1st attempt at shower steamers

[Feelin' Soapy]

Just made my first batch of shower steamers using Ellen Ruth's recipe and a moon cake press. It generally went okay, but some were a bit flaky on top and didn't come out as pretty from the mold as I'd like. I was unsure whether the mix was too wet or too dry. I sprayed 99% alcohol for wetting (would witch hazel be better?) and added more cornstarch when it seemed too wet. Any tips on knowing how to tell when the mix is just right?

 

[Nona'sFarm]

Though I haven't made shower steamers in several years, the process is the same as for bath bombs/fizzies -

I use gloves and mix by hand - first the baking soda and citric acid, then sprinkle on oil and fragrance. Thoroughly mix with hands. See if right consistency - similar to wet sand and holds its shape when squeezed. If it's too dry, spritz with witch hazel with one hand and mix in with the other hand. Continue until the mixture holds its shape when squeezed.
Put in mold, let dry about 12 hours. Remove from mold. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap.

 

[AliOop]

Your steamers look great to me! Those top small bits of the mooncake designs almost never come out perfectly - they always have some crumbly bits.

I do something similar to @Nona'sFarm except that I don’t mix in the CA until I’ve combined all the other ingredients, wet and dry.

My consistency test is exactly as she described. Rather than witch hazel or alcohol, I use a 50-50 mix of ps80 and water as a rewetting agent if needed.

Doing both of those things keeps my CA from activating.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

Thank you, @Nona'sFarm and @AliOop . Following Ellen Ruth's direction, I did use ps80 in my mix, and I added the CA after everything else was mixed.
I drifted from ER's instruction by spraying with alcohol to wet bc I didn't have witch hazel. Not sure if that was a bad idea...
I suspect, like many things, it will just take a bit of practice to get a better sense of "too wet" or "too dry."

 

[AliOop]

Thank you, @Nona'sFarm and @AliOop . Following Ellen Ruth's direction, I did use ps80 in my mix, and I added the CA after everything else was mixed.
I drifted from ER's instruction by spraying with alcohol to wet bc I didn't have witch hazel. Not sure if that was a bad idea...
I suspect, like many things, it will just take a bit of practice to get a better sense of "too wet" or "too dry."

Definitely! What works perfectly for me may be a flop for you, probably in large part due to differences in ambient temperature and humidity.

I learned the rewetting trick of mixing water and PS80 from the YT channel “Creative Bath Lab.” I imagine you could also mix PS80 and witch hazel, too. The PS80 binds to whatever liquid you use, so it doesn’t activate the mix when spraying.

 

[Servant4Christ]

Those are so pretty! Great, now I've gotta go look these up because I don't know what they are used for, how to use them, or how long they should last. I should know this, right? I bet these would be great for helping my friend who's on oxygen breathe better.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

differences in ambient temperature and humidity.

Humidity here right now is 82% with a temp of 42, so nothing is much drying out. Even my bones feel soggy.

@Servant4Christ I've not used one before either. They're not quite 24 hours old, but I'll give it one test run this morning. The whole house still smells so strong of menthol, eucalyptus and peppermint, so I may not even need it

 

[Relle]

Humidity here right now is 82% with a temp of 42, so nothing is much drying out. Even my bones feel soggy.

@Servant4Christ I've not used one before either. They're not quite 24 hours old, but I'll give it one test run this morning. The whole house still smells so strong of menthol, eucalyptus and peppermint, so I may not even need it

How much eucalyptus and peppermint did you add for the batch size ? I might give these a go without the menthol, we're in summer 40C heat.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

How much eucalyptus and peppermint did you add for the batch size ? I might give these a go without the menthol, we're in summer 40C heat.

Haha! Our 42 is F not C. 40C sounds pretty good right now
I used .8 oz equal parts euc and pep in 16 oz baking soda/ 8 oz CA. Seemed about right in my morning shower.

 

[Relle]

Haha! Our 42 is F not C. 40C sounds pretty good right now
I used .8 oz equal parts euc and pet in 16 oz baking soda/ 8 oz CA. Seemed about right in my morning shower.

Thanks, will just have to do a conversion to grams.

edited - just converted it over, plenty of CA and baking soda to use up, I have 25 kilo bags.

