What Makes A Bath Bomb Fizz?

There aren’t many beauty products that create a chemical reaction when you use them - Bath Bombs are an exception! 

For me, my favourite part of using a Bath Bomb is watching it fizz and bubble in the bath. I feel like it’s exciting whether you’re a child or an adult!

Let’s talk chemical reactions! Don’t worry, we aren’t getting too technical here but it is pretty cool what happens to make a Bath Bomb fizz with pretty colours and amazing scents!

When a chemical reaction happens, it is literally how it sounds; chemicals reacting with other chemicals. The Ingredients we use react with the water, creating that explosion!

Everyone produces Bath Bombs differently, you can use different scents, colours, oils and some use clays, botanicals and salts. However, a Bath Bomb will always contain 2 ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate and Citric Acid. Without these 2 ingredients your Bath Bomb will not fizz (and really, without the fizz, is it even a Bath Bomb?).

Sodium Bicarbonate and Citric Acid won’t naturally fizz unless they come into contact with water. This is how they can coexist in a Bath Bomb (and other beauty products) without reacting. When water is introduced it activates the fizz in your Bath Bomb.

If you wanted to see the Chemical equation for this reaction here is what it looks like: 

3 NaHCO3 + C6H8O7 ——> 3CO2 + C6H5Na3O7 + 3 H2O

(Sodium Bicarbonate + Citric Acid ——Reacting with Water——> Carbon Dioxide + Sodium Citrate + Water)

So to really simplify it, a Bath Bomb is added to water which then reacts and makes the Sodium Bicarbonate and Citric Acid produce Carbon Dioxide (gas), Sodium Citrate (Salt) and Water - Pretty cool!

This reaction is what makes a Bath Bomb so unique, which is why we use these ingredients as the majority of what goes into a Bath Bomb.

Hot Mess Body also uses Clays, Colourants, Oils and sometimes even Botanicals in our Bath Bombs. 

Shop our full range including all our bath bombs here