# Best bath bomb colorant and anti-staining techniques?



## icg

I'm a newbie maker and I'm struggling to find a good colorant that is not only vibrant but also cost-effective. You know those Lush bath bombs that have a really really vibrant color and great smell and do not stain the tub? I want something like that. Labomb colorants have a lot of good rep but the color looks really pastel (I know I can add more of it to make it darker, but it's really expensive on Brambleberry). Wilton icing dyes are really pigmented but it's not FDA approved for cosmetic purposes and I consider giving my bath bombs as gifts. 

Also any oils you guys suggest to mix in? How does witch hazel help?


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## doriettefarm

If you're just looking to make them for personal use and/or gifting, check out the powdered stained glass dyes at WSP.  They won't stain and will color the water too.  You can also use micas and lakes but will need some Polysorbate 80 to disperse the colors so they don't clump or stick to the sides of your tub.  Nurture Soap also has some new bath bomb colors that I'm excited to try.  I usually pick a light oil like sunflower but have also done butter bombs with shea or cocoa butter.


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## icg

Thanks for your reply. Is Polysorbate 80 safe for cosmetic purposes and do many large companies use it as well? Also, is it very effective? Thank you.


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## doriettefarm

PS80 is safe for both cosmetics and food so yes lots of companies use it


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## snappyllama

icg said:


> Thanks for your reply. Is Polysorbate 80 safe for cosmetic purposes and do many large companies use it as well? Also, is it very effective? Thank you.



It's incredibly effective so helping disperse colorant and oils into the bath water instead of making a ring around the tub and tub-occupant. It makes the water itself feel awesome.


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## CaraBou

It's really cheap too, and you don't use much so it goes a long way.


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## icg

Oh just a question, is the stained glass color legal? Especially if you want to sell it? Thanks


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## doriettefarm

icg said:


> Oh just a question, is the stained glass color legal? Especially if you want to sell it? Thanks



I think it depends on which size you buy from WSP.  The small sizes aren't batch certified but I believe the bulk ones are.  And I'm talking about the powders not the liquids.


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## NOLAGal

I just bought the bath bomb colors from Nurture Soap   https://nurturesoap.com/collections/types?q=Bath%20Bomb%20Colors   I also bought some of their micas and biodegradable glitter to make them look fancy! I should receive it in a couple days and will post some photos, I'm excited!!


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## icg

NOLAGal said:


> I just bought the bath bomb colors from Nurture Soap   https://nurturesoap.com/collections/types?q=Bath%20Bomb%20Colors   I also bought some of their micas and biodegradable glitter to make them look fancy! I should receive it in a couple days and will post some photos, I'm excited!!



The bath bomb colors are a bit too expensive there. I suggest you stick to micas and polysorbate 80. Their stuff is amazing though.


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## Susie

icg said:


> The bath bomb colors are a bit too expensive there. I suggest you stick to micas and polysorbate 80. Their stuff is amazing though.



While I am sure NOLAgal appreciates you watching out for her pocketbook, it is rather up to her to decide where to purchase, and what to purchase.  I also intend to use colorants intended for use in bath bombs to get the best results at first.  Later I can try micas and such.


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## Relle

icg said:


> Oh just a question, is the stained glass color legal? Especially if you want to sell it? Thanks



You said you are giving them as gifts, so it doesn't matter.


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## NOLAGal

icg said:


> The bath bomb colors are a bit too expensive there. I suggest you stick to micas and polysorbate 80. Their stuff is amazing though.




it's really not that bad, i'm a bit of a math geek so if what they recommend is correct it works out like this: 

80 ounces of bath bomb mix is 1/4 teaspoons of  dye for a light blue and 1 tsp. dye for a dark blue. (like you see in the picture which looks awesome!)

6tsp = 1 ounce    = 480 ounces of bath bomb mix  I plan on making the big ones which will be about 6 ounces  subtract some waste and it should make me around 75 big bath bombs, which would cost about .13 for each big one.  If you looking to do this for resale then you could buy a bigger quantity, their 4 ounce bottle which gets the cost down to say $7.50 an ounce and that would be less than .10 cents for each large bath bomb.

This is also only assuming you want the deep dark colors, if you rather a lighter shade it would be a fraction of that cost, only using 1/4 the amount of dye, so roughly .04 cents each. 

if I missed up my math lmk, I was up late last night unsuccessfully trying to get my correct mixture for my bath bombs!


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## icg

NOLAGal said:


> it's really not that bad, i'm a bit of a math geek so if what they recommend is correct it works out like this:
> 
> 80 ounces of bath bomb mix is 1/4 teaspoons of  dye for a light blue and 1 tsp. dye for a dark blue. (like you see in the picture which looks awesome!)
> 
> 6tsp = 1 ounce    = 480 ounces of bath bomb mix  I plan on making the big ones which will be about 6 ounces  subtract some waste and it should make me around 75 big bath bombs, which would cost about .13 for each big one.  If you looking to do this for resale then you could buy a bigger quantity, their 4 ounce bottle which gets the cost down to say $7.50 an ounce and that would be less than .10 cents for each large bath bomb.
> 
> This is also only assuming you want the deep dark colors, if you rather a lighter shade it would be a fraction of that cost, only using 1/4 the amount of dye, so roughly .04 cents each.
> 
> if I missed up my math lmk, I was up late last night unsuccessfully trying to get my correct mixture for my bath bombs!



I always thought their colorants were a bit too expensive but I never did the math. I still like mica though because I can put just around half a teaspoon and it will color my water real well and I use a lot of poly 80 for the oils anyway. I should consider trying a liquid colorant when I get the chance to buy more ingredients


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## NOLAGal

icg said:


> I always thought their colorants were a bit too expensive but I never did the math. I still like mica though because I can put just around half a teaspoon and it will color my water real well and I use a lot of poly 80 for the oils anyway. I should consider trying a liquid colorant when I get the chance to buy more ingredients




I've never used micas, just the liquid dyes. I am not sure how all micas work in regards to coloring the water but someone from their site responded to me " Micas and Crystals are also great, but they do not color the water. ".   So I planned on using their bath bomb colors to color the water and micas and glitter to make them look fancy on the outside.


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## earlene

I have used a small amount of micas in bath bombs and mine didn't color the water.  It was really disappointing.  BUT I also used glitter and that was really quite nice because it stays on the skin and there is a nice sparkle for the rest of the day.  Then of course the sparkles fall off in bed at night and so forth.  But my granddaughter loved it.  I quite liked it myself.


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## icg

earlene said:


> I have used a small amount of micas in bath bombs and mine didn't color the water.  It was really disappointing.  BUT I also used glitter and that was really quite nice because it stays on the skin and there is a nice sparkle for the rest of the day.  Then of course the sparkles fall off in bed at night and so forth.  But my granddaughter loved it.  I quite liked it myself.



Nurture soap mica has pretty good prices. I guess you should try adding quite a lot of mica if you still have some left. I add the same amount of mica as the fragrance oil. And be sure to always add something like poly 80 or distribute the coloring really really well.


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