The team and I get so many great soapy questions every day. They come to us on a wide variety of platforms, including the Soap Queen blog, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more. These questions have inspired many blog posts, like How to Substitute Oil in Cold Process Recipes and All About the Trace. I love giving soapers information, and helping them feel more confident in their craft. I love it so much that I wish that we could turn every question into a super in-depth blog post.
This is where “Soap Box Questions” comes in! From time to time, I will be covering interesting, fun and tough questions from around the web here on the blog. The first question comes from CJ on Facebook. CJ had some bath bomb troubleshooting questions, and wondered, “Can you add a small amount of melted shea butter soap to your bath bomb recipe?”
Such an interesting thought! I’ve never successfully experimented with adding melt and pour to bath fizzies, but was intrigued with the idea. My initial worry was adding the melt and pour soap to the bath bomb mixture would cause it to harden and clump up, making it difficult to form a smooth shape. It could also set off the fizzing reaction. Then I thought…’let’s try it and see‘!
First, I made a basic bath bomb mixture consisting of 1 cup baking soda and 1/2 cup citric acid. Then I used my hands to get rid of any large clumps. Once my mixture was smooth I chopped and melted 2 oz. of White Melt and Pour Soap in the microwave using 15 second bursts.
Then, I worked quickly to mix the melt and pour into the mixture using my hands. I was glad that I was wearing gloves, because the melt and pour was quite hot! I was a little surprised that the melt and pour stayed soft enough for me to thoroughly mixing it into the bath bomb mixture. I had expected little clumps of melt and pour, but it incorporated surprisingly well! In fact, it created a really interesting moldable texture, similar to a bubble bar.
Then it came time to try to place the mixture into a mold. I grabbed the Stainless Steel Bath Bomb Molds and filled one half of the mold with the mixture. Then, I filled the other half. Here is when things got a little tricky. When I tried to place the two halves together, they would not adhere to each other. Additionally, the bath bomb mixture was slowly expanding, making it impossible to mold. I slightly under-filled a Bath Bomb Mold & Package and allowed the mixture to stay in the package overnight. This actually worked really well. After several hours the bath bomb hardened, but was still quite delicate.
Then, it was time to test how the mixture reacted in the water. Are you ready for this? This mixture created crazy awesome bubbles! Immediately after dropping the mixture into the water, a light fizzing reaction occurred. Then, the bubbles began to grow. The lather that the bath fizzy/melt and pour mixture created was light, fluffy and extremely smooth. The bubbles continued to grow for about a minute…they almost overflowed out of the bowl. Check out the video below to see the bubbles in action.
After several minutes, the mixture did begin to dry up a little and become less moldable. But, the powder still created great bubbles. If you were to use this mixture in the tub, you would probably want to rinse off the bubbles after your bath. There is a little film that is left on the body because of the floating soap in the tub.
I’m really excited about how this experiment turned out! I did not expect the melted soap to mix into the dry bath bomb mixture as well as it did. Clearly the ratios matter; previous experiments that I have done with this were more of a 1:1 ratio and this latest ratio did the trick! Adding the mixture to water was also really fun…I could see my kids loving it!
The only downside is it tricky to create a classic bath bomb shape with the mixture. We are definitely going to play with the ratios of soap to bath bomb powders to see how that affects the texture, bubbles and moldability. In addition, the older these bath bombs are, the less fizzy reaction they have. This is because the moisture in the melt and pour will over time activate the fizzy reaction. Then once you add them to the tub, they will no longer fizz. I found that waiting several days after, they had little to no fizz. So if you want to try this project, I recommend using them as soon as possible! =)
Thanks for the great question CJ! If you give this experiment a try, let us know how it goes. I can’t wait to perfect this technique and share more tutorial ideas with you. =)
http://suzieqsoapsnsuch.blogspot.com/2017/06/melt-and-pour-bath-bombs.html
I was able to come up with a recipe that works pretty well if you are interested.
You could probably come up with more ideas that could make it even better! I love this idea because I can use soaps that are SLS free. 🙂
Awesome, thank you for sharing!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
wondering just for the sole purpose of having a bath bomb cupcake where the frosting can also be used instead of doing like a sugar frosting can i make the bottom just like you normally would a bath bomb cupcake but make the frosting with cold process soap. My thought is they can use the bottom in the bath and them have the top to use as soap… I’ve never seen anyone do that so maybe it’s not a good idea.. thoughts?!?!
