Bombs Over Bathdad

Bath bombs.

The Al-Bomb

Not something I think about often. Frivolous items, often accompanied with hippy jargon, generally reserved for 'smellies' gift sets. I'm more of a bubble bath guy. Not that baths are a common occurrence in my life, being generally reserved for muscle soreness, feeling rubbish, or a chill-out night. Showers use less water.

Bombs away!

I was intrigued, though, when making bath bombs came up as an activity at the local youth club where I volunteer. One of the youth workers runs Heavens A Scrub and decided to show us how to make some somewhat more basic bombs.

The magic

To make a simple bath bomb you mix citric acid powder with bicarbonate of soda, add oils/essences/dyes/glitter, mould, and leave to dry. The oil binds the acid and alkali without giving them the moisture needed to react - that stage is saved for the bath magic. Different oils and essences can be used in order for all sorts of supposed benefits; lavender essence for relaxation, almond oil for improved skin, crude oil for revenge, etc. Dyes can be used to give people a visual clue what the smell should be. As to glitter, well, real men don't use glitter. Bit of a pointless additive which you'll be scrubbing from your tub for weeks.

This is what a Venti looks like in the States

I went for a latte bomb. Skim milk powder and instant coffee were the additive to transform my bath into a foamy beverage. Olive oil was used to bind the powders, the instant coffee provided colour and smell, and the skim milk powder provided the froth. Tell you what, it certainly didn't taste much like a latte. Very salty (for obvious reasons, if you remember your basic chemistry).

The result was not marketable. Not if repeat customers were part of the business plan. I hadn't ground the coffee granules down enough to dissolve effectively in the water which left the bath with brown dots and me with a few extra freckles. The skim milk left a faint scum which died as quickly as it appeared. Not the foamy tub of Starbucks I had envisioned. Maybe I should've stuck to the basics.