DIY Christmas Bubble Bath Recipe
My kids LOVE bubble baths, and I have spent SO much money trying to find a natural one or make one myself. There were a TON of fails, but I finally made a homemade bubble bath recipe I am proud of and my kids love!
Because the bubble baths you find at the store? A lot of them are loaded with fragrance and sulfates that just don’t sit right with me anymore, especially for a two-year-old with sensitive skin.
Since I found my perfect formula, I had to make a DIY Christmas bubble bath recipe. The kids LOVED it! I think it’s a new favorite 🙂
Here’s my exact recipe and everything I learned along the way to create the perfect DIY bubble bath recipe that gives you TONS of bubbles!
Benefits
- The essential oil blend here is what makes this recipe feel special. Sweet orange is bright and uplifting, that classic holiday-spiced-but-not-heavy scent.
Balsam or Douglas fir smells like a fresh-cut Christmas tree, which honestly makes the whole bathroom feel a little magical in December!
Cedarwood atlas adds warmth and depth, it’s grounding without being heavy. And vanilla oleoresin ties everything together with just a hint of softness. - Beyond the scent, the base ingredients are doing real work. SLSA (sodium lauryl sulfoacetate) is a mild, plant-derived surfactant that creates those big, fluffy bubbles without the harshness of SLS.
- Cocamidopropyl betaine is a coconut-derived secondary surfactant that also conditions the skin a little, not squeaky-clean leaving, but soft-skin leaving.
- Vegetable glycerin is a humectant, meaning it helps the skin hold onto moisture.
- Caprylyl glucoside rounds out the surfactant system and helps the essential oils blend in properly, which is very important!
- The Geogard ECT is a broad-spectrum preservative, and in a water-based product like this one, it’s NOT optional. Water plus botanicals equals potential bacterial growth, and that’s not something to skip.
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DIY Christmas Bubble Bath Recipe
Makes: about 8 ounces
Ingredients
- 1 cup distilled water, hot
- 3 tablespoons SLSA powder
- 2 tablespoons cocamidopropyl betaine
- 1 tablespoon vegetable glycerin
- 1/2 teaspoon caprylyl glucoside
- Geogard ECT at 0.6-1.0% of total batch weight (about 2-3 g for this batch, so weigh it on a kitchen scale)
- 10 sweet orange essential oil
- 6 pine essential oil
- 3 cedarwood atlas essential oil
- 2 vanilla oleoresin
Instructions
Combine the hot distilled water and SLSA. Stir well or use a stick blender until fully dissolved. This is the slow part, so don’t rush it. It will bubble up a bit but will go down as it cools.
Let the mixture cool to below 113°F / 45°C.
Stir in the cocamidopropyl betaine and glycerin gently to avoid creating a lot of foam.
In a small dish, pre-mix the caprylyl glucoside with the essential oil blend until well combined.
Stir the oil and glucoside mixture into the cooled batch.
Weigh out the Geogard ECT and stir it in thoroughly.
Let the batch sit for a few hours or overnight so any remaining SLSA can fully hydrate, then give it a gentle stir.
Pour into a clean bottle or pump dispenser.
If you want it to look festive, add in a tiny bit of mica powder! Totally optional.
Notes
- Usage: 1 tablespoon for kids, up to 2 tablespoons for adults, added under running water.
- The preservative is essential for a water-based product.
- If any redness or irritation occurs, stop use and rinse well. Patch test before the first full use.
How to Use It
Add 1 tablespoon under running water for kids, up to 2 tablespoons for adults. Pour it while the water is still running to get maximum bubble action.
Store in a pump dispenser or a squeeze bottle somewhere it won’t sit in a puddle of standing water. Shelf life is about 3 months, kept in a cool spot out of direct sunlight.
Always patch test before the first use, especially on little ones with sensitive skin.
DIY Christmas Bubble Bath
A mild, plant-derived bubble bath with a festive winter-forest-and-citrus scent blend, formulated with gentle surfactants and a preservative so it's safe for sensitive skin including young children. Makes about 8 ounces.
Ingredients
- 1 cup distilled water, hot
- 3 tablespoons SLSA powder
- 2 tablespoons cocamidopropyl betaine
- 1 tablespoon vegetable glycerin
- 1/2 teaspoon caprylyl glucoside
- Geogard ECT at 0.6-1.0% of total batch weight (about 2-3 g for this batch, weighed on a kitchen scale)
- 21 drops essential oil blend: 10 drops sweet orange, 6 drops balsam or Douglas fir, 3 drops cedarwood atlas, 2 drops vanilla oleoresin
Instructions
- Combine the hot distilled water and SLSA. Stir well or use a stick blender until fully dissolved. This is the slow part, so don't rush it.
- Let the mixture cool to below 113°F / 45°C.
- Stir in the cocamidopropyl betaine and glycerin gently to avoid creating a lot of foam.
- In a small dish, pre-mix the caprylyl glucoside with the essential oil blend until well combined.
- Stir the oil and glucoside mixture into the cooled batch.
- Weigh out the Geogard ECT and stir it in thoroughly.
- Let the batch sit for a few hours or overnight so any remaining SLSA can fully hydrate, then give it a gentle stir.
- Pour into a clean bottle or pump dispenser.
Notes
- Usage: 1 tablespoon for kids, up to 2 tablespoons for adults, added under running water.
- The preservative is essential for a water-based product.
- If any redness or irritation occurs, stop use and rinse well. Patch test before the first full use.
Final Thoughts
This DIY Christmas bubble bath is one of those recipes that I’ll absolutely be making again. I’m already thinking about putting a few small bottles together as gifts this Christmas, tied with a bit of twine and a little tag.
The scent combination is warm and festive without being overwhelming, and knowing exactly what went into it makes it feel like something worth giving.
If you try it, let me know how the bubbles turn out for you! 🙂
