# Bath bomb questions !



## NOLAGal (Jan 29, 2017)

Hi, 

I'm new to making bath bombs and have been experimenting with different formulas over the last couple weeks. I have noticed a couple issues and was hoping that someone here could help me identify what I am doing wrong. 

(my mixture 1cup baking soda 1/2 cup citric acid, 1/2 cup corn starch, 1/4 cup Epsom salts, 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted 76 degree)15 or so drops of essential oils and about 15 drops food coloring. The coconut oil is my main "wet" ingredient".) 

Question: 1 
I'm using a large 2.75" tennis ball mold. I can get everything to stick together and stay intact but it's taking days to dry! Probably 5-6 days before they get hard. Could this be because of humidity? I keep them in a spare room that stays dry but I am in the south. Or could it be because of the ingredients I am using?

Question: 2
After they dry, they are real heavy, about 9-10oz. They sink in the tub (which isn't a big deal) and they fizz like crazy which is great, HOWEVER the oil is floating all over the top of the water and is clumping on the bottom of the tub when the water is drained. It is very slippery. Should I use a surfactant and emulsifier? Almost every formula that I see posted uses an oil as the main wet ingredient but I don't see any surfactant listed? Is oil floating on the top of the water and a residue left behind happening to everyone else or am I doing something wrong? 

Thanks in advance!


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## The Efficacious Gentleman (Jan 30, 2017)

I don't know if you would need both, but a little bit of emulsifier would certainly help keep the oil well distributed. If you have a read back through the last couple of pages of this section you should see at least one thread where it was discussed - I can't remember for certain which one was used and don't want to tell you the wrong one!


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## Luviesmom (Jan 30, 2017)

NOLAGal said:


> Hi,
> 
> 
> (my mixture 1cup baking soda 1/2 cup citric acid, 1/2 cup corn starch, 1/4 cup Epsom salts, 1/2 cup coconut oil (melted 76 degree)15 or so drops of essential oils and about 15 drops food coloring. The coconut oil is my main
> Thanks in advance!


 
1/2 cup coconut oil? Wow! IMO, that it A LOT. I use less than half of that amount in my recipe and my dry ingredients are double your amount. You may also want to think about using a lighter carrier oil with the coconut oil. I use polysorbate 80 to help oils from "floating" on top of the water.


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## maya (Jan 30, 2017)

coconut oil (and cocoa butter, although not related) take a long time to harden back up.


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## Dahila (Jan 30, 2017)

For each cup of powder 1 tbsp of oil, you need the emulsifier otherwise someone can sleep and have an accident in bathtub.  When you use the color you need the emulsifier to disperse,  I use slsa and sometimes Poly 80 but only for embeds
Epsom salts will make them very heave and they will sink instead of float


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## dixiedragon (Jan 30, 2017)

I've never made a bathbomb, but I want to! What leapt out at me was the size - that's a HUGE bath bomb! Any reason you are making them that big? I think the size could make it much harder for them to dry out.

I too live in the south and IME, a dehumidifier is a huge help with curing soap. It may help with your BB.


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## Dahila (Jan 30, 2017)

the size is not that big dixie, I use this size too but best selling is 2" which is more difficult to mold
or rather unmold


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## icg (Jan 30, 2017)

I suggest putting a dehumidifier (the stuff you put in closets) with your bath bombs in a box or closet in the driest place in your house. Since you're using coconut oils, also make sure the room is somewhat cool. Also, that is way too much wet ingredient, looking at your dry ingredients, a few tablespoons will be enough (1/4 of the oils you're using). That is probably also the main reason it's taking forever to dry. Add a bit more corn starch, and add way less oils if you want them to float. Lastly, add some polysorbate 80 (you can get lots of it for very cheap on online sources). That would prevent any colorants and oils from sticking to you and the tub as well as making the water oily.


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## NOLAGal (Jan 31, 2017)

maya said:


> coconut oil (and cocoa butter, although not related) take a long time to harden back up.


