Make Your Own Zesty Orange, Lemon and Nasturtium Bath Bombs

This fall, my backyard garden became more beautiful with the pretty yellows and oranges of Nasturtium plants.  Nasturtiums (also referred to as “nose twisters”) are grown from seeds in a sunny place, and look great in window boxes or spilling over a stone wall.   Nasturtium flowers are a spicy addition to salads and make a lovely display on any dinner plate.  I decided to pick the fall nasturtium blooms and dry them in my kitchen, to be used for bath bombs with the aroma of citrus from essential oils.  My attempt is to capture a little bit of summer weather to enjoy while soaking in the tub.  I started by picking the fall blooms and drying them on a paper towel.  When dried, the petals were crushed and added to my recipe for bath bombs:

• 2-1/2 cups baking soda
• 1-1/4 cups citric acid
• 1/4 cup cocoa butter
• 1/4 cup shea butter
• 5 drops orange essential oils
• 5 drops lemon essential oils
• 5 tablespoons orange or lemon zest
• 2 tablespoons dried nasturtium petals

Wear gloves while handling ingredients.  In a large bowl, mix baking soda and citric acid.

In a microwave-safe container, heat cocoa butter and shea butter in 30-second increments, stirring in between, until melted.  Melted oils will be very hot, so handle carefully.  I used a cottage cheese container that I could recycle later.

Add essential oils to melted butters and slowly pour over baking soda mixture.  Add orange or lemon zest and nasturtium flower petals and mix well with your gloved hands.  Firmly pack into small silicon molds or a mini muffin tin.  Let dry for 24 hours and carefully turn out.  Store in a mason jar or plastic container and enjoy in your bath!

Nasturtium blooms drying on paper towels. It takes about a week to dry sufficiently.

Gathering supplies. Waukesha Floral carries essential oils for aromatherapy and can be used in the bath bombs.

Bath bombs were packed into silicon cupcake liners. This recipe makes about 12. After removing the bath bombs, I placed them into paper cupcake liners.