Bath Bombs + Humidity = :(

[Stella Marie]

At the end of last year, I finally perfected my bath bomb recipe. After MANY botched attempts. [Far more frustrating to work with than soap, I have found.] Things were moving along just great.

Until.

UNTIL.

The humidity came to town.

I made a huge special order for a really good customer and the day after it was complete, all the bombs started to grow bumps and became very soft on the outside. I nearly cried. Same recipe as always, same everything. Except for the level of humidity, which I never thought about before because I live in New England. It's normally pretty steady, but when those spring and summer months come around - forgetaboutit.

I live in a 2-bedroom apartment. Any suggestions as to how I can continue to make bath bombs into the summer without the bumpy problems?

I need advice quickly, as I stayed up very late REMAKING all of the bath bombs and they are currently taking up too much residence in my refrigerator.

 

[Laurie]

I don't know very much about them, but can you put a fan on them, gently?

Laurie

 

[WilsonFamilyPicnic]

how about a spare closet (i guess that is usually an oxymoron though!) with a de-humidifier in it? then seal them up in an airtight container or package after they dry.

 

[Stella Marie]

Thanks for your advice, guys! Maybe I will try a combination of these 2 solutions.

They are fine once they are completely dry.

 

[Laurie]

I am in the experimental stages right now. I just did 3 batches this past week. First batch 1 out of the 4 or 5 turned out.
2nd batch all 4 turned out good.
3rd batch 2 turned out. But I definitely could feel it in the texture of the mixture so I am learning as I go.
Hope everything went ok with your bombs.

Laurie

 

[Stella Marie]

It is very "trial by error" and weird things can happen even after you've done it a hundred times. But it's a pretty good feeling when they look as good as you intended them to.

 

[Tabitha]

When they don't look so good, smash em' w/ a hammer, pour them into a cello bag & label it fizzy bath powder or combine w/ salt & label fizzing bath salts :roll: .

The humidity is messing w/ my unwrapped glycerin soap loaves too!

 

[Stella Marie]

Tabitha - that is genius! I've been putting them aside to use as "testers" during my spa parties, but geez, you only need so many!

I took them all out of the fridge and now they are quietly sitting with hand towels gently placed over them. The humidity is low, but I don't want to take any chances!

 

[mcleodnaturals]

I gave up doing bombs last year too...they kept doing the exact same thing to me! Very very frustrating!!! And I live in southern Alberta which is basically very dry farmland, not much for humidity here.

I started making fizzing bath melts because I just love the fizzy part, but I hated the finicky-ness of the bombs. I use cocoa butter, citric acid, baking soda and a liquid oil like grapeseed. They work awesome!!

 

[Lane]

This is the first year I have NEVER had to worry about humidity! I'm in dry heat now and I swear the dry air has made soaping TONS easier. My love to you all dealing with the humidity!

...I have A LOT of fizzing Bath Powder...

 

[Minki]

Would putting the bath bombs in three fridge immediately after making them help with the humidity problem?

 

[AliOop]

Would putting the bath bombs in three fridge immediately after making them help with the humidity problem?

Hi @Minki this post is from 2008 so most of those folks aren’t regulars here any more.

To answer your question, my experience is the putting bath bombs in the fridge makes the problem worse, bc when you take them out, condensation forms on the cold bombs in the warm air. That condensation activates the bombs and creates a worse problem than the normal humidity.

I’ve had good success using Dean Wilson’s method of first mixing all ingredients except the CA, which is added last. I also don’t use any water, just RA. As soon as the bombs are dry, I wrap them up so no moisture can get in. I don’t make them for sale, but they are of sellable quality.

 

[Minki]

Hi @Minki this post is from 2008 so most of those folks aren’t regulars here any more.

To answer your question, my experience is the putting bath bombs in the fridge makes the problem worse, bc when you take them out, condensation forms on the cold bombs in the warm air. That condensation activates the bombs and creates a worse problem than the normal humidity.

