A couple of weeks ago, I wandered miserably through the aisles of a suburban CVS after a long day at the office. I had come down with yet another nasty upper respiratory infection, and there were only two things that I knew would make me feel better: antibiotics and a bubble bath. But surveying the drugstore selection of foamy soaks was disappointing. The options were either chemical-laden, overly fragranced, just-for-kids Mr. Bubbles or intended for campers with poison ivy. I wanted none of it, so I learned how to make my own bubble bath at home. The resulting soak is green, affordable and easy as pie to D.I.Y. —Meghan
DIY BUBBLE BATH
1 quart of warm, almost hot water;
1 four-ounce bar of castile soap
2 ounces of liquid vegetable glycerin
Essential oils to scent (I used Wyndmere’s Anxiety Release blend. Other recommendations: lavender, rose otto, rosemary mint, sweet orange or eucalyptus.
1. Grate the bar of soap with a cheese grater.
2. Stir the soap into the warmed up water until it melts down, about five or so minutes. It’s OK if you have a few pieces of solid soap floating around.
3. Mix in the glycerin and essential oil.
4. Transfer to a resealable container.
When it’s time for your bath, pour 1/2 cup of the mixture into running water. Luxuriate in foamy paradise!
Filed Under: bubble bath recipe, bubblebath, castile soap, mr. bubbles, natural bath soak, vegetable glycerin, wyndemere anxiety release essential oils
Hello lovelies! I'm Elizabeth Dehn, a beauty writer + lifestyle editor who's equally fanatical about lip gloss as juice cleansing. I live in Minneapolis with Mr. Bets and our white lab, Molly Thomas . . . 
Oh, I am so excited to try this! I pinned it to my DIY board the second I saw it.
Hold the phone—you have a DIY board?? This is amazeballs.
I think I would like to try this over the weekend. Sounds wonderful.
awesome, meghan! i cannot wait to try this!
This does sound great. Do you have any suggestions for where to find some of the ingredients besides the internet? I saw that Trader Joe’s carries castile soap, but it looks like it’s got a a peppermint scent. Suggestions for essential oils that would mix well with the peppermint? Or, other suggestions for where to find unscented castile soap?
Amy, I would try Whole Foods or your local co-op!
I made this today and followed the directions exactly. I made them for gifts for my bridesmaids for my wedding in five weeks. This does not work. It doesn’t bubble at ALL. I don’t know how to make if bubble and am a little upset that I spent a month tracking down the ingredients. (we don’t have co-ops close by)
In response to the post that claimes it did not work—Most recipes call for 4 oz of vegetable glycerine, as opposed to only 2 oz. That probably made the difference…
No, A Williams, glycerine didn’t make the difference…the bath water did. Most tap waters have enough “hardness” (calcium, mostly) to make it impracticable to foam a bathtub full of it with actual soap soap. The comment by Adda has been replicated all over the Internet just about everywhere someone has posted a recipe for bath foam using actual soap soap. The soap that was perfectly adequate to make lather with a small amount of water is turned into foamless scum and eventually bathtub ring by the hardness in a tubful of water. In some cases it would take a huge amount of actual soap soap to make lasting foam in a bath of water that starts out “hard”. However, a few users will get plenty of suds in their water and wonder what the problem is that others are having.
@ Amy – you also can buy castille soap at Target. Liquid glycerin can be found in health food stores and pharmacies. Also try hobby and art supply stores.
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