Bath bombs wont harden

[Jennettik]

Hi! I'm just new in learning about making bath and body products. Hoping to get things perfected enough to sell! I'm having some issues getting bath bombs to turn out correctly.

I am having trouble getting my bombs to harden. It seems like I have the right “wet sand” consistency when I put them into the mold (i’m using the plastic ornament ones), so I don’t think it’s that they’re too dry. But even after 24 hours they have a dense but soft texture and are nearly impossible to remove from the molds without any cracking and breaking, they’re even sticking to the sides of the molds in some cases. I even have some that I made a couple weeks ago that have just been sitting on the counter out of the mold and they’re still soft.

I’ve tried making the mixture wetter, dryer, changing up the amounts of slsa and kaolin clay that i’m using and I get the same result. I do live in a dryer climate, so it does take quite a few witch hazel spritzes to get the right consistency, but again I don’t think it’s that my mixture is too dry or wet when I mold it. The only thing I’m thinking now is that i’m using maybe too much oils and that’s keeping it from fully drying. Thoughts?

Here’s my base recipe:
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid
1/4 cup slsa
1/2 tb kaolin clay
1 tb coconut oil
1 tb polysorbate 80
1/2 tsp fragrance oil
Lake colorant

 

[Dahila]

Look on the bottom of page , there is many the same threads, people answer this questions. It is your first post, and you should introduce yourself in beginners sub forum

 

[Jennettik]

Wow ok. There's hardly any reason to be rude. I guess I won't be coming back here for help.

 

[SunRiseArts]

Your recipe seems ok to me, except I think slsa is too much IMO.

Plastic molds are horrible. If you want to sell them, you should invest in the sterling silver ones. Having said that, sometimes they take a whole week to dry properly depending on the weather.

Perhaps your best bet is to take off just half of the mold after 24 hours, let it sit another day or two, and take off the other half. But they could still break in the middle (which is why the silver ones are better, no need to stay on mold).

You can use non stick oil (like pam), and spray your mold first, and wipe out the excess. They would be easier to take off, and should not affect your bomb.

Welcome to the forum

 

[BattleGnome]

. If you want to sell them, you should invest in the sterling silver ones.

Sterling silver or stainless steel? I ask because I've never seen molds marketed as silver.

 

[Complexions]

I use the stainless steel molds, and remove them from the mold right away as I mold. Since I live in FL the humidity gets to everything, one way I can get them to dry fairly well is to get a container of Damp Rid, put that in my oven, and then put the tray of bombs in the oven and leave until I need to use the oven again to cook! Just make sure everyone in the house knows to not turn the oven on to preheat while they are in there with the damp rid, I'm sure you can just imagine the mess that would make!

 

[SunRiseArts]

Sterling silver or stainless steel? I ask because I've never seen molds marketed as silver.

lol stainless steel, sorry. I had a senior moment, I guess.

 

[Dahila]

Wow ok. There's hardly any reason to be rude. I guess I won't be coming back here for help.

Am I rude????????? I do not think so

 

[dblbubble]

Drop your SLSA down to 1 T and don't use coconut oil, use a liquid carrier oil instead. The coconut oil (IMO) has a tendency to make BBs not really harden very well, same with melted coco butter. Plus when it gets hot in the summer time, solid oils can remelt/get soft.

Also, if you do change to a carrier oil, you don't need the Poly 80, as the SLSA will emulsify the oil pretty well. I think between the coconut oil and your Poly 80, your bombs are too wet and aren't drying.