I’ve had good success using Dean Wilson’s method of first mixing all ingredients except the CA, which is added last. I also don’t use any water, just RA. As soon as the bombs are dry, I wrap them up so no moisture can get in. I don’t make them for sale, but they are of sellable quality.

Thank you so much for the reply. I greatly appreciate it.
I've also had problems with putting them in the fridge.
I made a huge batch about a month ago and wrapped then im within a few hours but a few days later they were completely soft. It was a disaster.
I've tried adding the citric acid last but i can't get a good consistency like that. Also i never use water only witch hazel. Thanks for your advice.

 

[AliOop]

Thank you so much for the reply. I greatly appreciate it.
I've also had problems with putting them in the fridge.
I made a huge batch about a month ago and wrapped then im within a few hours but a few days later they were completely soft. It was a disaster.
I've tried adding the citric acid last but i can't get a good consistency like that. Also i never use water only witch hazel. Thanks for your advice.

You might search some of the other bath bomb threads for @lsg's bath bomb recipe. She doesn't use any liquid other than the fragrance and a bit of oil. Maybe that would work better for your area.

 

[Minki]

Thank you so much.
My humidity today was around 40. And my bombs are still swelling.
My recipe is as follows
1C baking soda
1/2C citric acid
1/2C corn starch
2t coconut oil
2.5t witch hazel
14 drops essence.

Does something sound wrong?

 

[Skylantern]

Do you have access to 91% or 70% rubbing alcohol? I had the best luck with 91% but 70% worked as well. However, even after drying under a fan and an indoor humidity level of 40% and then immediately shrinking wrapping I've never had a bath bomb that didn't get warts. I used three different recipes for humidity proof bombs. Different clays, mixing CA last, etc. Just not happening here. What I did was compromise. I made cookie crumbles. I made fairy dust. I made bath bombs in cauldrons with cocoa butter frosting on top. All the same bath bomb recipe in deconstructed bath bomb form. So it's not really giving up so much as working with what you got going on. So none of those are bombs wasted, just waiting to be something new. Good luck!

 

[Minki]

Do you have access to 91% or 70% rubbing alcohol? I had the best luck with 91% but 70% worked as well. However, even after drying under a fan and an indoor humidity level of 40% and then immediately shrinking wrapping I've never had a bath bomb that didn't get warts. I used three different recipes for humidity proof bombs. Different clays, mixing CA last, etc. Just not happening here. What I did was compromise. I made cookie crumbles. I made fairy dust. I made bath bombs in cauldrons with cocoa butter frosting on top. All the same bath bomb recipe in deconstructed bath bomb form. So it's not really giving up so much as working with what you got going on. So none of those are bombs wasted, just waiting to be something new. Good luck!

Thank you so much. I'm going to try the alcohol rather.
You're far more creative than me. I just want to get a perfect bath bomb like i used to. Without changing anything at all, my bombs suddenly won't work. One day they'll crack, the next day they'll have warts, the next day they just swell so much. I've sold hundreds of perfect bath bombs and now I'm feeling jinxed.

 

[Skylantern]

Thank you so much. I'm going to try the alcohol rather.
You're far more creative than me. I just want to get a perfect bath bomb like i used to. Without changing anything at all, my bombs suddenly won't work. One day they'll crack, the next day they'll have warts, the next day they just swell so much. I've sold hundreds of perfect bath bombs and now I'm feeling jinxed.

I hadn't realized they'd worked for you before, that is so undermining. I forgot to ask, some Witch Hazel is made with water and others are in alcohol. Did you change brands recently? You can find alcohol based Witch Hazel but the ones I have in my house were mostly water. Lastly I read somewhere that someone used a stackable dehydrator to help dry her bath bombs. I've never tried this, but if you have one collecting dust that you don't mind using for crafts it might be worth a shot. You got this!

 

[msunnerstood]

I put one of those containers of dehumidifier beads on the shelf with my bath bombs. seems to work.