Another Bath Bomb Question

[busybee]

I am trying to make bath bombs and have trouble getting them out of the mold with out them breaking in half. My question is it better to have a more moist mix or a dryer mix. I have found packing them looser is better that too tight. Are there any other suggestions please.

 

[Hazel]

I don't know what you mean by having a more moist mix. I either add enough oil or spritz with rubbing alcohol until it clumps. Then I pack it into a mold as tight as I can. It works well for me. What kind of mold are you using? Do you add some clay to the mix?

 

[busybee]

I don't know what you mean by having a more moist mix. I either add enough oil or spritz with rubbing alcohol until it clumps. Then I pack it into a mold as tight as I can. It works well for me. What kind of mold are you using? Do you add some clay to the mix?

I have only been using oils and butter for my mix and I have tried adding more and more oil with out the mix being ruined but with varied results. I have been using round molds, the type you push together to get a round ball shape. I haven't used clay but have been using Natrasorb, cocoa butter, apricot oil and Cromllient along with Baking Soda and Citric Acid.

 

[Hazel]

I've never used Natrasorb but I have tried cornstarch in bombs. The cornstarch didn't work for me. The bombs wouldn't hold together. But other people use it and have said their bombs hold together.

I haven't used Cromllient either although it does sound interesting since it's water dispersible. I've been doing some experiments with melting ewax into the oil for bombs and have found it helps the oil to disperse in the water. I melted 4 g ewax into 58 g sunflower oil and then mixed it into 12 oz of dry mix. It worked well and I was told the bombs didn't leave an oily film in the tub afterwards. I've been meaning to experiment some more with this idea but haven't gotten around to trying it again.

Also, I posted my bath bomb recipes if you'd like to see what I use in them. I've had good luck with these recipes forming the large round bombs.

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31373

This is a good discussion about bath bombs which might be helpful. Several people discuss oil quantity used in their recipes.

http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30623

HTH

 

[busybee]

Thank you so much Hazel for the info and links, it is very much appreciated. Think I may have another go tonight when I get home from work. It is so FRUSTRATING when they keep splitting in two halves all the time. :?

 

[Hazel]

I'm glad to help if I can and I hope they work out for you. Please let me know how they turn out.