Those are absolutely beautiful bubble bars in the pic above! I have been dying to try bubble bars ever since I bought and tried the Lush Creamy Candy Bubble Bar while on vacation. But I am finding it extremely hard to locate recipes, and equally hard to decide which recipe to use for my first attempt. I need to decide soon though because I have got to get busy and purchase all the ingredients before I do anything.
Like you, I've been very confused about the whole cream of tartar thing, since it is expensive.
I know it is extremely bad manners to ask for a person's recipe, especially since many consider their recipes top secret because of the time and money spent developing them. And I totally understand that. But because of the differences in the few recipes I've found, and because of the expense of Cream of Tartar and the varying opinions on whether it is even necessary, I'm frazzled and confused about which recipe to use.
So, may I flirt with bad manners by just asking you if there is a generic recipe you would recommend for my first attempt? NOT your secret recipe, but just a starting point for a beginner? It doesn't have to be an awesome, fantastic secret recipe, just something that works :roll:
I only ask because I am at the end of my rope with trying to find and decide on a recipe. I just want to finally get started with my first attempt. I've done some legwork by finding out the ingredients in the Lush Creamy Candy Bubble Bar that I liked so much. But when I compared that with the few internet recipes I've found for Bubble Bars, I was confused again because of the difference in ingredients between the Lush bars and some of the home-made bars. For instance, here is the Lush ingredient list and what the Lush web site says each of the ingredients does:
Sodium Bicarbonate – Softens water and promotes circulation.
Cream of Tartar (Tartaric Acid) – Gives very frother bubbles. This bubble bar paste can be used to make an endless variety of different shapes. Mixed with Sodium Bicarbonate, it creats the lightness of texture in the product. We are able to add to the bubble bar paste softening ingredients for the skin, such as coconut milk powder, essential oils and solid bath melt mixture, plus colour and fragrance.
Sodium Laureth Sulfate – Allows oil and water to mix. In Bubble bars it is used to create film-star bubble baths with masses of foam. The bars were invented with the belief that bubble baths had become a little limp, with just a thin layer of bubbles on the water.
Fair Trade Cocoa - (the site did not list anything here)
Lauryl Betaine - It is a hair and skin conditioner. It improves quality and stability of foam, making it more durable in the presence of oil and dirt.
Laureth 4 – Emulsifier. Helps the product mix and dissolve in water; without laureth-4, the product is hard to rinse from the skin. In our Creamy Candy Bubble Bar, laureth-4 helps to create a creamy, milky effect in the water.
Almond Oil (Prunus Dulcis) - (the site did not list anything here)
Cocoamide DEA - Derived from coconut oil. Rich in fatty acids. Cocamide DEA is used in our range of bubble bars. It is a powerful surfactant and dissolves dirt and grease as you soak in the foaming bath. As a surfactant, it supports the action of the main surfactants in any foaming, cleansing product.
Vanilla Absolute – Highest concentration of vanilla aroma.
D&C Red No. 33
Candy Flowers
So that's my delimma . . . chomping at the bit to try Bubble Bars, but very confused as to where to start. I'd love any tips you can give me for my first attempt at Bubble Bars!
Thank you so much!
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