Bath Bombs

© Aromatics & More Ltd.

Fizzing and Bubbling Bath Treats
Like most other people I had to play around with basic formulas till I came up with one that really worked for me. I started out using oil in my bath bombs but quickly found them melting and crumbling in the hot humid climate of New Zealand. Here are some helpful hints that I can pass on to you.

• Make sure all the dry ingredients are well mixed and that there are no lumps. The better you mix it all in the beginning the better the end product will turn out.
• Err on the side of having the mixture too dry rather than too wet. Once it’s too wet there’s no way to stop the citric acid from releasing air. You will land up with bath bombs that look like they have a bad skin disease.
• Many customers ask me for witch hazel or alcohol to use for their bath bombs. You don’t really need this. Plain clean water will do. The idea of using witch hazel or alcohol is that the liquid will evaporate quicker. If you don’t get your mixture too wet you won’t have a problem.

Basic Instructions for Bath Bombs

1. Measure out all you dry ingredients and mix well in a large bowl.
2. If you are using a powdered colorant such as ultramarines or oxides add them to the dry ingredients and mix in well. You won’t be able to see much color until you start spray liquid into it. If you are using liquid color add it a drop at a time while mixing your dry ingredients.
3. If you are using fragrance start adding it a few drops at a time and mix in well with all the other dry ingredients.
4. Finally put water in a spray bottle and start with a single spray and mix. Keep doing this until you can pick up the mixture and squeeze it in your hand and it almost holds together.
5. Push the mixture into your mold packing it down as hard as you can. If it’s in hard enough you should be able to turn the mold over and bang it on the table so the bomb comes out.
6. Let it dry for a day. This will happen very quickly.
   Note: I have used as little as 15ml of water to wet a whole kilogram down. It doesn’t take much.
7. If you want a bit of oil in the mixture you can mix 10ml of oil with 10ml of Polysorbate 80. Add this to 80ml of water and use it as your spray mixture.

Bubbling Bath Products

Liquid Bubble Bath and Bath Cakes are very popular products. There is nothing more relaxing at the end of a long day than to sit in a tub of warm fragrant water surrounded by bubbles. The down side of this is that bubbling bath products are hard on the skin. The soap mixes with the lipid layer on the skin and removes it. This causes problems such as dry itchy skin and urinary tract infections. To counteract this problem I always add oil or Liposoft™ to the formulas to help replace the lipid layer back on to the skin.
Bubbling Bath Cakes
Making the bubbling bath cakes can be a bit tricky. I have had a few of my mixtures turn into a bubbling Mt. St. Helen’s. This happens when the mixture is too wet and the soap, citric acid, and bicarbonate start reacting with each other. When this happens I crumble it when it dry and use it as a bath powder so all is not lost. When the bubble cake turns out well it’s quite gratifying! Here are some pointers that I have come up with that make it easier.
This delightful bath cake will soften the water and your skin.
It has both bubbling ingredients and emollients. If you are making these for young children I recommend using the Polyglucose for the mildest.

A milled soap base can consist of LUX flakes or a finely grated bar of nice handcrafted soap.

Instructions

1. Measure out all your dry ingredients into a large pot.
2. Mix them well by hand making sure there are no lumps.
3. Measure out your phase 2 wet ingredients.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well with an electric hand mixer.
5. When all the ingredients are well mixed (it will still feel somewhat like a dry powder but should hold together if you squeeze it in your hand.) put it into your molds. If it seems a bit too dry add a little more Lipsoft™ until it holds together when squeezed. Press the mixture in as hard as you can and let it sit for 24 hours. It should easily come out of the mold when you turn it over. If it doesn’t tap it a little.

Made correctly this will give you a very hard, very stable bath fizzy will lots of fizz and pizazz! I recommend that you read the instructions and hints in our section of instruction for best results.

Instructions

1. Measure out all your dry ingredients into a large pot.
2. Mix them well by hand making sure there are no lumps.
3. Measure out any colorant and fragrance and add it a drop or two at a time while mixing the dry ingredients.
4. Measure out your water. Mix the Vitamin E oil and Polysorbate together and mix it into the water. This step is optional but the Vit ame E will keep the fragrance fresh.
5. Start spraying your water mixture in a bit at a time while mixing. I have found it’s much easier to do this with 2 people. One person sprays while the other mixes. Make sure you check the mixture often so that you don’t get it too wet. You do this by picking up a handful and squeezing it. If it almost holds together you are ready to push it into your molds.
6. Pack the mixture in hard. Usually you can turn the mold right over and the bomb will come out. Let it dry for a day and then wrap.