Bathbomb : How to make them fizz longer

[Dwilson9]

Lush bathbombs fizz for ages! How do I get mine to fizz like that?

Lush bathbombs start to fizz at a rapid rate, for a short period of time and then will slowly fizz for ages! I tried one last night and it was still fizzing (dissolving almost though) after 10 minutes.

Is there such thing as making like a layered bathbomb? Or a Bathbomb in a Bathbomb?.. is this how they do it?

 

[BWt]

It is possible to have a bath bomb within a bath bomb. Called an embed. That is one way to get a bath bomb to spin. However the embed needs to be on one side of the bath bomb to offset the weight. Using cornstarch in the recipe tends to harden the bath bombs and they may last longer. Packing the mold very very tightly means a longer lasting bath bomb. Using water that is not too hot helps extend the in water life of the bath bomb. And I suspect but cannot prove that the type of salt used can affect the length of fizzing (Epsom vs. Himalayan vs other salt types.) Have noticed that Lush does not add salt to all their bath bombs and suspect that is due to the hygrooscopic nature of salt. No salt means no warts on bath bombs while they are drying down in a humid environment. Another thought is that fizzing time length could be the difference of using liquid oil vs an oil that has to be melted (coconut oil.). Have been making bath bombs since 2018. Switched to a new recipe that incorporates the liquid differently and there is no alcohol added. This recipe seems to make harder bombs. It adds the wet ingredients to the baking soda before adding the acidic ingredients. Much much easier way to make bath bombs. What to do with all the alcohol I have on hand? Am using it to decorate the bombs (mix isopropyl alcohol with mica.) Here is a link to the new recipe: Winter Solstice Bath Bombs - Humblebee & Me

 

[AliOop]

You can check out this YT video by Soap & Clay where she explains Lush' patented bath bomb process, which calls for combining a fizzy layer with a foaming layer (or embeds, as @bwtapestry suggested).

 

[BWt]

You can check out this YT video by Soap & Clay where she explains Lush' patented bath bomb process, which calls for combining a fizzy layer with a foaming layer (or embeds, as @bwtapestry suggested).

Wow. Learned a lot about patents. Also now want to research the difference between sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate. Thank you for posting the video link.

 

[AliOop]

Here's another good one that compares ingredients. Yes, I have gone way down the bath bomb rabbit hole!

 

[glendam]

You could check this thread too

 

[Dwilson9]

It is possible to have a bath bomb within a bath bomb. Called an embed. That is one way to get a bath bomb to spin. However the embed needs to be on one side of the bath bomb to offset the weight. Using cornstarch in the recipe tends to harden the bath bombs and they may last longer. Packing the mold very very tightly means a longer lasting bath bomb. Using water that is not too hot helps extend the in water life of the bath bomb. And I suspect but cannot prove that the type of salt used can affect the length of fizzing (Epsom vs. Himalayan vs other salt types.) Have noticed that Lush does not add salt to all their bath bombs and suspect that is due to the hygrooscopic nature of salt. No salt means no warts on bath bombs while they are drying down in a humid environment. Another thought is that fizzing time length could be the difference of using liquid oil vs an oil that has to be melted (coconut oil.). Have been making bath bombs since 2018. Switched to a new recipe that incorporates the liquid differently and there is no alcohol added. This recipe seems to make harder bombs. It adds the wet ingredients to the baking soda before adding the acidic ingredients. Much much easier way to make bath bombs. What to do with all the alcohol I have on hand? Am using it to decorate the bombs (mix isopropyl alcohol with mica.) Here is a link to the new recipe: Winter Solstice Bath Bombs - Humblebee & Me

Sooooo I made that Winter Solstice recipe. So far so good. They have been drying for about 8 hours so far. I was really concerned though as I was putting it into my moulds as the mixture was nothing and I mean nothing like my previous bathbomb mixtures. I don’t really know how to describe it, but it certainly didn’t feel or work like ‘damp’ sand would - which is what all my other recipes have felt and been like. The way the mixture felt, and looked, I thought it was definitely going to expand out of my moulds due to the chemical reaction happening too soon - during the drying phase. The humidity was 65% so higher than the recommended 40%. But much to my surprise, this didn’t happen. At least not yet anyway. They certainly are firmer and easily removable from the mould and placed into drying trays without a worry.

Someone needs to explain why this texture worked, but the ‘damp’ sand, never really did - well during the transfer phase and dry phase.

 

[AliOop]

It's far more than just the texture of your mix - it's the combination of your recipe, the ambient humidity, how quickly or slowly you work, how hard/full you pack the molds, and probably other things that aren't coming to mind at the moment.

Honestly, bath bombs are finicky. A recipe that works in my climate and with my molding technique may be an utter failure for you -- ask me how I know. So when you find a recipe that works for you, stick with that for awhile before changing anything. When you do experiment, change only one thing at a time, and see if that works.

 

[BWt]

@Dwilson9 @AliOop agree with AliOop. Bath bombs are finicky and humidity makes things worse. I measure ingredients on a scale to be certain recipe is same every time. If mixture seems too dry when molding I add a teeny bit of polysorbate 80 and remix thoroughly. Have been making bath bombs since 2018. Each year they get better because I refuse to give up. Stay with AliOop’s advice. Soon you will have your own perfect recipe.

 

[Michelle0803]

I used to make bath bombs. I live on Ohio so humidity is a thing here. Ugh. I read and don't remember where that baking bath bombs in a low temp oven helps harden them and helps with fizz. If I can find the article I will post it.

I did try baking and it did help harden the bombs and they had more fizz when compared to my non baked bath bombs.