Mailing bath bombs

[petech]

Just wondering if anyone here has any tips about mailing bath bombs via USPS/UPS/FEDEX or any other company in the summer time. My main concern is about the heat. It isn't unreasonable for some parts of the USA to reach 110 fahrenheit in the summer outside. Who knows what the temperature is like inside the delivery truck. The bath bomb I make has epsom salt, salt release H20 when it gets hot enough, which then sets off the baking soda and citric acid.

Thanks in advance!

 

[CaraBou]

I doubt that would be hot enough to cause a problem (though it's fun to think about while it hovers near 0). But it couldn't hurt to add silica packets to absorb any moisture.

 

[petech]

I have a yogurt warming machine at home and the machine keeps temperature at around 110 degrees. I've seen the bath bomb that I make react inside the yogurt warming machine. Though I have also tested a store bought one from Target that did not react at all inside the yogurt machine. They might have different ingredients in theirs, also theirs I think is made with a hydraulic press.

My bath bombs are shrink wrapped. So I think not possible to put silica packet inside. Unless I put it inside the shrink wrap, which might look odd.

Clearly the people who made the bath bombs that are sold at Target know something I don't yet know. The Target brand is called 'Me bath'.

 

[BattleGnome]

Did you check the ingredients? Do they use Epsom salts? Is there another ingredient (or a few) that you don't add?

My guess it's a difference between commercial press/hand packing, formula, or how they are assembled. I wonder if sprinkling the salts on top or embedding them in the center makes a difference over adding them to the mix

 

[Susie]

Sounds like you have a bunch of experimentation that needs to be done.

 

[petech]

'Me bath' brand ingredients: sodium bicarbonate, citirc acid, sea salt, sucrose, magnesium sulfate, fragrance, witch hazel, glycine soja oil, simmondsia chinensis seed oil, sweet almond oil, seasame seed oil, macadamia seed oil, sunflowerseed oil, orange 4

My ingredients:
baking soda, citric acid, epsom salt, corn starch, essential oil, coconut oil,

I've also tried to same ingredients but swapping out the corn starch, for sugar.

I also have in my pantry cocoa butter, which in the microwave take twice to three times as long to melt as the coconut oil. Though in my yogurt warmer, even that melts eventually.

 

[penelopejane]

Maybe target use a different Epsom salts?

Anhydrous magnesium sulfate is used as a drying agent.
Not sure if you use anhydrous or not.

 

[BattleGnome]

There's no way of knowing without serious studying of the "me bath" but I'm guessing that it's probably a % issue. With that ingredient list I'd imagine they use 20-30% magnesium sulfate (Epsom salt) at the very most but probably more in the 10-15% range at max since baking soda is a much cheaper ingredient.

This all me thinking out loud, I've never used this brand and my own bath bomb experiments have always been a hair or two above failure.

 

[petech]

I don't use Anhydrous magnesium sulfate, though I could perhaps make my own by drying out epsom salt. Though that just makes the process of making bath bombs more time consuming.