Fine Tuning Bath bombs

[kidsngarden]

Ok, I have made some very nice bath bombs. Tiny if any cracks, held together. I took notes....I made about 7 or 8 batches with great success. Then I started having problems with them being too soft. If I applied pressure with them between my fingers they would crush when dry. I tried rebatching and adding more oil, didn't work unless I added A LOT more oils - but then it's too oily.

So I've been looking at my notes and thinking that the reason they crush is too little water as the weather since my first 7-8 batches has been hot and fairly dry for the PNW. So the last batches I made I added as much water as I could without causing fizzing 3 mls at a time. about 50% more I think.

Now they are rock hard, but crack city when they dried! Just big ole' cracks everywhere! So I'm thinking too little water they crush, too much they crack - - am I on track here? Anyone else have this experience?

This is such tricky business - I think I better write down the weather on the day I made them too because I swear it makes a Huge difference! I did better on the more humid days than the dry!

Thanks,

Bethany

[asheebeans]

LOL I feel your pain! I am ready to go back to my old tap-a-mold and say "to the devil with round bombs!!" I am going to try the da bomb recipe posted here, as I just got my kaolin clay in recently. Before I switched oils and a few ingredients, I used to have bath bombs with minimal cracking. I took some time off from them and switched things up with some new ingredients--and crack city!! HUGE cavernous cracks! Ugh! I made my last two batches both on very dry days. I leave them to dry in the laundry room on their own rack and wouldn't ya know my one of those days husband decides to do laundry?? ALL day while I was at work! I came home to warty, cracked bombs that day! I was glad he did some housework, but crud!! Of all days to do it!! LOL Good luck on your quest for the perfect bathbomb! :smiley2:

[CareBear]

DO write down the weather, including the relative humidity. I won't go near bath bombs when the RH is above 65% - that seems to be the magic number for me!