 

[Servant4Christ]

Definitely! What works perfectly for me may be a flop for you, probably in large part due to differences in ambient temperature and humidity.

I learned the rewetting trick of mixing water and PS80 from the YT channel “Creative Bath Lab.” I imagine you could also mix PS80 and witch hazel, too. The PS80 binds to whatever liquid you use, so it doesn’t activate the mix when spraying.

Which shower steamer recipe do you prefer? I am going back and forth between the one from Ellen Ruth and another one that @Misschief posted from MoonCake Cult a couple years back (yes, I hunted it down). Also, what's best way to package these for gifting without buying more equipment until I've decided whether to continue making them? I told my mom I plan to try making these for a dear friend and she said, "Don't forget me! I want some!"

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

I'm curious to know this as well. I was planning to try the one from MoonCake Cult (Kim's Shower Steamers) soon.
The ones I made from Ellen Ruth's recipe work fine, but they're a bit rough and not as hard as I'd hoped. Not sure if that's normal or because my first attempt making these things was less than perfect, lol!

 

[Servant4Christ]

I'm hoping @Misschief chimes in. I don't know if she's tried the Ellen Ruth recipe, but I've read here on the forum that she's used both the MoonCake Cult recipe and a paid for recipe from Wild Hares (I think that's the name). I want to know which one she prefers.

 

[Misschief]

Chiming in..... I still prefer the Moon Cake Cult recipe. It works for me. The Two Wild Hares recipe includes clay and I can't see the need for it in something that is, literally, going down the drain, something that is meant to dissolve fairly rapidly.

 

[Misschief]

Which shower steamer recipe do you prefer? I am going back and forth between the one from Ellen Ruth and another one that @Misschief posted from MoonCake Cult a couple years back (yes, I hunted it down). Also, what's best way to package these for gifting without buying more equipment until I've decided whether to continue making them? I told my mom I plan to try making these for a dear friend and she said, "Don't forget me! I want some!"

I used to package mine in macaron boxes, 3 to a box but it depends on the size you make them.

 

[Servant4Christ]

I used to package mine in macaron boxes, 3 to a box but it depends on the size you make them.

View attachment 80223

They don't need to be individually wrapped to keep them from swelling? Can I just put them in glass jars, say a half dozen per jar? I'm not sure the right size to make for one time/shower use. Any advice is appreciated.

 

[AliOop]

I've used and liked this recipe with clay in the past; I'm not sure where it came from. I assumed the clay was included as a binder or hardener, to help the mix stay together.

Ingredients
2.48 ounces | 62% Baking Soda
1.28 ounce | 32% Citric Acid
0.08 ounce | 2% Kaolin Clay (I've used other colored clays and they work fine)
0.08 ounce | 2% Menthol Crystals
0.08 ounce | 2% Fragrance Oil
mica - q.s.
Isopropyl Alcohol (in a spray bottle)


1. Mix the menthol crystals into the fragrance oil until they dissolve.
2. Mix baking soda and kaolin clay in a large bowl.
3. Add the menthol-FO mixture to the dry ingredients and mix well.
4. Add citric acid and mica powder and mix again.
5. Check the consistency. You want to be able to drop a ball of the mixture back into the bowl without it breaking apart. If you have made bath bombs before, that's the target.
6. If necessary, spray mix with alcohol to dampen it a bit.98. Once you have the desired consistency, pack mixture tightly into your molds.
7. Let dry for a few hours before removing from the molds. When in doubt, wait
8. Cure for 24 hours before enjoying.


PS - about wrapping, I've wrapped individually, and also put a bunch of them into a glass jar. The glass jar ones eventually started to stick together, probably from the moisture that came in whenever I opened the lid.

 

[Relle]

They don't need to be individually wrapped to keep them from swelling? Can I just put them in glass jars, say a half dozen per jar? I'm not sure the right size to make for one time/shower use. Any advice is appreciated.

Going by Ellen Ruth, she made them 1 1/2 ounces for a 1 time use. It's like asking how long is a piece of string, because how long is everyone's shower- it varies so much.

 

[Feelin' Soapy]

I made mine 50 gms apiece. It easily lasted for my very long shower (maybe 12-15 minutes?).