Bath Bombs vs Fizz Balls

You have no doubt encountered the bath product names of Bath Bombs and or Bath Fizz Balls. Perhaps you are wondering what the difference is between a Bath Bomb and a Fizz Ball.

Problems solved – they are the exact same thing!

When Bath bombs/ Fizz Balls first emerged onto the market in South Africa during the late 1990’s, they were commonly called fizz balls due to the fizzing or effervescent effects the balls had when submerged in water. However, some people started to label them as bath bombs and the name has stuck and become more popular than the original term fizz balls. I guess that the “Bomb” is a bit more dramatic and catchier than “Fizz”.

History of Bath Bombs.

Bath bombs originated in the USA during the late 1990’s. A lady chemist was brainstorming ideas on how to get her children to willingly jump into and enjoy a good bath. A lot of mothers can relate to this. Products like bath salts held little appeal for children while products such as foam bath would either be too expensive or would tend to dry out the sensitive skin of the children.

Eventually she came up with the idea of mixing Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid and Corn Starch into a compact ball. Add some fragrance and a small amount of emollient oil and children loved it. When thrown into water the ingredients would react with each other and start to fizz away. Additionally, the ingredients were all safe for children to use and were commonly used as water conditioners. In short, the bath bombs improved the quality of the bath water for the children and added some excitement to their bath times. In fact, her children were now begging to jump into the bath so that they could have a fizzy to play with.

Her children soon shared their bathing experience with their friends and before you knew it the fizz ball craze spread around the world like wildfire. As one of the largest manufacturers in South Africa at the time, my company was producing as many as 25000 fizz balls a day and was still unable to keep up with demand during peak seasons.

The bath bomb was not limited to children, mothers and even fathers jumped in on the craze and went crazy for their bath Fizzies. I even had one lady call me and state, “My husband has always been a real rough and tough egte Boer. but now he refuses to get into a bath without his little fizzy!”

Unfortunately, in the early 2000’s 2 things happened which resulted in the fizz ball/bath bomb frenzy dying down. First the economy took a major dive and as a result bath bombs, which were a luxury, were one of the first things that families had to cut down on in order to survive the month. Secondly, there was a subtle change in bathing habits with many people switching from baths to showers. Of course, fizz balls or bath bombs, do not work in a shower.

Modern Day Bath Bombs

Bath bombs have transformed from being an affordable daily use product to a luxury special occasion product. With this transformation there has come a range of changes to bath bombs.

• Colours are bright and eye catching.
• Fragrances are bold and exotic
• A variety of different shapes and sizes
• Ingredient lists that are maybe a bit overboard

In short, the bath bomb of today has transformed into a highly commercial luxury item with everyone competing for a bit of the market.

Bath bombs do make ideal gifts. Teachers, girlfriends, wives, children and even husbands cannot resist the allure of a bath with a lovely bright and fragrant fizzy. If you are not sure of what to get someone, you can’t go wrong with a good quality bath bomb.