bath bomb challenged -- anyone try this?

[paillo]

grrrrrr, i've been working on the same batch of bath bombs for two nights and still not done, cracked bomb after cracked bomb. got several right, but gave up, crumbled the rest until no lumps remained, and covered with plastic wrap.

went back to them tonight. added a little more eo and spritzed with enough witch hazel to make them behave. got a couple more right, but a bunch more cracked ones. so again i crumbled until no lumps, covered with plastic wrap, and will try again tomorrow night.

anyone tried this technique of doing over several days? i don't know if it will make them stale, but the ones i made tonight out of last night's failures fizz just fine. hoping for the best, would love any insights!

i would give up on the damned things but one of my best-selling stores wants some

 

[krissy]

have you tried doing it without any witch hazel or liquid? just oils. i had no luck until i went to just oils and now they are awesome ( well i think so )

 

[lsg]

Are you making round bath bombs, if so maybe using a silicone mold or heavy plastic soap mold would work better. Some of these are made in great shapes or have nice designs in the bottom. I have even used the lid from a Republic of Tea can and called it bath tablets.

 

[paillo]

i tried the smaller, 2-inch round molds and the slightly larger heart molds, and got one batch completely right. that was the only time right now, in desperation, i cut up some 1-inch light plastic candy heart molds, since i seem to have better luck with smaller ones. bath bombs are not my friends!

thanks for the suggestion about no witch hazel, just oils, going to try that too.

does anyone 'master batch' their bombs? i'm thinking of trying that too, mixing the dry ingredients and keeping in an airtight container until whenever i'm ready to make a new batch.

ugh to bath bombs, i admire all of you who are successful with them

here's the recipe i'm using:

1 1/4 cups baking soda
1/2 cut citric acid
1/4 cut natrasorb (tapioca starch)
1/2 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup epsom salts
1 tbsp clay

2 tbsp 99 % rubbing alcohol
2 tbsp macademia nut oil
2 tsp essential oil

have also been adding calendula petals.

probably way heavy on the alcohol, at least it smells of it, yuck!!!!! have been subbing witch hazel for most of that, at least it smells better.

 

[krissy]

maybe try subbing out all of the alcohol for a hard butter like cocoa butter? and add in some polysorbate 20?

 

[Genny]

Yeah, I'd cut the alcohol. I've never put alcohol in mine. I'd also just go with oils and/or butter. Butter can usually hold them together pretty well.

I wouldn't make a master batch though, because if it gets a bit of moisture in there, like from the air, it could set it off. Then you'd have lots of fizzies :wink:

 

[lsg]

Here is a recipe that works for me, even with bath bombs:

1 cup baking soda
1 cup Epsom salt
1/8 corn starch
1/8 cup Bentonite clay

Mix together thoroughly. I put the mixture through an old flour sifter and then mixed, using whisk attachment on my Kitchenaid mixer.

Add 2 1/2 Tablespoons melted cocoa butter, 2 Tablespoons fragrance oil of choice and colorant.

Once all of the above are completely blended, slowly incorporate
3/4 cup citric acid
1/2 to 3/4 cup SLS (3/4 cup SLS makes too many bubbles for me.)

Spritz with Witch Hazel while mixer is running , until the consistency of wet sand, (not too much Witch Hazel at a time or the citric acid will start to fiz). Dust bath bomb mold with cornstarch each time before using. Press mixture firmly into mold and unmold. Let dry at least 24 hours.

Here is a link to a YouTube recipe that really works:

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUTeFnauLK8&feature=player_embedded"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUTeFnau ... r_embedded[/ame]

 

[paillo]

thank you all so much! will report back when i've tried a few of these tips and tricks

no sls here -- guess i will try just omitting it and adding some polysorb 80, which i do have...

 

[paillo]

well, i officially hate bath bombs

tried a couple different recipes tonight, got some perfect ones but mostly failed ones that refuse to stick together. right now the kitchen is a disaster -- after trying to rubber-band some together i have bath bomb stuff all over the kitchen, the dog, me, even one of the cats, lol!

so my answer is to make half-bombs and forget sticking together in perfect, beautiful symmetry. i just loaded them up with botanicals and am going to call it done. kudos to all of you who can make them work, i so envy you!

 

[lsg]

Here is a video that helped me.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOY7QFOVv6A"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOY7QFOVv6A[/ame]

 

[paillo]

great video, especially loved the blooper at the end, thanks

 

[kellistarr]

Hi,

I'd increase the citric acid. I always use 1 cup of baking soda and 3/4 cup of citric acid.

I'd lose the spray and increase the oils. If you don't want to do so, you could add a bit of glycerin, polysorbate 20 or 80. Seems to me you need more wetness. Is the consistency of your mixture like sand? This is the type of consistency I look for when I mix my batch. Like you, I also use the natrasorb, it replaces cornstarch for me. I've been making bath bombs like crazy! My bombs were totally bombing. (Pun intended). They were cracking, sinking, deformed, after tweaking my recipe, I finally got it right.

 

[paillo]

oh, that is so helpful, thanks! i only added witch hazel spray when it was too dry -- then i got it too wet and had to let it dry some before i packed them. it was a lot of cleanup this morning with the beveler, but they actually turned out well...

i did add more butter and some polysorb 80, and i love natrasorb, subbed out half the cornstarch with that.

despite my fiasco last night with the rubber bands, the bombs actually stuck together and i'm optimistic again. cleaned up the doggie and the kitty and they're none the worse for wear either

could not have done it without the help from alls y'allses, thank you!

 

[Hazel]

I had problems getting my bombs to stay together when I added cornstarch. They always crumbled so I stopped using it.

This is just my opinion but I wouldn't use glycerin in bath bombs since it's a humectant. However, I do know it's used by a lot of people so it must work to help hold the bombs together. I just don't know how well the bombs would hold up over a long period of time.