It depends on the bomb you choose. The ones that will prove best for your skin will include natural ingredients such as salts and oils. As the name suggests, these are designed for relaxation. They’re more diminutive than your average bath bomb – about the size of a small lime. Along with the prime ingredients, bath bombs will typically contain any or all of the following: oils, fragrances, salts, dried flowers, glitter and coloured pigment making for a super-sensory experience. How do I want to feel from my bath bomb?

The best bath bombs to buy in 2023 1. OUAI Chill Pills: The best bath bomb for nourishing your skin Inside the box, the bar is blue and moulded like a chocolate bar, comprising 18 squares. We found three squares to work nicely in a reasonably deep bath – any less feels a little stingy. This means one bar will last you a good six baths.

While these do fizz when in hot water, the Chill Pill experience is a lot more subtle than the other bath bombs in this roundup. The fragrance is lovely and soft – a blend of rose and jasmine that smells best when diffused in the water, rather than in the dry compact form. It is mild, though, so if you like potent fragrance you might be disappointed. That said, the scent does cling to your body after the bath.

You just pop it in the bath and it’ll fizz away, leaving the water a soft pale blue. What we really liked is how even people who don’t have a bath in their homes can benefit from the bar: popping it on the shower floor will release its fragrance, offering a taste of relaxation for those without tubs.It’s worth noting that people with sensitive skin are right to be a little wary of bath bombs – just as they should be of any products that expose their skin to fragrances or colours. The bicarb and citric acid aren’t likely to be the issue, given that the quantities involved are so small, but additional ingredients such as glitters, coloured pigments or chemical fragrances could pose a problem. Can children use bath bombs? Yes, but as a child’s skin is much more sensitive than an adult’s you should take extra care when deciding on a bath bomb for children. This is a very strong scent – thanks to the peppermint and vetiver oils – and you’ll smell it before it’s gone anywhere near the water. It will actually serve as a home fragrance wherever you store it before use. While we love the rich, green and clean smell, we think anyone with a delicate palate might not. The smell is strong, super-floral and sweet – lots of the white tea fragrance coming through, with less of the eucalyptus – and it will linger on the skin for a long time after you’ve bathed. Once in the bath, the initial citrusy aroma gives way to a warm rose fragrance with an edge of fruitiness from the pomegranate. Afterwards, you can smell it on your skin for hours and there’s no need to moisturise.

There’s a lot of oil in these – including jojoba seed and hemp – which you can see swirling on the surface of the water and feel soaking into your skin immediately. Sometimes bath oils can cling greasily to your skin, yet this isn’t the case here. It’s certainly not overwhelming but your skin feels treated. This is a hefty bomb: it’s the size of a big orange and looks pretty fabulous to boot – like a far-off planet with streaks of pink and yellow cutting through the blue. The moment the bomb hits the water – avoid dropping it in unless you enjoy mopping up – it goes, well, berserk. There’s no danger of anti-climax: it’s a whirling dervish of colour and sound that dissolve into a marble effect on the water’s surface over the course of a few minutes. The bomb leaves in its wake the most incredible bathwater of deep blue with gold sparkles. Technically this is a “bath bar” rather than a “bath bomb”, but differences in shape aside, both products do the same thing: fizz in water and enhance your bathing experience.That said, the promise of a lush-smelling, fizzy bomb going off in the bath and turning the water blue or pink or green is the ultimate secret weapon for any parent whose child is bath-averse! Do bath bombs make a mess?