olive oil (from the pantry), Sweet almond oil and coconut oil melted to liquid for use. The blue bomb was made with the oil that I’d say felt the “heaviest” or the olive oil. The oil permeated the rose entirely and made it appear flat and strange. It’s still a pretty neat bath bomb but it doesn’t have that gorgeous, frilly look like the best of them, the pink one, in my opinion. The  yellow bomb which is distinctly between the two in fluffy/flat appearance was used with coconut oil warmed to a liquid state. It turned out okay, but for those fluffy, gorgeous roses go with Sweet Almond Oil and take care not to over-saturate your mixture with it.

Place your dried rose into one half of your ornament or mold. Now I’m using ornaments but I have my eye on this really inexpensive bath bomb mold set. I’m just not sure if I make bath bombs enough to warrant the cost but if you plan on making a lot, even in one sitting, say for gifts, the metal will be a lot sturdier and work better. I got kind of crazy with my third bath bomb, I guess, because I cracked the bejesus out of my mold and pinched my palm in the middle and it left one of those weird blood blisters, but in the shape of a line. Creepy. Painful. Avoidable because even though I’m apparently surprisingly strong, even I couldn’t break metal, right? :)

*Second beautiful rose bath bomb tip: First fluff out your rose carefully to separate the petals. Dried flowers can be brittle so really be gentle, peeling them out and fluffing up on one side of the rose. Push the “fluffed out” side of the rose up against the middle of one side of your mold and then use your fingers to sort of mash the rose together so it takes up less space. Push it in as firmly as you can.

Place your bath bomb mixture on top of the rose and pack it in as tightly as you can. The more firm the bath bomb the longer it will last in the tub and the better your rose will hold within the bomb. See how my mixture is clumpy but fine? Sort of like brown sugar? This is the “perfect” batch with sweet almond oil.

Continue to pack the globe with mixture until you’ve got a slight dome of bath bomb in the center.

Fill the other side of the bomb making this side of the bomb flush with the edge of your mold/ornament. Put the two halves together and really squeeze those suckers so that they join and form one bomb. Keep the mold together for a few minutes with continued pressure.

Gently pry the mold away to release the bomb.  See that beauty? So fluffy, so pretty!

Place your bombs someplace safe for to dry out. Once fully dry these suckers become rock hard an surprisingly resilient to drops and spills (I’m clumsy so I know all about it, but they’ll still break so take care :) I placed mine on top of an old window screen placed up high so the cats couldn’t roll them to the ground and break them. News flash, cats can be jerks.

I would have used my hanging drying rack I made for crafts but I’ve misplaced it. That thing is awesome, so check it out if you have projects you need to dry and keep safe from jerk kitties.

Though it’s just a small change from the typical bath bomb, adding dried roses adds a fun and interesting twist to the classic, in my opinion. It’s easy to do and after you get your technique down, you’ll be making gorgeous, fluffy rose bath bombs that will make gifts to ooh and aah over! And that, friends, is all she wrote. She being me, of course.