Bath Bomb coloring & oil ?s

[Christinafko]

Hi everyone,

I'm pretty new to making bath bombs and had a few questions. I don't want to use food dye in my bath bombs, so I bought mica colorants but they tend to disperse a little flaky. I read that polysorbate 80 can help with this, but can anyone tell me how you use it? Do you mix some in with the liquids and add the colorants to the liquids also? I was mixing my mica colorants with the wet ingredients, is this better or should I mix them with the dry instead? I also don't get quite as vivid coloring as I'd like with the mica powders. Is there a way to do this without just adding more and more (which would end up dying skin and all)? Do the colors tend to show a little darker once the bombs are dry, has anyone noticed this? I have one other question too. I've seen lots of different options for what oil to use in bath bombs and all, but does anyone use rosehip seed oil in theirs? I was thinking of using that or almond oil in mine. Thanks for any help!!

 

[icg]

You should mix the polysorbate 80 and mica with your liquids (which includes fragrance and oils). I've tried adding mica to the dry ingredients but it didn't really disperse the color well and the bath bomb looked dull. Make sure you mix the polysorbate 80 + oil mixture with the mica really well or else you'll get little color pockets which will float the the top and dye your skin and tub. If you have 1-6% poly 80 in your recipe then you shouldn't worry about dyeing your skin regardless of how much mica you add. Not sure about the rosehip seed oil. I usually see people go for cheaper almond and coconut oils. Seems like rosehip oil has some really great benefits though.

Not sure if my bath bombs look a bit darker when they are dry, but I do notice a difference between a well mixed color bath bomb and a badly mixed color bath bomb. (The well mixed one came out darker and more vivid)

 

[Arimara]

That's really good to know. Thanks, ICG.

 

[Christinafko]

Thanks so much! Yeah rosehip oil is a little pricier but I really love it's benefits.