Bath bomb notes

[Saponomancer]

I know I've been away from the forum for a while (College and Shows kicked my behind for a bit) But I was researching bathbombs and pretty much finding that you have to comb through a lot of things to get any information at all and most of what you'll find is just finished recipes.

So! I thought I would put my few notes I've been able to derive from reading around and ask if any of you guys have further notes to add to it.

Embeds make bathbombs spin and spit colour
1:1 ratio citric acid to sodium bicarbinate when making embeds

Using glycerin instead of alcohol witch hazel or water will make the bathbombs foamy

1:1:2 ratio tapioca or corn starch, citric acid, and sodium bicarbonate for floating bath bombs

5% oil/butter

dyes produce better colours than lakes if you're looking to colour the bath water, pigments may not properly colour at all.

Match the oil amount with Polysorbate 80 or 20, this is to make the oils mix with the water in the bathtub and prevent slicks, as well as keeping the colourants from leaving a ring around the tub

3% fragrance oil/essential oil (unless proscribed by the usage rate recommended)

Packing down the bath bombs makes them denser, leaving them looser in the mold may allow them to float without the corn starch

 

[BattleGnome]

Body Bonbon on YouTube is a bath bomb only channel. She has some tutorials (like using cookie cutters as mold) and sells in Australia. I watch her channel for "tub tests," her colors are mesmerizing.

 

[TBandCW]

Body Bonbon on YouTube is a bath bomb only channel. She has some tutorials (like using cookie cutters as mold) and sells in Australia. I watch her channel for "tub tests," her colors are mesmerizing.

Just saw some of her YouTube videos and they are amazing!

 

[peach]

A 1:1 ratio of citric acid sounds like a lot... It doesn't sound like it'd be cost effective if you're planning on selling them. Citric acid is a bit expensive, at least more so than baking soda.

I have yet to use polysorbate, but love the idea of what it does!

Going to check out Body Bonbon for sure!

 

[Saponomancer]

A 1:1 ratio of citric acid sounds like a lot... It doesn't sound like it'd be cost effective if you're planning on selling them. Citric acid is a bit expensive, at least more so than baking soda.

I have yet to use polysorbate, but love the idea of what it does!

Going to check out Body Bonbon for sure!

the 1:1 ratio mix is just for making the embeds, not the majority of the bomb, the difference in intensity between the reactions makes jets of colour or spinning motion.

 

[peach]

Quote:
Originally Posted by peach View Post
A 1:1 ratio of citric acid sounds like a lot... It doesn't sound like it'd be cost effective if you're planning on selling them. Citric acid is a bit expensive, at least more so than baking soda.

I have yet to use polysorbate, but love the idea of what it does!

Going to check out Body Bonbon for sure!
the 1:1 ratio mix is just for making the embeds, not the majority of the bomb, the difference in intensity between the reactions makes jets of colour or spinning motion.


Ah! gotcha. Sorry for the misunderstanding!

 

[ewenique]

Very timely! I have been researching this, too. The info you have listed is pretty much what I've found, too. Now to try making a floating, spinning, foaming bath bomb! Thanks for sharing.

 

[PuddinAndPeanuts]

Thank you for posting this!!

 

[NOLAGal]

I know I've been away from the forum for a while (College and Shows kicked my behind for a bit) But I was researching bathbombs and pretty much finding that you have to comb through a lot of things to get any information at all and most of what you'll find is just finished recipes.

So! I thought I would put my few notes I've been able to derive from reading around and ask if any of you guys have further notes to add to it.

Embeds make bathbombs spin and spit colour
1:1 ratio citric acid to sodium bicarbinate when making embeds

Using glycerin instead of alcohol witch hazel or water will make the bathbombs foamy

1:1:2 ratio tapioca or corn starch, citric acid, and sodium bicarbonate for floating bath bombs

5% oil/butter

dyes produce better colours than lakes if you're looking to colour the bath water, pigments may not properly colour at all.

Match the oil amount with Polysorbate 80 or 20, this is to make the oils mix with the water in the bathtub and prevent slicks, as well as keeping the colourants from leaving a ring around the tub

3% fragrance oil/essential oil (unless proscribed by the usage rate recommended)

Packing down the bath bombs makes them denser, leaving them looser in the mold may allow them to float without the corn starch

Good notes, thanks for sharing. It took me several hours of research and experimenting to basically get the same list that you have put together. For example I didn't know about emulsifiers and surfactants until after I made my first couple batches and couldn't figure out why so much oil was floating (and sticking to the bottom of my tub when it drained!)

Couple things to add:
- Cream of tartar will give you soapy foam if you looking to add "bubbles" to your fizz.
- Kaolin clay is suppose to make the bath bombs harder. I've ordered some but haven't tried it yet.
- Humidity will greatly affect your wet / dry ratio of ingredients.
- I am still getting the feel for this but the consensus that I've seen is that when you push the molds together if it cracks when you pull the sides a part it is too wet, if it holds together but crumbles easily it is too dry.

What is soooo incredibly hard with trying to figure out making bath bombs is that there is soooo much conflicting information scattered around the internet. For example some people say they use water, others say never ever use water. Some say pack it tight, others say leave it loose. I've watched one video where the guy twists his molds as he pushes them together but yet have heard several others say never twist!!! It seems that different methods work for different people based upon their mixture, environment and brand of ingredients they are using, so it's hard for any one person to find a recipe, use it and have it work perfectly for them. It comes down to a lot of trial and error for each of us to find out what works best for us.

 

[Saponomancer]

I'm having a lot of success with using my whisk attachment on my stand mixer to mix the ingredients together, and adding an ounce of 90-99% rubbing alcohol to my oils and ps80 and just pouring all of that in at once while its going to get the right consistency for me