Finished Bath Bomb Issues?

[Karma]

So I made bath bombs last night and they turned out swell. After they were dried this morning I placed them in a ceramic bowl together around 1pm. I just went back to check on them and when I went to pick them up they were sticking together. Did I not let them dry long enough or did I have too much moisture in my mix? I'm using Witch Hazel to create the right consistency rather than water.

Recipe:

• 2 part Baking Soda
• 1 part Citric Acid
• 1 oz Carrier Oil(Sweet Almond for the bath bombs in question)
• 6-8 ML FO
• Spritzing with Witch Hazel

I easily mushed the weird parts back into place but I would like to avoid this all together in the long run. Thank you in advance!

 

[hmlove1218]

They're probably pulling humidity from the air and setting off the reaction. They may not fizz as well in the bath now. You should wrap them up air tight after allowing them to dry so that they don't start fizzing.

 

[SplendorSoaps]

I'm not sure if this would cause the stickiness, but I usually use 2 parts baking soda to 1 part citric acid (with some liquified cocoa butter and fragrance). Maybe the ratio of BS to CA contributed to the consistency?

 

[snappyllama]

I'm not sure if this would cause the stickiness, but I usually use 2 parts baking soda to 1 part citric acid (with some liquified cocoa butter and fragrance). Maybe the ratio of BS to CA contributed to the consistency?

I was wondering the same thing. The recipes I've seen all use a 2:1.

 

[Karma]

Oops the recipe mess up was my fault! I have been doing 2 parts BS and 1 part CA. That was my silly mistake! I fixed it in my OP.

I'll try wrapping them up and seeing if that helps thank you!

 

[Relle]

I've been making BB's this week and have let them dry at least two days and some have been drying 4. I didn't let them touch each other while drying and placed them on a towel. I'd say you haven't let them dry long enough.

 

[Karma]

Thank you Relle! I'll let the batch I just made dry for at least 4 days before letting them touch.

Also how do you guys keep sphere molded bombs from getting flat on the bottom when drying? I have a wire drying rack and it leaves little wire marks on the bottom which I don't mind as much as it getting less round. I heard letting them dry in a bed of salt helps but what do you guys think?

 

[Dorymae]

Try placing them on bubble wrap, with the large bubbles. The small bubble wrap will leave spots.

 

[Relle]

As I said before place them on a towel folded over, no flat spots on mine.

 

[Karma]

Thanks you guys! I also reduced the moisture a bit during the spraying process and my most recent batch are really hardened even on the next day. They aren't cracking either but I got to try the towel to dry them on!

 

[lucysky]

I find that my BB also stick together during drying so I just make sure i leave enough space. I live in a humid country so I dry mine in an airtight container w/ a mini dehumidifier. They dry perfectly. My problem is after drying, they always seem to find a way to fizz even when I store them in jars. oh well...

 

[Lynusann]

Also how do you guys keep sphere molded bombs from getting flat on the bottom when drying? I have a wire drying rack and it leaves little wire marks on the bottom which I don't mind as much as it getting less round. I heard letting them dry in a bed of salt helps but what do you guys think?

I've used dry rice bowls to dry some of my BB's but I wouldn't recommend salt. Salt attracts moisture and I would imagine that it could pull too much moisture towards your BB's

 

[snappyllama]

I put my bath bombs in a box nestled on top of a kitchen towel to move them around without them rolling all over the place or getting indentations. It seems to work pretty well. I've seen folks use that egg crate mattress topper material to do the same thing. If I ever needed to make larger quantities of bombs, I'd probably go that route.