It’s a fact … after giving birth we mommas can use all the help we can get! Similar to my regular bath fizzies, these after-birth bath fizzies use soothing salts and finely ground herbs for an extra boost of healing power.
Herbal Bath Fizzies Make It Better
The period of recovery after giving birth is full of fun details no one tells us beforehand (and for good reason, who would want to hear it!). Many a first-time mom has surely felt unprepared. It’s my hope this easy DIY recipe will help out.
I know I find these pretty little bath fizzies a welcome alternative to the hospital’s more clinical (although useful) take-home pack of Tucks pads and numbing spray. They are similar to the pricey bath bombs sold at places like Lush or Bed, Bath, and Beyond … but without the harsh artificial fragrances and colors aren’t good for us and could irritate tender postpartum areas.
If you are expecting (or have friends who are), make sure to make up a batch of these bath fizzies to have on hand when the time comes. I promise they make for a wonderful post-delivery bath! If you aren’t into making your own, these natural bath fizzies are pretty close.
How to Make After-Birth Bath Fizzies
Make after birth fizzies with a few simple ingredients…
Ingredients
- 1 cup baking soda
- 1/2 cup citric acid
- 1/2 cup salt or epsom salt
- 2 teaspoons olive oil
- 2 teaspoons witch hazel (or slightly more) – can also substitute water if you don’t have witch hazel
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or water)
- 1/2 cup finely ground after-birth dried herbs (recipe here) or other dried herbs of choice – grind in a food processor or blender
Instructions
- Combine baking soda, salt, and citric acid and mix well until combined.
- In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, witch hazel, and vanilla extract and stir well. Mix in essential oils if using.
- Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and very quickly mix well (hands work well for this, wear gloves if you have sensitive skin). Mix in finely ground herbs.
- Mixture should hold together when squeezed without crumbling. You may need to add slightly more witch hazel if it hasn’t achieved this consistency yet.
- Quickly push mixture into silicone molds, greased muffin tins, or any other greased container. Press in firmly and leave at least 24 hours (48 is better) or until hardened. It will expand some and this is normal. You can push it down into the mold several times while it is drying to keep it from expanding too much.
- When dry, remove and store in airtight container. To use, add 1 fizzie to a warm bath and watch the bubbles turn the bath into a soothing after-birth spa!
Note: Use within 2 months or they may start to lose their fizziness.
Other after-birth remedies I recommend:
- After-Birth Tincture – Reduces unpleasant cramping post-birth … be sure to prepare well in advance!
- Homemade Healing Salve – Like homemade Neosporin, I used this for my C-section recovery.
- Postpartum Soothing Spray – My friend Shaye gifted me with this awesome soothing spray for the postpartum bottom. Keep it in the refrigerator for extra cooling relief.
- Herbal Nursing Tea – Red raspberry leaf, nettle, alfalfa, dandelion and other postpartum superstar herbs give mom a healthy boost when she needs it most. Or skip the DIY recipe and buy it here.
- Sleep, bone broth, and magnesium – This post talks about what helped my tough C-section recovery, but a lot of it applies to natural birth recovery too.
- This isn’t a “remedy” exactly but it’s too important not to be mentioned! If birth didn’t go the way you planned, I know how you feel. There may be another kind of healing to do after birth.
Have you ever made your own bath fizzies? Which scents and herbs would you use? Tell me below!
Katie! Thank you for sharing this! Hosting a pregnant and newborn momma brunch and am so excited to make these as gifts for everyone! I am trying to calculate ingredients and buying enough herbs – could you tell me how many average size bath bombs this recipe makes? Thank you again!
– momma to three “spirited” boys under five in portland, Sara
Hi, i am a Doula and very interested in making these but concerned about Citric Acid and baking soda on a sensitive perineum. Are you sure this is safe?
I was curious about this, too! I did read an article that mentioned citric acid could be useful for healing cuts and wounds: https://advancedtissue.com/2015/04/acidic-treatments-good-or-bad-for-healing-wounds/ But, I am curious as to how the citric acid might *feel*. I wonder if anyone has actually tried this recipe postpartum and what their experience was like. Thanks for asking the question!
What is your opinion on substituting essential oils for the herbs in this recipe?
Can I use them for my toddler’s bath?
I was wondering if a person would be able to sell something like these as part of their doula business and if you could use this recipe or would there need to be a different recipe used?
I don’t allow my recipes/creations to be sold, however, you can create your own version to sell so long as you give credit and link back to my recipe as the original & the inspiration for your version.
These were amaaaazing! Thanks 🙂 I just added alittle lavender essential oil, but the vanilla was a great touch! I used artificial vanilla Ans saved the real stuff for cooking, I find the alcohol really smells through unless it’s been cooked (or left out for a long while for it to evaporate).
Wanted to make this for my sister in law (christmas gift) where in the world can i get citric acid and after birth herbs!!!???
Citric acid is in the canning section and is near the fruit fresh. My plastic container looks like the fruit fresh jar but says Citric acid.
I would also like to know if this would be safe for baby 🙂
Your herb recipe says it’s safe for baby but what about this one?
I made these today and they keep puffing and puffing and puffing! When will they stop!? Or should I just let them alone and they will fall as they dry longer? Tips?
You might have added too much liquid. They will dry faster if you leave them alone. The one time I’ve done that, I just left them for a couple of hours and then pushed them down.
Didn’t hold together and they barely fizzed. Had high hopes of gifting these to doula clients. Now I’m stuck with 5 lbs of citric acid….
This may be a year too late, but you can use citric acid in the homemade dishwasher detergent recipe. Works great!
Okay, made these today and they smell fabulous. I added 10 drops helichrysm precious, 5 drops german chamomile precious, 5 drops sudanese frankincense. Oh, they smell like heaven!! I made them in a mini-muffin pan… how many should I use per 1 bath?
1 per bath should be great…
The recipe says 1/2 cup finely ground after birth herbs… do you measure before you blitz them in the blender, or after? I’m assuming after. I don’t want to blitz up more than I’m using for the bath fizzies since it will be harder to strain if I try to use it for the other recipe (for the peri bottle).
A friend of mine is due August 7th and I think these will be the perfect gift for her! Is there anything I could substitute for Witch Hazel? We live in Austria and I don’t think I can get that here. I just found your blog today and I am already in love! Thanks for all of your tips, recipes and ideas. I just had my first child four months ago and have started my own blog as a way to vent, to share and just to stay connected with the outside world.
Thanks again for all of your posts!
You could use plain water or an alcohol like rum (it will evaporate in the bath and not be absorbed)
Could you substitute magnesium flakes for the epsom salts? Wondering if it will impact the fizziness. Thanks!
It should work, but it might be worth grinding the magnesium flakes up slightly so they are easier to dissolve…
Was thinking of making these as a baby shower gift as I have several friends who are to be momma, as well as myself, but it says use within 2 weeks…any ideas on how to make it last a lil but longer?
They won’t go bad, they just lose their fizziness eventually and I’ve never personally kept them longer than that without using them… based on the ingredients, they should last indefinitely though…
So what’s up with witch hazel? I have never used it, but it shows up in lots of these recipes. What is it good for? What do you lose by leaving it out?
It just gives a longer shelf life…
Ahh. So if I am making this up and throwing it in the bath directly, I could probably leave it out.
Yep