# SO done with slsa!



## PuddinAndPeanuts (Oct 5, 2017)

It originally took me a couple weeks to arrive at a solid bath bomb recipe- but it's a **** fine recipe.  Unless I forget one of the main ingredients or something ridiculous, it's incredibly forgiving.  Accidentally throw in a whole extra ounce of corn starch or cocoa butter??  no worries.  You won't even notice.  It's raining and the air conditioner is broken? What ever- no biggie. They aren't prone to cracking, warting, or any other nefarious shenanigans.  I've modified it a few times with each variation as delightful as the original.  Unless that modification involves SLSA. I've tried a whole different recipe, I've tried modifying my regular recipe, I've tried modifying someone else's recipe.  I have one that mostly works. About one in 15 batches just will NOT mold right. One in 3 batches has to be modified with more dry ingredients or more alcohol to get it to behave.  They have to be packed tighter to prevent cracking, yet are more prone to getting stuck in the mold.  NOT WORTH IT! I'm so, SO utterly done with this stuff!


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## Dahila (Oct 5, 2017)

slsa is good,  I use it in all BB,  You are so funny with the "done with this stuff,  I usually have one failed bb in the batch and mostly the last one I made


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## LilyJo (Oct 6, 2017)

I get what you mean I am so done with BB in general!

I can make the same recipe two days running and get two totally different results, the unpredictability is killing me!

Spent ages formulating a recipe that produced fabulous bombs, hard, fizzing (no SLSA) stayed intact and kept the shape without warts, cracking or collapsing.  Made another batch, exactly the same and I had to throw them all out as they all had a totally flat bottom where they had collapsed. Happens every time - one amazing batch and then the next one or two or more are a waste of time.

Love the idea of making them but I now totally HATE bb!!

Can you tell I had a bad day making them yesterday!!!!


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## PuddinAndPeanuts (Oct 6, 2017)

I just get frustrated, and I finally figured out that the math doesn't make sense.  I charge $1 more for bubble bombs, but when you account for the waste and frustration- screw 'em.  I'll stick with the regular recipe that performs like a champ every time.


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## zolveria (Oct 6, 2017)

*The Secret to perfect bathbombs*

use a hard at room temp oil.


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## PuddinAndPeanuts (Oct 6, 2017)

zolveria said:


> use a hard at room temp oil.




Thanks for the suggestion, but I mostly do.  11.7 ounces of cocoa butter to only 1.8 ounces jojoba.


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## keelsoaper (Oct 7, 2017)

*Clarification Needed LAL vs SLSA vs Polysorbate 80*

I am trying to make my first bath bomb and was confused about whether or not to use LAL or SLSA? Should I also add polysorbate 80? Found so many confusing posts and hoping someone can clarify. Thanks for any help!


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## PuddinAndPeanuts (Oct 8, 2017)

keelsoaper said:


> I am trying to make my first bath bomb and was confused about whether or not to use LAL or SLSA? Should I also add polysorbate 80? Found so many confusing posts and hoping someone can clarify. Thanks for any help!




Not familiar with LAL, other than I know I don't use it and I kind of recall it's to help with foaming?  SLSA I've heard is a mild emulsifier on top of being a surfactant, but I've never relied on it as an emulsifier.  It's foaming power is too mild IMO for it to be worth the pain in the ass factor. Polysorbate 80 is an emulsifier to keep your bombs from causing an oil slick- tbh, I think bath bombs without it are icky.  I use about 67% as much poly as I do oil/butter.


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## SunRiseArts (Oct 8, 2017)

Never say never ........:mrgreen:


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## jcandleattic (Oct 9, 2017)

keelsoaper said:


> I am trying to make my first bath bomb and was confused about whether or not to use LAL or SLSA? Should I also add polysorbate 80? Found so many confusing posts and hoping someone can clarify. Thanks for any help!



LAL and SLSA are basically the same thing, with the same properties and can be interchangeable, so it's a personal preference as to which one to use. Your colorant will determine if you use Poly80 or not. If you use mica's it will help disperse them in the water with the oils, instead of having the color just float on the water, or cling to the tub and stain. 
Poly80 can also help emulsify the oils in the water if you use a lot of oil, and it will eliminate an oil slick on the water, later slicking up the tub and making it slippery, or hard to clean.
IME Poly80 has also boosted the foaming action a bit, so I use that along with my milk powder to get foaming, along with SLSA and coco betaine to boost bubbling action.


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## dblbubble (Oct 11, 2017)

Don't give up! It took me a good, solid 6 months of making BBs almost EVERY DAY to come up with a reliable recipe. I literally made a sample batch of BBs, which gave me 2 bombs, almost every day and tested them to see what worked and didn't for me. This included how well they molded, dried, performed in water, what the water/bath felt like with my ingredients/recipe, and the bathtub "aftermath" (i.e. did they make a mess). Mine do contain SLSA. 

So, the best advice I can give you is to research, research, research. Take good notes on your recipes and trials. Do trials by elimination and addition of ingredients (i.e. If I remove or add this ingredient, what happens to my BB? How does it perform? What changed?). Understand what each ingredient is and what it does...not just on its own, but how it behaves when combined with something else. Be prepared and be alright with using (and wasting) ingredients on your path to finding your ideal recipe. 

Along w/SLSA being a bubbling agent, it is also a surfactant, so my BBs do not need P80. I also do not use hard butters/oil, only carrier oils in my recipe. IMO, I always had problems w/my BBs when I used melted hard butters/oils.


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