Bath bombs, recipe question

I've been making bath bombs, but the recipe I use has so much stuff in it, that it makes it more of a PITA than what it's really worth in the end. I mean, they're AWESOME in the tub, but for as much as they sell, it isn't worth it to make bombs anymore. I'm wondering if a change of recipe would be a better idea than just scrapping them.

My current recipe has: Sodium Bicarb and citric acid of course, but also has dry milk, arrowroot powder and powdered oatmeal.

I guess I technically should just experiment and see what I can lose from the ingredients without losing the awesomeness of the bombs. But, for those who look at bath bombs (purchase them, whatever), are you more worried about what's in the bombs (all the extras) or are you more worried about price?

I buy lots of bath bombs. I know how to make them, but I don't find it enjoyable to do so.

To me the most important thing is the price. It's probably one of the only B & B products where less expensive is better to me. Most of the ones I buy are only citric acid, baking soda and witch hazel. Sometimes I'll get some that have clay in them, but not often.

I know so many makers love putting butters and stuff in them, but I don't like the yucky oiliness and slipperiness it adds to the tub. Plus if my kids want to use one, they like to dunk their heads under water and it gets their hair all greasy.

I'm also not a big fan of the herbs and sprinkles used in bath bombs. I think they look very pretty, but having them float in the tub with me is kind of icky. Then having to fish them out of the drain when the tub's done can be a pain in the butt.

But the ingredients in yours sound pretty nice and wouldn't deter me from buying them.
I'm betting you weren't expecting a novel LOL

Personally, I'd like the idea of having powdered milk in there just because I like the whole idea of a "milk bath", even if Cleopatra never did take one.

But I agree with genny on the oils, herbs, and price point. I've used a couple bath bombs, but considering how infrequently I use the tub, I'm not going to want to pay a lot of money for them. I'd much rather spend it on a whipped lotion, solid lotion bar, or really excellent soap. I've always seen bath bombs as an impulse purchase thing for people who want to buy something but not spend too much.

Mine are right in line with other peoples' prices. I wonder why mine don't sell. Maybe it's the fact that I don't do typical bath bomb shapes, but make 21g sized bombs, in flat heart shapes. It just seems weird that other people selling product with less skin loving ingredients and about the same price (I don't charge much for them, as I just use them as an "extra" kind of thing when I have time to make them). Weird stuff, but I do appreciate the comments. I WAS thinking about adding some color and such to the bombs (and possibly herbs), so I'm glad to have that input, and not waste time/money on that venture, lol.

I normally just use baking soda, citric acid and Epsom salts or baking soda, citric acid and white kaolin clay in my bombs. These work out really well for me. (BTW, I'm sick about the loss of old posts. I explained in detail on how I made bombs and listed ingredient percentages for mine to answer some questions from a couple of members. I should have kept a copy of my posts. I don't think I could remember everything I wrote. :cry: )

I'm just guessing but the small heart shape bombs might be why they're not selling. When people think of bombs, they think of large ones where they'd only have to use one instead of however many would be needed to add for one bath. Perhaps size really is important? :wink:

Anyhoo, I like the speckled look in bombs so I use liquid FDC dyes to color the Epsom salts and then add them to the baking soda & citric acid. The salts color the mix but still stay darker than the mix. These dyes only make pastel colors so if you want vibrant colors, you might have to try a different type of colorant.

You could try to experiment with a basic recipe and make large bombs. I'm not always exact on my weighing but the percentages I listed below are pretty much what I use to make bombs. Also, I use enough dendritic salt to absorb the FO/EO and mix it into the clay and Epsom salts. You could use sea salt if you don't want to use Epsom but I really like it for its anti-inflammatory property and other benefits.


50% baking soda
25% citric acid
25% Epsom salts

60% baking soda
40% citric acid
10% clay

If you have clays other than white, you could use them for color except for French green clay. It turns gray in bombs. However, the gray did work out for me since it was Halloween bombs.

Also, sometimes I use a little oil to help the bombs stick together. I've found the fattier oils work best like avocado or sunflower. Otherwise, I just use rubbing alcohol to spritz them. I've experimented with melting 5% ewax into the oil and I've been told that those bombs didn't leave an oily residue in the tub. I've been meaning to play around with this idea a little more but just haven't gotten around to it.

If you do decide to add botanicals, you could use an organza bag as extra packaging. You could tell people to unwrap the bomb from the cellophane and put it back in the bag. Then drop the bagged bomb into the tub. It will still fizz and the botanicals stay in the bag.

You probably didn't want all this info...but you know me. Always mentioning things that nobody asked about. :roll:

LOL! Size could very well matter. Mine are smaller, but I say to only use 1-2 in the tub... One for just a fancy bath, and two for when you really need some moisturizing. I use two if I break out in hives (like if I sit in the grass :roll: ) and it's perfect for that, but one works well for me for when I just want a relaxing bath. Anyways, I've thought about using e-wax as well, to cut down on safety risks, but wasn't sure if it would still give your skin the same benefits as without it. With a thin layer of oil on the top, when you get out, it lightly coats your skin, but not sure what it'd do with e-wax. I guess I could always make a basic bomb, and do a seperate oatmeal and milk powder for when you really need that stuff. I guess I'll try to find more molds for bigger bombs, then do some larger basic ones and some smaller souped up ones and see which ones sell better. I have molds to make 126 of these current bombs at a time though, and don't really know what else I could use them for. I'd hate to get rid of them, or not be able to use them anymore, lol.

