Christmas Candy Cane Bath Bombs

Now we all know how much my kids love Halloween. It’s a favourite around here, but Christmas is a close second. To kick off the holiday season my kids first mission is to buy candy canes. They love these peppermint treats! So for this bath bomb making project, we have created a Candy Cane Bath Bomb Recipe. It’s easy, fun and a fantastic Christmas bath bomb for young and old!

Kid Made Candy Cane Bath Bombs For The Holidays 

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When the kids were smaller, they loved bubble bath play dough, so one of our yearly Christmas projects was to make Candy Cane Bubble Bath Play Dough and Candy Cane Play Dough Soap. It was a highlight every year. This year we have advanced our chemistry lessons and have been making lots of fun bath bombs and soaps. Sometimes we even bring them together, like this Grinch Bath Bomb! So it makes sense that we take our love of Candy Cane infused bathroom products and turn them into something a bit more advanced. Introducing our Candy Cane Bath Bombs!

These peppermint bath treats are the perfect thing for helping you relax during the busy holiday season. To help little ones celebrate their excitement. Or to make as wonderful homemade gifts that everyone loves!

Plus, you might be surprised how easy it is to make bath bombs. It is also a fantastic hands on chemistry lesson for the kids. It’s no wonder bath bombs have become our new obsession around here!

Candy Cane Bath Bombs Recipe

2 cups baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid
1 cup cornstarch
1/4 cup SLSA
3 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon polysorbate 80
Candy cane scent (or peppermint essential oil)
White Pearl mica powder
Red food coloring or mica powder
Spray bottle filled with rubbing alcohol
1 large mixing bowl
1 smaller bowl
Bath bomb molds (or you can substitute with silicone molds)
Optional: Disposable gloves

 

The number of bath bombs made will depend on the size of your molds. With this recipe and my molds, I was able to make 3 large (2.56 inch), 2 medium (2.17 inch) and 3 small (1.77 inch) bath bombs.

Candy Cane Bath Bombs Directions

In a large mixing bowl, add baking soda, citric acid, cornstarch, and the SLSA. Mix.

In the small bowl add coconut oil, candy cane scent (or peppermint essential oil) and polysorbate 80. Mix well, then add to the large bowl. Mix all the ingredients together. I use my hands to break down any lumps and make sure everything is nicely mixed in.

Separate the mixture evenly between two bowls. Add the white pearl mica to one bowl and the red to the other and mix each bowl thoroughly with your hands. To prevent the colour staining your hands, you may want to wear gloves for this step.

You will know when it is mixed sufficiently because it will pack in your hands like wet sand.

Take a bath bomb mold and fill one side about 1/2 full with the white mixture and pat gently. Fill to the top with the red. Repeat on the other side. Press both sides together, using a twisting/grinding motion to get rid of any excess mixture. Gently tap each side and carefully remove the bath bomb.

Pro Tip! If you don’t have bath bomb molds you can pack the mix into silicone molds. Simply leave the mix to dry in the silicone mold for 24 to 48 hours before carefully popping it out of the mold. You may need to then leave them for an additional 24 hours to dry completely.

If you find your mixture gets a bit too dry while packing (a big issue in our dry winter climate), spritz with rubbing alcohol to moisten it.

Leave the bath bombs to harden for 24-48 hours.

Once hardened store in an airtight container until you are ready to use. Then simply drop one in a warm bath and enjoy the bubbly fun of a fizzy bath bomb!

Christmas Chemistry!

This candy cane bath bomb making project is a fantastic Christmas chemistry lesson for the kids. We all know how much kids love a good acid-base reaction, well that is exactly what we have in a bath bomb!

What is interesting with bath bombs is that the acids and bases don’t react while they are a dry, solid state. They need water added to trigger the reaction. After we are finished making our bath bombs we always add some water to the mixing bowl to make the leftovers erupt. It’s the most exciting part of the bath bomb making process! Well, except when we add them to the tub.

In this recipe our base is baking soda and citric acid is our acid. Cornstarch is actually a stabilizer and is used to keep our acids and bases dry so they don’t prematurely react. We studied this fascinating roll of cornstarch in our Baking Powder investigation.

Next we have a couple of chemicals you may not be familiar with. Polysorbate 80 is an emulsifier that helps oils mix with water. This is very important in bath bombs. Without it all the oils and colours in the bath bomb will just float on top of the water in a scum like layer, and no one wants a scummy bath.

Next is SLSA, a surfactant that helps form bubbles and foam for a more luxurious bath experience. Although SLSA is not necessary, it really does increase the quality of the bath bomb experience.

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