Newbie bath bomb help

[Beachchica]

Hello all,
New to this forum but started making bath bombs with my daughter as a fun little craft project, as she loves putting them in her bath. Trying to use a DIY recipe and need some help.

I've used the store kits and haven't had any problems, but found a couple DIY recipes online and have had some issues with keeping the bath bombs together (splitting in the middle when taking them out of the mold) and cracking. Here are the ingredients I'm using:

· 1 cup baking soda
· 1/2 cup citric acid
· 1/2 cup Epsom salt
· 1/2 cup cornstarch
· coloring pigment
· 2 1/2 tablespoons almond oil
· 3/4 tablespoon water
· 12-15 drops essential oil

Are there too many liquids here? I'm mixing the solids and liquids separately and then adding the liquids to the sold mixture with a dropper.
I've read that I should avoid the water and replace with oil, should I use coconut butter instead?
Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
Jessie

 

[lsg]

I don't use Epsom salts or cornstarch in my bath bombs. I do use melted cocoa butter, which gives me a very hard bath bomb.

 

[zerenitylbp]

Hello, I dont use corn starch, I use water but you have to add the wet a little a time. Dropper might be to slow. As long as you keep whipping it and dont let the mix activate it should work. Aslo try using just 1tbl of oil. I think that will help out.

One other thing let the bath bomb dry for about 15mins in one side of the mold. Then flip sides with other side now in mold for about a hour. After that take it out and let it dry over night. If you want to add cream of tartar or clay it will help with cracking

 

[Beachchica]

Thanks! I'll eliminate the corn starch and epson salt. add melted cocoa butter. I assume the baking soda and citric acid is still 2:1?
Regarding the water, why is it used for bath bombs vs. using more of the oils?
On the cream of tarter, how much should I add?

 

[shunt2011]

I use no water in my bath bombs. I add Cocoa Butter and if it needs a bit more I'll add either a little oil or spritz with alcohol. Water always caused my batch to activate so I quit a long time ago.

 

[lsg]

I don't use water in my bath bombs, either.

 

[Jenn]

I use corn starch and epsom no problems. I add a tsp of kaolin clay, mist water add citric last, and i use a tbs & 1.5 tsp oil including eo for double the dry ingredients so try reducing it

 

[amd]

I use corn starch and epsom no problems. I add a tsp of kaolin clay, mist water add citric last, and i use a tbs & 1.5 tsp oil including eo for double the dry ingredients so try reducing it

This is an old thread from 2019. Please don't post on old threads, it's in the forum rules.

 

[Beachchica]

Thanks so what are you all using for your recipe? 2 days ago I made some, batch came out smooth, took the tops off of the bath bombs to dry but a couple still cracked trying to get them out of the mold the next day. They were nice and hard though.
Last night I made more.

1 cup Baking Soda
1/2 cup Citric Acid
20 drops of essential oil
Mica powder for color
Coconut butter 1/4 tsp
added almond oil slowly until I got a mixture that clumped some

At first I was having trouble getting the 2 sides of the mold to stay together so I added more oil. I was going to try to take one top off again (or both) but was having trouble with my metal molds so I left them in the molds all night. This morning when I tried to take one out they split and the mixture still didn't feel dry so I put it back in the mold. What do you suggest? I eliminated the water but does this help with the hardening? How much oil should I really be putting in based on measurements above?

 

[Beachchica]

This is an old thread from 2019. Please don't post on old threads, it's in the forum rules.

This was a new thread I started 3 weeks ago...?

 

[amd]

This was a new thread I started 3 weeks ago...?

Sorry, on my computer it was showing on page 2 of thread that was started in 2011, or something like that. I only noticed because it's rare that I am several pages behind in a thread, so I stopped to look at the date. It seems to have straightened itself out. My apologies for the computer glitch.

 

[Liesel Atwood]

Hello there! I saw your post about bath bombs and thought I would add my 2 cents worth. I found the best recipe for bath bombs from "Yellow Cottage Soapery". She is an awesome soaper, and because she is a nurse as well, she is very conscious of what she puts in any of her products. She gives out her recipe on her youtube channel..just go to Yellow Cottage Soapery and do a search for "bath bombs". Her ingredients are basically the same as yours, but perhaps in different proportions. One thing that is different is the use of witch hazel, spritzed on, rather than water. It keeps the citric acid from being activated prematurely. I've tried this recipe and love it! I encourage you to give it a try! I hesitate to post the recipe in a public forum, as it is her recipe, and I have not asked her if I may share it. I'd love to hear your thoughts on it if you make it. One last thing...have you tried tapping your molds with a metal spoon, on the ends and all the way around the circumference of the mold? I've found it really helps to release the bath bomb from the mold, after it has a few minutes to sit and bind together. Using water was a disaster for me....the bath bomb just sank in the tub and didn't even bubble! You may find you like the witch hazel much better! Good luck! Liesel

 

[tryintogonatural]

Hi everybody!
I'm new here so if I need to know anything please do tell.
I' haven't been making bb's for very long, and w/ only about a 50% success rate due, in large part, to the humidity factor. I had a basic recipe I loved but lost it in a busted pipes/flooded kitchen incident. So now I'm searching again, but I'm seeing all these new ingredients like coconut oil, slsa, coconut butter, shea butter, etc and Idk how these things work into the recipe. Like how do you compensate if you add slsa-more dry ingredients, and won't the coconut oil cause the citric acid to react? Some recipes say add all dry ingredients while others say add the citric acid last. Feeling a little confused and could really use some insight please.