Bath Bombs...UPDATE

[LJA]

....are evil. Straight. Up. Evil.

I love making all kinds of products. Body mousse, scrubs, soap...you name it. Bath bombs will be the death of me. I tried 3 separate recipes tonight to see if I can finally get what I'm looking for. I just want floating, non-speckling bombs...is that too much to ask for? ;o)

 

[pepperi27]

What kind of recipe are you using? I've made perfect bombs with shredded cocoa butter cause it makes it stick really well together. This new recipe I use

baking soda 1 cup
cornstarch 1/2 cup
citric acid 1/2 cup
epsom salt 1/4 cup
rice bran oil 1 tbs
water 2 tbs
witch hazel in spritz bottle
fragrance 1-2 tsp
colorant if desired (smidgen)

 

[LJA]

Do they float, Pepperi? (And thanks for the recipe!)

I did the Coastal Scents recipe (but they speckle, and I suspect it's the Wilton Cake coloring)

I also did this one:

Dry ingredients:
1 cup baking soda (sodium bicarbonate)
½ cup citric acid (sifted or finely ground)
½ cup corn starch
dry herbs or flowers (optional)

Wet ingredients:
2 ½ tablespoons sweet almond oil
¾ tablespoon water
¼ - 1 teaspoon of essential or fragrance oil
colorant (optional), iron oxides, FD&C colors or mica powders

and...
This one:
1 part citric acid
• 2 parts baking soda
• Witch hazel
• Coloring of your choice
• Fragrance oil of your choice


The coastal scents one floats for me but I hate the speckles and they wart on me. The other two are drying out as we speak....we'll see what happens. I used mica in one for colorant, and "la Bomb" colorant in the other.

 

[KSL]

"they wart"

THANK YOU!
I was forever trying to figure out what the heck to call it when they did that!! Try less water or none at all.

I love making bath bombs.. but not ones that float... what is the ingredient that makes them float?

My base is 1 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup citric, 1/2 cup epsom and 1 tbsp melted shea butter. Then add colors and/or fragrance as needed.

Mine don't float though.. is it the corn starch?
And I like speckles personally.. it depends what colorant I"m using. The gel colors are harder to blend in.. you really have to squishy squishy for a long time.

Where did you find labomb colorants?

 

[LJA]

"they wart"

THANK YOU!
I was forever trying to figure out what the heck to call it when they did that!! Try less water or none at all.

I love making bath bombs.. but not ones that float... what is the ingredient that makes them float?

My base is 1 cup baking soda, 1/2 cup citric, 1/2 cup epsom and 1 tbsp melted shea butter. Then add colors and/or fragrance as needed.

Mine don't float though.. is it the corn starch?
And I like speckles personally.. it depends what colorant I"m using. The gel colors are harder to blend in.. you really have to squishy squishy for a long time.

Where did you find labomb colorants?

Brambleberry carries the colorants. I think other places do too, but I ordered from Anne-Marie.

I wish I knew what made them float...I've heard it's the corn starch (which is why I'm trying some with it - the Coastal Scents one didn't have it in there). I just love how Lush's bombs roll and bob on top of the water. I didn't use any witch hazel in my repeat of my original (and warty) recipe last night, so we'll see what happens. It takes a week or so before they show up, usually.

 

[KSL]

wow, really?
my warts show up alot quicker than that when it does wart out.
It gets worse over time, but as soon as I unmold, about 10 mins later i will see warts if its going to wart.

Hmm.. maybe I'll try a recipe with cornstarch and see if it floats!

 

[LJA]

If you get it right let me know...lol. It's making me a crazy person! :twisted:

 

[KSL]

I will! LOL
I'm going to check out those labomb colors too.
I have lab colors, wilton gel, cake craft paste, and the normal FD&C colorants and have tried them all.. I hate them all, but they all work.. LOL

I'm very curious about the floating thing!!

 

[LJA]

Okay so I have the results of the third recipe (see above) I used, and have two glaring observations.