Cold process frosting contains quite a bit of water, so as it sits on the cupcake it can slowly set it off. That means it won’t fizz as much in the tub. The cool thing about the frosting is it has SLS, meaning it bubbles in the tub instead of just dissolving: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WBvC1RnWqrE&t=125s
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Has anyone tried adding melt and pour over the bath bombs?. I think that would be a great idea…
You can definitely give that a try! Because melt and pour contains a large amount of water, it will eventually set off the fizzy. So, if you do pour melt and pour on top, you’ll want to use the bath bombs right after it dries. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Instead of melt and pour could I use liquid Castile soap as a replacement?
Hi Larissa!
Both castile and melt and pour soap contain water, which will set the bath bombs off early. If you do use castile soap, I would recommend using the bath bombs as soon as they’re hard. A small test batch with the castile soap would be really helpful as well. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Instead of using melts, could you slsa or sls when mixing the dry ingredients, then using glycerin when mixing your oils/fragrances/colorants?
Hi there!
You can definitely add SLS or SLSA to your bath bombs! That will create some nice bubbles in your tub. We recommend adding the same amount of SLS/SLSA as citric acid. We used it in this Aloe Bubble Bath Bombs recipe: https://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/bath-fizzies/aloe-bubble-bath-bombs/
SLS: https://www.brambleberry.com/Sodium-Lauryl-Sulfate-P3562.aspx
SLSA: https://www.brambleberry.com/Search.aspx?k=slsa
Also, are you wanting to add glycerin to the bath bombs to wet them? Let me know and I can help you out. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi there is a regular recipe that I use using coconut milk And I allowed the soap to cure 3 to 4 weeks then I shrink wrapped after five six months I end up opening one of the soaps taking out of the shrink wrap and the soap smells very badly I don’t understand I’m glad I did not sell any but if I would have not opened one I would have never known. What could of caused the bad smell, after all this time when it smelled fine before I shrinked wrapped. .
Hi Gina!
Hmm, I’m wondering if that soap went rancid. When soap goes rancid, it develops an unpleasant smell. Did it have orange spots on it anywhere? Those are referred to as dreaded orange spots: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/tips-and-tricks/dreaded-orange-spots/
Can you tell me a bit more about your recipe as well, and where you stored the soap? Also, how old were your oils? I’ll help you troubleshoot! 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Hi Anne Marie,
I just bought your book “Soap Crafting” about a week ago. I have been trying so hard to find some of the oils your recipes call for. My first question is this: Where can I purchase the oils you call for that will be most cost effective? And my next question is, Can I use “red palm oil” in the “natural colors” recipe in your book, or will that effect the natural colors like “spirunlina”? I was only able to find red palm oil. Caster oil is hardly sold anywhere near me and where it is sold it’s only sold in small bottles. I still can’t even find Rice Bran Oil either. I am really interested in starting up a small business and getting familiar with soap making. Another question I have is would you recommend insurance before selling any soap? Any information you could offer to help me on my way is appreciated. Thanks Anne 🙂
Sincerely,
Shauna Bushell
Hi Shauna!
We are happy to help. Soap making oils can be tricky to find at average supermarkets. You can always find all the soap making oils here on the blog, and in the Soap Crafting Book on BrambleBerry.com! I’ve included a link to our fixed oils and butter below so you can take a look.
Butters, Oils & Waxes:
https://www.brambleberry.com/Butters-Oils-Waxes-C159.aspx
Having business insurance is not mandated by law, so it is a personal choice that every business owner must make. I’ve included a blog post below that has info on various business insurance options! Usually, crafters who are just starting out choose to get business insurance one they get a little larger, but it truly depends on your comfort level. I hope this helps 🙂
Business Insurance for the Handcrafted Industry:
http://www.soapqueen.com/business/business-insurance-for-the-handcrafted-industry/
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
I would have liked to see what the molded bomb looked like
Hi Katie!
Thanks for the feedback. The bath bombs made in the large stainless steel molds did not hold their shape at all, and we weren’t able to form a shape. The other bomb, made in the plastic molds, held its circular shape fairly well. We used it quickly after to test, sorry we didn’t get a photo! Hope you enjoyed this post 🙂
-Amanda with Bramble Berry
I just tried grating some cp soap into a bath bomb. It only works if you can really incorporate the soap into the mixture very well. You can’t have bits of grated soap whole in there. The soap that I used was on the softer side which helped. It foamed very well, but left the same kind of residue on my skin as mentioned in your post. I wonder if polysorbate 80 would help. What do you guys think? Or is that just the nature of using soap in a bath bomb? If i can figure out how, maybe i can post a video clip of the foaming action on Instagram. Thanks for the post. You guys are so much fun!
