Can You Make Bath Bombs Without Citric Acid?

can you make bath bombs without citric acid | bramble berry

Citric acid and baking soda are the main ingredients in bath bombs. That combination creates the fizzing reaction in water. From there, you can add your favorite bath bomb oils, fragrances, color, glitter, and more.

Citric acid is a mild preservative that’s often used in canning and other applications like candy making. It can be a little tricky to find in stores, which is why some recipes call for substitutions. So, can you make bath bombs without citric acid?

In this video, three experiments are conducted to see how bath bombs fizz without citric acid. The ingredients tested are lemon juice, cream of tartar, and cornstarch. As you can see, they barely fizzed and some even affected the texture. 

The combination of citric acid and baking soda produces the best bath bomb. The recipes for the ones tested in the video are below, although we don’t really recommend them.

Lemon Juice Bath Bomb:
1 cup baking soda
Lemon juice (until moldable texture)

Cream of Tartar Bath Bomb: 
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup cream of tartar
Witch hazel (until moldable texture)

Cornstarch Bath Bomb:
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup cornstarch
Witch hazel (until moldable texture)

Find bath bomb making supplies here and projects here.