1.) They fizzed out in 3 seconds. Fizz fizz fizz - done. Pretty boring. They were also non-floating ::cursing the bomb Gods:: and very powdery/crumbly.

2.) Mica as colorant in bath bombs is the WORST idea in the history of bad ideas. Nasty ring around the tub and a purple film floated on top of the water and stuck to my body. Pretty gross.

In conclusion: These sucked.

Carry on...

 

[KSL]

aww man!
Sorry to hear it was a flop!

Where are you getting your supplies from?
Someone testing my stuff said that my bath bombs fizzed longer than the ones she got from LUSH......

Maybe its the quality of the fizz? I also have seen someone on here say that the stuff she got from one place fizzed less than another.... so....

darn! I was totally rooting for ya!

 

[LJA]

Hi. I actually get my citric acid from a local arabic store that sells lots of spices, botanicals, teas and various things in "bins" like bulk candy at a supermarket. He even has rose petals and chamomile etc. Great selection. I wondered initially if the fact that his citric acid isn't in an air-tight container reduces the potency of it, but that isn't the case. In the bombs that I make that are perfect in every way but the floating, they fizz like crazy. I'm convinced it's a matter of the right combo. I'll get this right if it kills me...lol. I'm on a MISSION ya'll! :twisted:

I still have two more recipes to test out that are drying on my counter. One is brick hard and doesn't have speckles (thank you La Bomb colorants) and just might be right (keep your fingers crossed). And the other one...well...the jury is out 'til I throw it in the tub. You know...once I sandblast the mica ring off of it. :x

HOWEVER (grueling testimony continues...) someone AWESOME just gave me something to try, so I'm going to test it out tonight. If it works, I'm leaving her all my money, and my vintage Journey albums when I die. :wink:

 

[SimplyE]

I just made some with La Bomb color and they are beautiful, non speckly and nonwarty thus far. I have yet to put them in the tub, though. New recipe, as well. I used more oil and less water/alcohol for the lack o' wartyness. They seem to be drying hard as a rock.

NEVER use oxides, either! You think micas are bad, try getting a green oxide line off your tub, body, and white towels. That was my worst faux pas! :shock:

 

[LJA]

NEVER use oxides, either! You think micas are bad, try getting a green oxide line off your tub, body, and white towels. That was my worst faux pas! :shock:

Ugh. I hear ya. I had to scrub the bajeezus outta the tub after that. I can't believe ANYONE uses those in their bombs and yet I see it in recipes all over the internet.

Crazy talk, I tell ya!

 

[Guest]

Thanks for posting the bath bomb recipes, I have wanted to try these out.

Kitn

 

[LJA]

The coastal scents recipe has been the best one, Kitn. Not perfect, but the best of the lot. (I still haven't tried the suggestion from someone awesome).

Tried the remaining recipes above and no dice on the float front, still. Maybe I should mix the dry stuff with a blender to fluff it up with air? LOL. Maybe I have unusual water?

:wink: Ugh whatever.

 

[SimplyE]

Now you got me going on the floaties...

I think my original (Coastal Scents basically) float, but I altered it because I wanted more...stuff. I added a touch more oil to some last week to give it more oomph. The plummeted like a lead bomb. Me thinks fewer liquid ingredients for floaties maybe?

 

[LJA]

The plummeted like a lead bomb. Me thinks fewer liquid ingredients for floaties maybe?

Yeah, I think you're definitely onto something there. Less really does equal more sometimes. Except in the case of diamonds....and chocolate. :wink:

 

[SimplyE]

Less really does equal more sometimes. Except in the case of diamonds....and chocolate. :wink:

Your are DEFINITELY on to something there!

 

[NewSoapieFreak]

I'm trying these tonight for the first time. Do you think that a thick plastic dog ball cut in half would work for a mold??

 

[LJA]

As long as it's stiff and doesn't bend on ya, I don't see why not...
Good luck.