Teach Soap

Sorry this might be kind of a long post.

I am trying to find the perfect bath bomb recipe. One that I will love when I use it myself and one that will sell well...when I get to that point. The first bb's I ever made turned out beautifully (see my profile picture)! I was so pleased with them. The only problem I had is that it made the tub a bit slippery...but my skin felt soooo goood!!! The next two I tried different recipes and they were flops..literally. I called them bath blobs. Then recently I made some bath bombs but using another recipe. They look very nice (no warts or blobs). I decided to see how they'd do in the tub. These kind of foamed up a bit. Didn't seem to leave the tub slippery but my skin doesn't seem to feel as nice either. Can someone help me with the recipes and tell me why one made my skin feel wonderful and the other one not as much? First one I could smell the fragrance on my skin later. The second one it seemed to fade pretty fast. How can I combine the two for a perfect bomb? And what do the kaolin clay and poly sorbate 80 do for me? What does the alcohol do? Isn't alcohol drying? How long will these bombs last? Will they keep better if I shrink wrap them? Here are the two ingredient lists.

First recipe found online called Surefire Bath Bombs:
Dry ingredients:
1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup citric acid
1/2 cup cornstarch
Sieve dry ingredients until you get a nice smooth blend.

Wet ingredients:
2 1/2 Tbsp. grapeseed oil
3/4 Tbsp. water
2 tsp. EO
vegetable or other natural colorant
1/4 tsp. Borax

Last recipe ingredients from Coastal Scents video:
Dry ingredients:
1 Cup Baking Soda
3/4 Cup Citric Acid
2 Tbsp White Kaolin Clay

Wet ingredients:
1 Tbsp Grape Seed Oil
2 Tsp Poly Sorbate 80
Vitamin E Oil
1 Tsp Fragrance Oil
1/4 Tsp Borax Power
1/4 Tsp Gel Colorant
12 Spritzers Of Alcohol

Hope everyone is having a great weekend.

I use polysorbate 80 too when mixing bath bombs to lessen the tub ring and help keep the oils suspended in the water. My biggest gripe with bath bombs is their insanely short shelf life. I was at my sister-in law's house a couple months ago and she had some of the first bath bombs I'd ever made -- like 2 years old! They looked horrid and clearly had absorbed moisture and started to discolor (MOLD). I threw them out without even asking. OK I told her I did it.

Nevertheless at that point I decided I'm never going to make bath bombs again unless I use something to stave off the mold. Just because people buy bath bombs doesn't mean they are going to use them in the next 6 months - eh? So I ordered a powdered form of Germall Plus just for use in bath bombs and powdered make-up junk (that might get contaminated by the user).

Ok so I've added nothing much to this thread. No wait, there's an amazing bath bomb press out there if you have $700.00 laying around.

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PJ,
http://www.pjsoaps.com

Thanks PJ. You added more to the thread than you know. I am such a newbie at all this B&B stuff that I am looking for all the information I can get.
Do you know if Potassium Sorbate would work as well as Germall Plus for a preservative? I can get it from a local supplier and pick it up. They may have something else to use if PS doesn't work well. How much of the preservative do you put in the bath bomb? And do you add it to the wet or the dry ingredients?

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

_________________
PJ,
http://www.pjsoaps.com

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

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http://www.magichandsworkshop.com
http://www.magichands.etsy.com
http://www.magichandsworkshop.blogspot.com

Hi all,

Does anyone know if there any good bath bomb books around I need one quick. Also, if anyone knows where i can get jumbo sized moulds too i would be very grateful.

Here's hoping someone does, Thankyou.

Christian

You don't need to buy a book to make bath bombs. Just go to TeachSoap.com here . These are basic bath bomb recipes that you can adjust using different oils, butters and fragrance oils or EOs you have. As for jumbo molds, are they for the bath bombs too? I remember seeing an old tutorial on Anne-Marie's blog where she used a soap mold (looked like a MilkyWay Mold) to make bigger bath bombs. So you can use any simple (no complex designs) soap molds that can handle the pressure you need to exert to compress/pack your bath bomb mix in them. HTH!

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Armi

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Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

Thankyou army girl. I guess I'm gonna have to stare at my computer a bit longer and read a bit more.

Cheers

Chris