If 2016 was the year of kale, then matcha has definitely stamped it’s powdery print on 2017.

The Japanese have known the benefits of the finely ground tea leaves for centuries, and now the rest of the world is waking up to the fact that this bright green tea is a nutritional powerhouse – just one cup is equivalent to 10 cups of regular green tea in terms of antioxidants and nutrition.

And now it’s finding it’s way onto our faces, with everyone from bloggers to dermatolgists spruiking matcha’s anti-aging properties. Packed with a type of polyphenol called catchins which help catch and deactivate the skin’s free radicals, not only will matcha help reduce the visibility of premature aging, it’s also a natural anti-inflammatory, so it’s great for treating skin conditions like rosacca and acne.

I’ve been having fun with this powerhouse powder by experimenting with ways I can incorporate it into my own skincare routine, or as a DIY gift.

It’s taken me a few goes to get the formula for these skin smoothing Matcha Bath Bombs – the first few goes saw it bubbling in the silicone moulds and not in the bath!  The non-bubbly ones still disintegrated and left my skin feeling lovely, but for me, the best part of the bath bomb is the bomb bit, so I always felt a bit ripped off when this didn’t happen.

Most recipes call for a few drops of water mixed in with coconut oil, but when my bombs started actually fizzing out of the silicone mould once I tried to set them, I started experimenting with leaving the water out all together and just using oil.  And voila, no premature bubbling! It meant a slightly longer drying time, but those extra hours waiting will be worth it once your skin gets all those lovely matcha benefits, and your bombs are bubbling away with the best of them.

I ordered my ingredients in bulk online as I wanted to make quite a few matches, but otherwise, you should be able to find most of the below at your local supermarket.

Most importantly, be sure to use a good quality Matcha tea. I purchased mine from Yumchaa who specialise in high grade loose leaf tea sourced from around the world. They have a huge range of premium teas, blends and accessories over at their online shop, and they’ll ship to wherever!

DIY MATCHA BATH BOMBS

What you need:

• 1 cup of bicarb soda.
• ½ cup of citric acid
• ¼ cornflower
• ¼ Epsom salts
• 1 teaspoon of high grade matcha powder
• Few drops of essential oil (I used Bergamont)
• 2 tablespoons of coconut oil
• Glass bowl
• Fork
• Silicone moulds

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl.

2. Slowly add your coconut oil and essential oil. You want the consistency to be like crumbly cake. Don’t worry if it looks dry – you want enough oil that mixture can be pressed together, without being soggy (this will just lenthen your drying time).

3. Scoop the mixture into your mould. Press down firmly and pack as much in as you can. I spent quite a lot of time doing this step – and found the more I compacted the mixture, the less it broke once I took it out of the mould.

4. Put the bath bombs aside to dry for at least several hours. Once dry they will be firm and come out of the mould quite easily. If you are in a humid environment – or have access to the ovan – you can bake it gently at 120 degrees for 10 minutes.

5. Package up in recycled glass jar with a sealable lid and give as a gift or keep for yourself! Your bathbombs should last at least six months.

Watch the video below and marvel in the bubbly goodness!

Do you have any tips on the perfect bath bomb recipe? Let me know by commenting below!