Will a bath bomb clean you?

 Dec 08,2022

What Are Bath Bombs Made From

The base ingredient for bath bombs are
Bicarbonate of soda
Cornflour
Oil (coconut, sunflower, etc)
Essential Oils (lavender, chamomile, etc)
Citric acid
Liquid food colouring

Bath bombs' primary ingredients are a weak acid and a bicarbonate base. These are unreactive when dry, but react vigorously when dissolved in water to produce their characteristic fizzing over a period of several minutes. This is an acid–base reaction that involves conversion of citric acid and sodium bicarbonate to monosodium citrate and carbon dioxide:

C₅H₇O₅CO₂H _(aq.) + NaHCO_{3 (aq.)} → C₅H₇O₅CO₂⁻Na⁺_(aq.) + H₂O_(l) + CO_{2 (g)}

The other ingredients in bath bombs can vary considerably. However, most have scented ingredients as well as dye to impart a pleasant fragrance and color to bathwater. Lathering agents, such as sodium lauryl sulfate, are also often added to create bubble foams.

Will a bath bomb clean you?

Bath bombs are well known for using natural ingredients such as essential oils and rich nourishing butter such as Shea. However, they do usually not contain any traces of what we could call a soap, so if that’s the case do they clean you?

Well, the truth is that bath bombs release lots of emollients and softeners into your bath water which help to cleanse your skin. Then the essential oils themselves add extra and natural cleansing power.

But, if you’re looking for a more traditional ‘soap’ type cleanse then you might be disappointed as bath bombs don’t contain any of those ingredients. Instead, they clean you in a much more natural way which is better for your skin.

As well as cleansing your skin, bath bombs have so many other benefits over washing with plain old soap.

The Benefits Of A Bath Bomb

Good For Your Skin
A Relaxing Experience
Healing Properties
Aromatherapy

Are Bath Bombs Soap?

It is easy to see why some people might be confused and consider bath bombs to be soap. They smell fairly similar and you can definitely feel the effects on your skin after bathing with one.
Bath bombs do contain ingredients that can help cleanse the skin, but simply sitting in a bath with a bath bomb is not going to do you much good when it comes to removing dirt and buildup on your skin.
You will either need to use a sponge to gently scrub your skin, using the water in the tub and the bath bomb mix, or better yet, enjoy your time soaking in the bath bomb water and then use your normal soap to wash your body.
It is not a good idea to rely on the bath bomb alone to wash your body, and you should still do so yourself.
Think of bath bombs as being more of a sensory experience, with the fizzing, the oils released into the bath, and the wonderful aromatherapy. Bath bombs should not replace your normal bath time clean or your soap!

Do you need to use soap after a bath bomb?

So you have had a nice long soak in the bath and have used your favorite bath bomb, should you now use some soap or even a shower gel to get a wash?

Well of course it is up to you and depends on how clean you already feel after your bath bomb. However, by using a soap or shower gel you will find that this breaks down the oils and butter that will have coated your skin.

This leads back to the above about how these oils nourish and protect your skin. Washing them off with soap will remove them and stop them from doing their job.

Personally, I prefer to not wash off with soap after using a bath bomb.