How much Oils and EOs for bath bomb?

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lra

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I recently bought and tried 2.5 oz bath bomb from Wholefood. It packed with lots of oils and EOs. It was nice but my tub is so slippery and the smell linger on my skins for a the whole night.

I used 1-1/2 tablespoon of oils and 1 teaspoon of EOs per pound of dry ingredients. My bath bombs did not make my tub slippery or the smell linger on my skin.

Did I put to little oils and EOs? Please advice.

Thanks.
 
If you're happy with it, then it's the correct amount. There isn't a right or wrong amount - it's all personal preference. However, I would suggest you weigh out the amounts you use for more accuracy when you want to make a recipe again.
 
The most basic formula is

  • 2 parts Baking Soda
  • 1 part Citric Acid
  • 1 part other (salts, corn starch or oils)
  • small amounts of other ingredients such as color and fragrances
Determining how much a "part" is depends on how big a batch of bath bombs you are trying to make. If you are just trying a simple test for yourself, a part might only be 1/2 Cup. It's a good idea to make a very small batch and try it yourself before you invest in large amounts of ingredients or try and make a lot of something to give away to your friends.
 
forgive me the ignorance, but if you just put dry stuff what holds the bomb together, if there is no oil???
 
You don't have to say excuse my ignorance because we all had to learn, too. I use 91% rubbing alcohol to spritz until the mix feels damp and then I use a lot of pressure to pack the bombs. Normally, this works well for me. I used to use witch hazel and a lot of people have mentioned they use it. However, I sometimes had the mix start to fizz while I was using witch hazel which is why I switched to rubbing alcohol. HTH :grin:
 
I am now reading on the web that many people sprits with water a continue mixing to stop the reaction??? Very strange. I used only oil in mine and in the second batch glycerine and they were pretty hard when thy dried. But the ones that had sea salt were harder than the ones without. Do you put any oil hazel or you avoid it for specific reason?
 
What about natural colorants like turmeric and paprika? Wonder if they will stain the bath???
 
Years ago, I tried water and it fizzed worse than witch hazel. All I can say about water is to give it a try because it might work for you. I remember seeing a video where a lady was making bath bombs with oils and she said not to spritz with water because the combination of oil and water would cause bacteria to grow. I wondered about that but don't have any way to dispute or confirm her claim. So, I play it safe and don't use anything but oils and butters to hold a bomb together if I am adding them.

I use oil in the mix that I want for cavity molds. They seem to come out better than without oil. I have made some round bombs with oil and they came out nice but normally I just use rubbing alcohol to hold round ones together.

I don't know about turmeric or paprika since I've never used them for bombs. My first reaction was to think that because they are water soluble and very little is needed for color there wouldn't be enough to create an issue. But I don't know for sure. If no one has an answer, you'll have to experiment and let us know. :grin:
 
ImageUploadedBySoap Making1417624897.079309.jpg

Here is a picture of the bath roses I made. The one if front- a beautiful pale yellow, in daylight looks even better, it is dark where I live now, it has turmeric. Both have also kaolin clay( apart from soda bicarbonate, citric acid and sea salt). The kaolin clay also gives a off white color. Unfortunately the turmeric stained my skin( luckily I tried it in a bowl only on my hands) and the towel I used to dry my hands. So no good for baths:( it is a shame, such a nice color.
 
Also the sea salt made made them really dry and solid. The ones without crumbled, but those were solid as rocks and had lovely bubbles.
 
Thanks for letting me know about the turmeric. I've only used FDC colors or clay and I thought it might be fun to try some herbal powders. Oh well...

Just in case you decide to try colored clays - French green clay turns gray in bath bombs. I'm wondering if yellow clay might work in bombs.
 
Well the clay I used is yellow-ish but more like ivory, do you get something yellower than that? Shame about the green clay. There is red clay, as well, worth trying. Maybe the bombs with turmeric can be recommended for athlete foot, used in a small tub with a warning, as turmeric has such great antiseptic qualities.
 
And do you find oil good or bad when using the bomb. I kind of like it when I can rub it in my skin. But some people don't like it as they have to scrub their bath, but I think with hot water oil comes of very easy.
 
I'm not sure if you could find a really yellow clay. I was just wondering if it would be possible. Maybe someone who knows will see this and give an answer.

I don't know about your country but here we couldn't recommend turmeric for athlete's foot. This would place the bomb in the drug category and FDA frowns on medical claims made for bath products.

I had complaints about the tub being too slippery. So, I experimented and melted ewax into the oil/butter so it would be water soluble. This worked out much better since the oil/butter just drained out with the water. I used 10% ewax with the oils. People have recommended Polysorbate 80 for oils but I didn't have any which is why I tried the ewax.
 
So if the oil becomes water soluble, does it still make your skin soft? What is the purpose of putting it in? Sorry for all the questions and thanks for your answers.
 

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