Hi Kallie!
Thank so much for trying that out and passing along your helpful tips! If you post a video we’d love to see it. 🙂
As for Polysorbate 80, I’m not exactly sure! It’s great for emulsifying oil and water, but I’m not sure about soap and water. You may try it at 1-5% in your bath bomb to see how it feels. If nothing else, it will help moisten the fizzy and incorporate any oil in the bath bomb!
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I was wondering about the foaming bath butter and melt and pour recipie in a bath bomb, I almost tried it once and never got back around to it! Finding the perfect recipe for a super hard fast molding bath bomb would be amazing!
That would be a fun experiment too! It would add some fluffiness to the bath bomb. 🙂
Also, we have a bath bomb recipe that’s nice and sturdy you may like. It’s also great for large batch bath bomb making. You can find that here: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/bath-fizzies/how-to-use-our-bath-bomb-maker/
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I want to try adding finely grated coconut and shea butter CP soap to my bath bombs. I guess it will have more or less the same effect.
I think it would definitely add a bit of lather! Let us know how it goes, that sounds like a fun experiment. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Just las week I played with Castile KOH soap paste and citric acid+baking soda. Had similar to the yeast dough explosion results just like you did with melt and pour.
That’s so interesting! How did it bubble?
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Just like yours with melt and pour.
I took my experiment further by mixing Castile soap paste( made from scratch)+citric acid+ baking soda+ arrowroot powder. Result- super firm bath bomb!
That’s so cool! I definitely want to give that one a try. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
You could use small ice cream scoop and make ice cream scoop bath bombs =)
I love that idea! Thanks so much for that suggestion. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Maybe this will work better if you pack it into molds instead?
That’s a great question! I would imagine they would still expand a bit, but would keep their shape in the mold. That’s something we may try in the future. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
Try using a slight coat of oil on the molds. I always had difficulty getting my bath bombs clean out of their mold so I tried a very light coating of oil and they came out perfect. Also keep your molds clean of any residue, otherwise they might stick to that.
If the mixture comes of easier from the sides, I dont think it will “rip” the middle (where the 2 halves are supposed to come together) so easy. I do wonder if they will hold once they’re out of the mold, if they will collapse…
That’s a great idea Kim! We’ve used cyclomethicone before to help the bath bomb molds slide out easily. You can see that technique in the Hidden Color Bath Bomb Tutorial: http://www.soapqueen.com/bath-and-body-tutorials/bath-fizzies/hidden-color-bath-bombs/
Once the bath bomb was out of the mold, we found it was quite fragile. It held its shape pretty well, but was a bit soft to the touch. For packaging, the Plastic Bath Bomb Molds would be a good option. If you can get the bath bombs to stay nice and compact, they can stay in that package until they’re ready for use. 🙂
Bath Bomb Mold and Package, Plastic: https://www.brambleberry.com/Bath-Bomb-Mold-Package-Plastic-P5913.aspx
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I was wondering if you could grate the M&P with s fine grater and stir it In the dry ingredients?? I would try, but I’m bath bomb challenged!!
Someone brave can try it!
That’s a great idea Dawnia! We may be back up in the lab for some more experimenting. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
That foam is AWESOME! I’ve never played with melt and pour but now I kind of want to! 😆
Oh we had a lot of fun playing with the foam! I would highly recommend it. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
@Elly Me too! I tried a bunch of different methods in the past that didn’t work. This was a surprisingly good ratio. 🙂 A-M
this has never worked well for me, but then again, i was trying to just pour soap over a bit of bath bomb…
maybe i will try again!
Now I’m intrigued! I’m going to try that tomorrow, at the very least my kids will enjoy the powder!
Let us know what you think! We had lots of fun playing with all the bubbles. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry
I put the powder in a bag with some glitter and my kids went crazy for it in the bath. I might have to think about coming up with a kid fizzy bath bag for market:)
I love the idea of adding glitter, that’s so fun! I think it would be a big hit at the market for sure. 🙂
-Kelsey with Bramble Berry