What about organic shea butter, would that cause it a long to time to dry as well? Thanks!



icg said:


> I suggest putting a dehumidifier (the stuff you put in closets) with your bath bombs in a box or closet in the driest place in your house. Since you're using coconut oils, also make sure the room is somewhat cool. Also, that is way too much wet ingredient, looking at your dry ingredients, a few tablespoons will be enough (1/4 of the oils you're using). That is probably also the main reason it's taking forever to dry. Add a bit more corn starch, and add way less oils if you want them to float. Lastly, add some polysorbate 80 (you can get lots of it for very cheap on online sources). That would prevent any colorants and oils from sticking to you and the tub as well as making the water oily.


I bought a digital thermometer today that shows humidity and the room has been between 50-55% humidity, is that too much? 
What about a fan blowing on them to help them dry??? If I need to I will buy a dehumidifier.



Luviesmom said:


> 1/2 cup coconut oil? Wow! IMO, that it A LOT. I  use less than half of that amount in my recipe and my dry ingredients  are double your amount. You may also want to think about using a lighter  carrier oil with the coconut oil. I use polysorbate 80 to help oils  from "floating" on top of the water.



Bought some polysorbate 80 today and will try a new batch tonight using it!



Dahila said:


> For each cup of powder 1 tbsp of oil, you need the emulsifier otherwise someone can sleep and have an accident in bathtub.  When you use the color you need the emulsifier to disperse,  I use slsa and sometimes Poly 80 but only for embeds
> Epsom salts will make them very heave and they will sink instead of float



I would only be using about 2 tbsp of oil then which is 1/8 cup opposed to the 1/2 that I was using.  I've tried batches only using 1/4 cup of oil but added in another "wet" ingredient like shea butter and it seems barely wet enough to get everything to stick.

I am going to try the following tonight: 
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid
1/2 cup corn starch
(no epsom salt)
2 tbsp coconut oil
1 tbsp poly 80
15 drops essential oils
15 drops of dye. 

I update how it went and if it was enough to make everything hold together in my molds :think:


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## icg (Jan 31, 2017)

NOLAGal said:


> I bought a digital thermometer today that shows humidity and the room has been between 50-55% humidity, is that too much?
> What about a fan blowing on them to help them dry??? If I need to I will buy a dehumidifier.



No need to spend so much money. They sell these plastic containers filled with this dehumidifying powder.https://www.containerstore.com/s/closet/clothing-care/view-all-clothing-care/dry-out-dehumidifier/123d?productId=10004541 I think the main problem is the amount of oils you're using. If changing the amount of oils to just a few tablespoons doesn't work, i'm not sure, but that  doesn't seem like too high humidity.


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## NOLAGal (Jan 31, 2017)

NOLAGal said:


> Bought some polysorbate 80 today and will try a new batch tonight using it!
> 
> 
> 
> ...




Ok that was a little frustrating.... did exactly as I listed above and texture seemed fine (but what do I know at this point I am still learning). I tried my first mold (2.75") and since they are the clear plastic I could see as soon as I pushed the two sides together that there was a crack. So I added more dry  (I increased my baking soda to 2 cups, citric acid 1 cup and corn starch to 3/4 cups). I tried again and didn't see any cracking as I pushed them together and everything worked. I ended up getting 4 big ones but some took multiple attempts, some I got with first shot. With what I had left over I tried to make small bombs using my 1.5" molds but could never get it to work even after adding more and more dry. 

My questions: 

- When you push the two halves together and then pull it apart and it splits down the middle with each side stuck in the mold, is it too wet? 

- What is a the best technique fulling the sides of the mold and pushing it together. I think I've tried just about every way: packing both sides tight with some loose on top. Just packing the first couple spoon fulls and then leaving the rest loose. Or leaving it all loose but crown both sides. When you push together the halves do you exert a lot of force or just tightly hold it in place? 

I don't know if it's my technique, mixture or both at this point   I did get 4 pretty good looking ones done but way too many attempts, don't feel like I have a good strategy yet!

Now I will wait to see if these 4 dry faster and when they do hopefully they will fizz and maybe even float!


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## Jadenini (Dec 30, 2020)

Hi is this groupe still active??


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## Relle (Dec 30, 2020)

Jadenini said:


> Hi is this groupe still active??


This thread is 3 yrs old and most of the members haven't posted in a long time. If you look in the bath and body forum you can see which threads are active and you want to participate in, just look at the date.


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## Jadenini (Dec 30, 2020)

Thank you!!


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## dbloomingdale (Jan 17, 2021)

Jadenini said:


> Hi is this groupe still active??


i believe so!


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