How to get floating bath bombs
Having a bath bomb perform (float along the top of the water dazzling everyone with colour displays) can be an important achievement for those in the bath bomb making world. Having bath bombs that consistently do this is the mark of a skilled maker who understands exactly how and why it is performing this way. Here are some tips and tricks to try to increase your chances for the perfect floating bomb and best chance at a bath performance
Let the bath bomb dry properly and thoroughly
This means longer than 24 hours in a low humidity setting. This has to dry from outside to inside and let the chemical reaction that you have created in making the bomb become rock hard and complete. Putting them in the water too early while they still contain liquids will make them heavier and increase sinking probability.
Use light oils
Using lighter oils such as Almond oil, sunflower oil in your recipes will mean your end product will not be as heavy. Using ingredients like shea butter, cocoa butter etc are beautiful and nourishing but can be a hidden sink for weight.
Skip Epsom Salts
These tend to be in a lot of starter recipes and are a huge problem for drawing moisture in your bath bomb, activating your bath bomb and of course, they are heavy. Leave them out if at all possible, there are more notes on this in our recipe file and we are available to troubleshoot recipes if you would like assistance on how you might do this with the one you are working on.
Pack Loose
If you pack the edges/outside to pick up details, then sprinkle in the rest of your bath bomb, squishing together or packing the top, this will give you small pockets of air (even micro pockets) which will make this lighter. Some people even poke holes in their bombs with a chopstick etc to put holes in where people cant see.
Think about the shape of your bomb
A round bomb has the most chance of sinking, this has to do with surface area, a round shape has low surface area compared to the classic shape of a waffle. Shapes will greatly increase your chance of floating (think waffles/clouds/anything long and thin) This is not to say that round bombs never float but they do sit lower in the water rather than near the top.
Use embeds
Embeds are made mostly of bicarb and citric. They are already predried and are very light. These additions give great colour but can also help with the density of your finished product.
Consider your decorations
While bubble frosting is super cute, and drizzles of cocoa butter is beautiful these can all add to the weight and performance of your bath bomb floating. Consider the less is more approach with these and lighter decorations such as sprinkles, bio glitter, splashes of mica colour etc.
Test and Enjoy
These small tweaks are all personal and you will find what works best for your recipe and what performance you want from your products. This is an ongoing process and one to be enjoyed. Relish when it comes out perfect but remember that it's just learning when it doesn't go quite to plan. There is no way to 100% guarantee every single bath bomb will perform perfectly but following these guides will increase your chances.