Comments on: Homemade Bubble Bath

By: Sherrie

Sherrie — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 22:58:53 +0000

Thanks for the idea. I ran out of bubble bath and my 6 yr old daughter really wanted to take one to night. This was super easy to make she even did it herself. She has been in the bath for 30 min and still has a ton of bubbles. This will also be a cheap fun project to do with her friends.

By: Penny

Penny — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:29:40 +0000

Be very careful with extract and essential oils. Peppermint in particular can burn the skin.

By: Rebecca

Rebecca — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 14:20:51 +0000

I added this to my DIY projects this year! I cannot wait to try this bubble bath! I looks so easy and cheap!

By: Sharon

Sharon — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 11:31:14 +0000

I followed the recipe using coconut oil & Dr Bronners.

The bubbles did not last more than a few minutes and worse our drain was clogged the next morning by the coconut oil which solidified in the pipe.

After we cleared the drain ( what a stressful day that was ) I tried straight shampoo and it was excellent. The bubbles lasted until bath was over (25 minutes), the scent was nice and it was gentle on both the little ones’ skin.

So…I happy bought 2 Johnsons & Johnson’s bubble baths at Target yesterday. Homemade chemistry? No thanks! I’ll stick to cooking & knitting. Thanks! :)

By: Robert

Robert — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:32:39 +0000

Narali B, I don’t understand what you’re asking. You don’t need a Web site to make my recipe, and you don’t need my permission to have a Web site. Are you just asking what my formula is? The description in US pat. 5,336,446 is pretty good; it’s now in the public domain. My current batch, which is pretty old but still usable, was 4 parts 40% diammonium lauryl sulfosuccinate sol’n, 3 parts 30% active lauramidopropyl sol’n (35% solids), 2 parts 40% disodium lauryl (ethyl ether)3 sulfosuccinate sol’n. However, I like it even better if 1/3 to 2/5 of the lauramidopropyl betaine is substituted for by palmitamidopropyl betaine.

By: Laura

Laura — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:33:03 +0000

Yes, it’s pricey, but I prefer it because it has fewer harmful chemicals. You can buy it at stores like Whole Foods, but since I don’t have access to stores like that near me, I order it online.

By: Narali B

Narali B — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:31:14 +0000

Hi! Do you have a posting for this? What I mean is can I have a website
so I can make your recipe to? Thank you so much I will cheek soon!

By: Narali B

Narali B — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:26:34 +0000

But is that an expensive shampoo and can you get it in stores or does it
have to be online?

By: Narali B

Narali B — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:20:24 +0000

Does it relay work? What kind of shampoo is the best dose anyone know?
What kind of shampoo did you use for your recipes give me ideas please. I also
Can give out an idea it will work well for Christmas gifts and put them
in a bottle and then put a ribbion around it….. even put a tag on it saying
directions or candy cane bubble bath or somthing. Can you use hand soap?

By: Robert

Robert — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:53:08 +0000

The water and salt in the recipe together do nothing, you’d be just as well off using the shampoo directly. What the water does is dilute it — but that’s silly considering you’ll be using it in a bathtubful of water anyway — and what the salt does is compensate for the loss of viscosity caused by dilution and partially make up for dilution of the preservatives. And with all the different shampoo and bubble bath formulas out there, there’s no way to say in advance without knowing the ingredients that any particular shampoo will be less irritating than any particular bubble bath.

Dr. Bronner’s will work if your water is “soft” enough to begin with. You do have to use enough to take up all the water “hardness” before it will make lasting bubbles, and in some waters that can be an enormous, impracticable amount in a bathtubful. However, it will be more irritating when used in this way than other foaming products. Even users who tolerate Bronner’s fine in concentrated form for a quick wash will often report that soaking in a tub of water with enough of the soap to make it sudsy makes them itch afterward.

As you can see from my linked site, I’m an expert on this subject. You have to know about the properties of the ingredients and then do a good deal of testing if you want to be confident that a particular formula will be both adequately foamy and non-irritating for all users, and gentleness to skin doesn’t correlate perfectly with mildness to the genito-urinary tract. But the good news is that most users are not too sensitive, and can use most things.