Amazing Bath Bombs WITHOUT Citric Acid

Bath bombs without citric acid are fantastic because they can add a special touch to any bath. When you drop them into a warm bath, they fizz, releasing nourishing body oil and a pleasant aroma into the air.

Sure, Lush sells bath bombs for about $8 each, but you can make your own for a fraction of the price.

Although citric acid is used in most bath bomb recipes, you can make DIY bath bombs without it.

I’ve posted several simple DIY bath bombs without citric acid recipes, including one for oatmeal bath bombs (great for the most sensitive skin) and another for DIY natural bath bombs. Citric acid is an ingredient in both recipes. bath bombs without citric acid , on the other hand, may not be suitable for everyone because some people are allergic to it. Citric acid exposure could be harmful to them. DIY bath bombs made without citric acid may work much better for people who are sensitive to it. Instead of citric acid, cream of tartar, also known as potassium bitartrate, is used in this simple recipe.

The color of cream of tartar is white and powdery. It is an acidic byproduct produced during the winemaking process. Cream of tartar is used in the preparation of meringue pies, meringue cookies, snickerdoodle cookies, and angel food cakes. Cream of tartar is a good substitute for citric acid because it is acidic, meaning it has a low pH. So you can make bath bombs out of cream of tartar.

With this simple step-by-step recipe tutorial, you can easily and cheaply make your own bath bombs without citric acid powder at home! A fun summer activity to do on a rainy day or when you’re bored.

I don’t have any children, but I imagine this would be a fun sensory play activity for them, as they could help you make the bath bombs without citric acid and then watch them fizz away!

Where do I find citric acid?

It’s probably one of the most frequently asked questions on The Makeup Dummy.

Citric acid powder has been a mainstay in all of my bath bomb recipes thus far. It’s a necessary ingredient for the fizzing sensation that bath bombs without citric acid are famous for. When you combine it with baking soda and a bathtub full of water, you’re guaranteed a fizz party in your bathroom.

So a bath bomb without citric acid powder must be impossible to create, right?

DIY Bath Bombs without Citric Acid

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Yields: about 4 bath bombs without citric acid, weighing 3 to 4 oz each.

Ingredients for DIY Bath Bombs without Citric Acid

1. Baking Soda – 1/2 cup. I use Arm & Hammer Baking Soda.
2. Cream of Tartar – 1/4 cup. I use McCormick Cream of Tartar.
3. Arrowroot Powder – 1/4 cup. I use Bob’s Red Mill Arrowroot Starch / Flour.
4. Pink Himalayan Salt – 1/4 cup. You can try Spice Lab’s Coarse Himalayan Pink Salt. Sea Salt, or Epsom Salt will work as well. But if you don’t use Himalayan pink salt, your bath bombs won’t have pink sparkles.
5. Liquid Carried Oil – 2 tablespoons. I use rose petal infused sweet almond oil. You can use another carried oil, like coconut oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, avocado oil, or jojoba oil.
6. Bath Bomb Molds – I use Norpro meatball tong. This is my favorite bath bomb molding tool.

How to Make DIY Bath Bombs without Citric Acid

• Combine the baking soda, cream of tartar, arrowroot powder, and pink Himalayan salt in a mixing bowl. Make sure to thoroughly combine the dry ingredients. To do the job, I like to use a silicone whisk.
• Combine the carried oil with the dry ingredients that have been mixed. Because I like rose petals in my bath bombs, I use rose petal infused sweet almond oil. (Learn how to make herbal infused oil.) Coconut oil, grapeseed oil, sunflower oil, avocado oil, or jojoba oil can also be used.
• Thoroughly combine the dry ingredients and carried oil. I usually whisk the ingredients together for 5 to 10 minutes with a silicone whisk. When the mixture resembles wet sand, it is ready to be poured into a mold.
• (Optional) Mix in 10-15 drops essential oil. Lavender essential oil, orange essential oil, geranium essential oil, and bergamot essential oil are some of my favorite pure essential oils.
• Create the bath bombs. I use a meatball tong from Norpro.
• To make perfectly shaped bath bombs, pack the mixture as tightly as possible into the tongs or mold. I scoop up as much of the bath bomb mixture as I can with a meatball tong. Then I pack and press more bath bomb mixture through the hole on top of each meatball tong half.
• After about 30 seconds, unmold the bath bombs. When unmolding, make sure to tap the tongs or mold. The vibration from your tapping will cause the bath bombs to come loose from the tongs or mold.
• Allow your bath bombs to dry for at least a day. They will harden and become less likely to crumble and break during this drying period.

That’s all! This is a simple recipe for bath bombs without citric acid, which are ideal for people who are allergic to or sensitive to citric acid. Cream of tartar is a good substitute for citric acid, but it is not perfect. This is due to the fact that the pH of cream of tartar does not match that of citric acid. When it comes to making frizzy bath bombs, I don’t believe there is a perfect substitute for citric acid.

What does all of this mean? It means that cream of tartar bath bombs do not have the same level of fizz as citric acid bath bombs. Bath bombs without citric acid made with cream of tartar fizz in a warm bath, but not as long or as intensely as bath bombs made with citric acid. Some people substitute lemon juice for citric acid. Bath bombs made with lemon juice, on the other hand, have little to no fizz. If you want to make bath bombs without citric acid, cream of tartar, rather than lemon juice, is a far superior substitute.

So, are you going to try this recipe? As always, if you like the recipe for citric acid-free bath bombs, please pin or share it!

Can’t get enough of making your own bath bombs? Here are two more bath bomb recipes: oatmeal bath bombs (excellent for sensitive skin) and easy DIY natural bath bombs.

How To Make Bath Bombs WITHOUT Citric Acid Powder

• Citric acid, as ‘scary’ or scientific as it may sound, is a natural compound found in a variety of foods. Just like lemons! That’s why this simple bath bomb recipe uses a common and inexpensive household staple: lemon juice.
• Aside from citric acid, lemon juice contains other natural components such as water. The citric acid in lemon juice is relatively small and diluted due to the water, but it’s still present.
• These bath bombs don’t fizz as much as their citric acid counterparts, but they do the job. Drop one into your bath water to disperse the fragrant essential oils and release the skin-soothing baking soda.
• You only need a few common kitchen ingredients to make these bath bombs at home. Everything else is entirely optional.
• This bath bomb recipe’s foundation is very similar to that of a standard bath bomb tutorial. The fizzing reaction that happens when you drop a bath bomb into your bath water is caused by baking soda reacting with the citric acid as it dissolves.

Since we’re not using pure citric acid powder in this tutorial, the base is simply: baking soda + lemon juice.

Ingredients You’ll Need

• baking soda–
• coconut oil
• lemon juice

You can omit the coconut oil from the recipe because it will weigh the bath bomb down and cause it to fizz less.

If you want to add essential oils, I recommend adding the coconut oil because the oil will help safely disperse the essential oils in the bath water.

Optional ingredients are:

• essential oils – 
• decorations or coloring – I used dried lavender buds and cake sprinkles 

Essential oils are very powerful and should be used with caution. If you’re making this recipe with kids or want to give them as a gift, I recommend leaving the essential oils out.

Dried flowers, herbs or citrus zest are great alternatives to give your bath fizzies a natural scent!

Frequently Asked Questions