ETA: What the heck did happen to the old posts anyways?! I was cruising through yesterday and noticed that most of the older posts were gone. I figured it was a forum clean-up!

bettacreek said:

LOL! Size could very well matter. Mine are smaller, but I say to only use 1-2 in the tub... One for just a fancy bath, and two for when you really need some moisturizing. I use two if I break out in hives (like if I sit in the grass :roll: ) and it's perfect for that, but one works well for me for when I just want a relaxing bath.

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You may find one or two works for your bath but what do the customers think about it? Have you looked at what is different about your bombs as compared with the other sellers? What are they selling?

My theory (although I may be wrong) is the ewax reacts between the oil and the water to become lotion-like and still will lightly coat the skin. I don't really have confirmation about this theory. The only thing I was told was they didn't leave an oily film in the tub. This was the main complaint about the bath bombs in which I used oil and I was trying to eliminate some of the oiliness.

bettacreek said:

I have molds to make 126 of these current bombs at a time though, and don't really know what else I could use them for. I'd hate to get rid of them, or not be able to use them anymore, lol.

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Lots and lots of embeds?

Have you tried making bath melts? You could use your same recipe but melt some butter in it. Then again, you could make wax tarts if you don't already.

Old forum posts: http://soapmakingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=31745

I haven't tried bath melts, but they sound interesting (as long as the properties of the butter sticks with the use of e-wax). I didn't realize you could add basically like a bath bomb to it though, I thought it was all butters!

I have done some tarts, but they're a pain in the ass! I might get back into them now that I've done testing with waxes though...

I suppose you could use all butters but I think the other ingredients help to hold the shape a bit if it got warm. Lush's bath melts are primarily butters. I've never made them although I keep saying I will. I've seen some wrapped in sparkly paper that looks like candy.

I found some links but you could google if you want more info.

The tub toads are cute! http://www.excellentlivingguide.com/201 ... als-links/

http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2 ... melts.html

http://swiftcraftymonkey.blogspot.com/2 ... -your.html (You have to scroll down a bit to see the recipe.)

http://www.anderra.co.uk/blog/cocoa-but ... ts-recipe/

Some people call them tub truffles or bath kisses.

http://www.lyndenhouse.net/recipes/tubtruffles.htm

There are also some videos on youtube about bath melts but I don't know how good they are since I haven't watched them. I probably should because it might get me motivated.

I had an idea for a bath melt. I'll try to do it tomorrow and let you know how it turns out.

Haven't quite made it through all of the reading yet, but I'm seeing a lot of awesome ideas so far! Thanks a billion!

And, an emulsifier does NOT change the effect of oil in the tub (for your skin)!! Totally awesome!

Thank you so much for those links.

I'm really interested in making some whipped shea butter or solid lotion or bath melt products but was getting overwhelmed. But now I have ideas! Bwa-ha-ha-ha!

Sorry I didn't get around to trying my idea until yesterday. I used mango butter with 10% ewax melted in it and added it to the bubble bomb mix (I didn't mean to add that much - my scales aren't the best and doesn't weigh small amounts very well).

They haven't set up yet so I may have to stick them in the frig. I think this will be a problem if the butter won't harden to keep them held together. It's very warm here which might be part of the problem or maybe I didn't use enough butter. However, I tested a little of the leftover mix in a plastic bowl and swished my hands around in it. I got lots of bubbles. It left my skin soft feeling and it felt like I had just used lotion. I rinsed the bowl and there wasn't any oiliness left in it. I'm going to try a couple in in the bath this weekend to see if I will get the same results in a tub. I'll have to report back later.

eta: I just noticed swiftcrafty mentioned ewax which is probably where I came up with ewax idea.

Update: The bubble butter melts hardened up in the frig. However, I noticed they left slight oiliness on my fingers when I went to pick up a couple later in the evening. They'll definitely have to be kept in a cool place or I'll have to add some beeswax (or maybe stearic acid) to help keep them firm. They worked fine in the bath although I think all the butter may have reduced the bubbles a bit. It's also possible I should have used more in the tub. I only used one and a little partial bit that was leftover after I filled the cavities. There was a slight slippery feel to the bottom of the tub when I got in but not too bad. After I drained the tub, there wasn't any oiliness on the bottom or sides of the tub except right around where the surface of the water touched the sides. Ring around the tub. :wink: I think the ewax does help to allow some of the oiliness to rinse easily out of the tub. Also, my skin felt soft but didn't feel lotiony like when I tested it in the bowl. All the extra water diluted the effect.

To make a long story short - if you don't have polysorbate 80 or water soluble oil/butter, ewax will work as a substitute.