Good luck. They are difficult to master! Trust me on the water. They will get solid in an hour. I made a batch a few days ago and solid with no crumbling whatsoever
Bath Bomb Questions
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Good luck. They are difficult to master! Trust me on the water. They will get solid in an hour. I made a batch a few days ago and solid with no crumbling whatsoever
Paul Kimberlin
Member
Trouble is though ..water doesnt mix with oil so thats a bit of a problem, i added some polysorbate 80 and it all turned to a soft runny gel.. so hopefully thats worked.. i have put them in an oven now up to 170.. and turned it off.. fingers crossed they dry out and are solid in the morning. I'm in blackpool and its really humid here.. rain in the winter.
I never use water, water can cause activation, I use 91% alcohol only of it needs a bit more wetness. Otherwise only use cocoa butter and some sweet almond oil or coconut oil with a bit of PS80. No corn starch, I do add a bit of kaolin clay or cream of Tarter for hardness.
Water doesn’t cause activation if it’s mixed in very quickly. It’s gives the hardest bathbombs along with cream of tarter. I only use cornstarch when I’m using glitter as it makes the glitter sit nicely on top of the water.
That’s not my experience. To each their own.
Appreciate that everyone has got their own different way of making bathbombs especially in different climates etc. I just found that adding some water helped with the hardening a lot. I used to be against water after everything I read.
Paul Kimberlin
Member
Right.. i made some last night using water, oil and i thing ..just a little too much polysorbate80 as, when i removed them from the oven, they had cracked.. but they are really solid. I did put in a little red glitter, with cornflour. I have just dropped one of the small ones 4cm ball, into some warm water and its taken about 6 or 7 minutes to fizz away.. maybe too much cornflour..?.. or is there a set time for them completely to fizzle out.. The previous ones id made, which ..to be honest were too soft or crumbly lasted about 1 to 2 minutes which i thought was too fast..?
Getting there! should only take a few mins to fizz. The poly will make them fizz a bit longer. I’d say only about 30g or less of cornflower for your recipe and less that a teaspoon of poly. You only need a tiny amount to get good results. I think the heat of the oven made them crack. I tried that before and same thing happened. Just leave them by a warm rad and should be ok.
Paul Kimberlin
Member
The trouble is though, as i live in a humid area, (Blackpool) if i leave them to dry by a radiator, there's still moisture in the air and thats why i think the outer layers were very crumbly.. the ingredients were reacting while drying out over a day..
I may try yo to reduc e the temperature of the oven to just 80 degrees rather than 170... so they don't dry out as quick.. also, i may have put in a bit too much polysorbate80 as they tended to flatten out a little on the tray in the over..
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Good stuff. They tend to flatten out if too much oil is used. 15g to every cup is good. Also, keep your fragrance to around 2% and you’ll be good.
Paul Kimberlin
Member
right.. not too sure if i'm NOT using enough oil.. but they are hardening quite quick now.. heres my recipe for my tutti frutti snow pies..
500g Sodium Bicarb
240g citric acid
30g SLSA (Sodium laurel Sulfoacetate)
80g Cornflour
Pearl white mica
ice blue glitter
liquids..
5ml Sweet almond oil
3ml polysorbate80
30 drops tutti frutti FO
and added 3 - 4 tablespoons water once oils are mixed in.
This makes about 11-12 pies..
They dont look too bad.. i'd used coloured mica mixed with a little isopropyl alcohol to paint on the berries and holly and baubles..
500g Sodium Bicarb
240g citric acid
30g SLSA (Sodium laurel Sulfoacetate)
80g Cornflour
Pearl white mica
ice blue glitter
liquids..
5ml Sweet almond oil
3ml polysorbate80
30 drops tutti frutti FO
and added 3 - 4 tablespoons water once oils are mixed in.
This makes about 11-12 pies..
They dont look too bad.. i'd used coloured mica mixed with a little isopropyl alcohol to paint on the berries and holly and baubles..
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Your bath bombs are very pretty.
Paul Kimberlin
Member
My next attempt is Jasmine cherubs.. i havent got a clue if it will work.. but.. here goes..
I had made these a few days back, i think i had tried to dry them too quick in the oven.. but rather than throw them away, i painted gold mica and turned them into Golden Earthquake bath bombs, oozing gold from the cracks.. why waste them.. a new design...
I had made these a few days back, i think i had tried to dry them too quick in the oven.. but rather than throw them away, i painted gold mica and turned them into Golden Earthquake bath bombs, oozing gold from the cracks.. why waste them.. a new design...
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I had made these a few days back, i think i had tried to dry them too quick in the oven.. but rather than throw them away, i painted gold mica and turned them into Golden Earthquake bath bombs, oozing gold from the cracks.. why waste them.. a new design...
And you can always crush failed batches them up and put them into bags and call them bath dust or bath brew
Paul Kimberlin
Member
Pink Parma Violet Cherub Bath Bombs.. 2 turned out.. 3 lost their heads...lol.. i think the mould's are a bit too tough.. But i will try again..
Pack lightly with your mix. Very nice
Loralei
Well-Known Member
I melt a bit of cocoa butter and mango butter - leave out the soft oils. Also, I add my liquids sooooo slowly, and mix, mix, mix... I do use Epsom salts, to soften water, kaolin clay, and even witch hazel... and mine have all turned out great (though I'm by no means an expert).
The most important parts that I've learned is to slowly add liquids until the mixture feels like soft sand. If you can drop a clump back into your mix without it crumbling, it should be good to go.. my guess is the oils you've used are soft at room temp, so they won't ever dry properly.. hope this helps!
The most important parts that I've learned is to slowly add liquids until the mixture feels like soft sand. If you can drop a clump back into your mix without it crumbling, it should be good to go.. my guess is the oils you've used are soft at room temp, so they won't ever dry properly.. hope this helps!
Paul Kimberlin
Member
Thats the way i do them Loralei, i add the liquids very slowly.. mix, then a bit more and mix, i only use the minimal of oil now as a carrier oil for the fragrance oil.. so i'd say liquids are 40% Sweet almond, 3% F.Oil, 5 - 8% Polysorbitol80 and 50% water, quantities subject to the dry materials i use.. I was always told to pack tightly, although ive seen some say if you pack too tight, the bomb will sink, pack it too light, and it disperses in the water too quick..
