Bath bombs have become commonplace today. They’re a great way to make any bath luxurious and come in an array of colors and shapes. They’re as much a treat for the eyes as they are for the skin! Did you know they’re interesting, too? Here are some facts about bath bombs that you probably didn’t know.

Bath bombs have been around longer than you think

Bath bombs feel like a recent fad, but they were actually patented in 1989! The patent was issued to Mo Constantine who would go on to co-found Lush Cosmetics. This is the company that popularized bath bombs. That patent was lost, but there’s a new patent protects their method for creating multi-layered bath bombs.

Bath bombs are all about chemistry

Bath bombs rely on chemistry to work. They’re a compacted mixture of a weak acid (usually citric acid) and a bicarbonate base (usually sodium bicarbonate). These ingredients are stable when dry, but once they get wet, they undergo an acid-base reaction that makes them fizz. This fizzing allows bath bombs to disperse other ingredients, like moisturizers, scents, and colors, into the bath water.

Bath bombs were inspired by medicine

We know that bath bombs can make baths more soothing and more fun, but they were inspired by medicine. Alka-seltzer makes stomach and cold and flu remedies that are dispersed into water by fizzing tablets. If they can disperse medicine into a small glass of water, it made sense that a similar product could disperse other products in a bath.

Bath bombs lose fizz as they age

The fresher your bath bomb is, the more it’s going to fizz. Since the fizzing is responsible for dispersing ingredients in the bath water, more fizzing helps those ingredients spread through the water better. You might be tempted to hold on to your pretty bath bomb for a special occasion, but it’s best to use them within a few weeks of purchase.

Baking soda might be good for your skin

Aside from all the moisturizing oils and botanicals that are in some bath bombs, did you know baking soda might be good for your skin? Baking soda is thought to soothe the itch associated with eczema, chicken pox, poison ivy, and more. It can also help with exfoliating, because the altered pH of the bath water makes dry, scaly skin easier to remove.

Some bath bombs turn your bath into art

Some bath bombs are made with multiple layers and different colors, so when they fizz, they release different layers of color into the water. For bath bombs like this, it’s recommended that you fill the tub, put the bath bomb in, and then enjoy the show before getting in. 

The average bath bomb dissolves pretty quickly

Obviously, the bigger the bath bomb, the longer the fizz lasts, and bath bombs come in a lot of sizes. But the average sized bath bomb fully disolves within about five minutes of being placed in the water. That means that if you want to watch it dissolve you won’t have to wait very long before enjoying your bath.