Having an ultimate shower experience involves soaking a bathtub with lovely fragrance and color. Making shower bombs is common in the current times considering that the ingredients are easy to find and affordable. Bath bombs are easier to make than you might think they are.
In addition, making bath bombs can be an interesting hobby and save you money over store-bought bath bombs. Because homemade bath bombs last longer, maintaining color can be challenging. Therefore, you may need to add color before you consider using them.
Coloring Bath Bombs
There exist two phases during which you can consider adding colorants to bath bombs. Each of these phases is dependent on the state in which the bath bomb is in as it can be in the dry phase or liquid phase.
What Can I Use To Color Bath Bombs? Key ingredients
- Water-based colorants
You will love to use Water-based colorants when adding color to bath bombs as they are broadly compatible. We also have an easy time measuring considering that they are volumetrically controlled and you can measure depending on the end product that you want. Some of the appliances to use when measuring water-based colorants are available at home and that promise fewer mistakes.
- Dry colorants
Some of these colorants are insoluble in water and they can be unpredictable when you add water. Common dry colorants that you can use when coloring bath bombs include: mica and oxides.
How To Color Bath Bombs
When a bath bomb is in the liquid phase, all the ingredients are together and they are yet to take any form or shape. This is the best phase of adding colors since the contents mix faster and easier. When adding colorants to bath bombs in the liquid phase, here are the steps to follow.
How To Color Bath Bombs
- Choose the colorants
- Prepare water-based bath bomb colorants
- Add colorants to the mixture
- Add fragrance oil
- Shake the contents
Let’s take a closer look at what this means.
Step 1. Choosing the colorants to use
When adding colorants to bath bombs, you may choose to have multicolored or single colors. Depending on what you want to achieve, ensure that you select colors that are complementary as they mix easily.
So, what colors are you to use in bath bombs? The colors to use in this line are dependent on whether you want multicolored or single-colored bath bombs. People looking to make a multicolored bath bomb, need to consider how each set of colors work with each other. Complimentary colors such as orange and blue are commendable to use since they mix well. You can also consider mixing colors such as violet and yellow as they easy to mix.
The use of a color wheel may also be recommended when you don’t know what colors will work out for you. The best colorant brands to use when coloring bath bombs include; original stationary Mica powder Pearl pigment, Limino bath bomb soap dye, chameleon colors color powder, and How to look PRETTY bath bomb colorant among others.
Step 2. Preparing water-based bath bomb colorants
If you are looking for a simple way to add color to bath bombs, use water-based colorants. However, you should select colorants that are soluble in water. In this case, colorants such as oxides and mica are the best to use as they are soluble. If you choose to use oxides, add a liquid since they are in powder form. Therefore, you will need to measure a quarter teaspoon of oxide and add it to the liquid as you stir; the liquid could either be water or vegetable glycerin. Colorants such as mica also mix well when you consider liquids such as vegetable glycerin.
Step 3. Adding prepared water-based bath bomb colorants to the mixture.
From the prepared water-based colorants in step 2, you need to add half a teaspoon to the mixture. While in this step, ensure you thoroughly mix the bath bomb materials and the colorants.
Step 4. Adding fragrance oil
The smell of the end product is determined by your choice of oil fragrance. Consider adding the fragrance oil in this stage and ensure that you shake the contents until the colors are fully spread.
Step 5. Shaking the contents
The goal of this step is to ensure that the colorants we are using disperse evenly in the bath bomb contents. Shaking the contents will be helpful as they will mix well.
Alternative Method
If the bath bombs are in a dry phase, the mixture has solidified. During this phase, adding dry colorants is the best thing to do since they give the best results. To add colorants to bath bombs in the dry phase, you need to follow the following steps.
Step 1. Measuring and preparing colorants to use
Measuring colorants should be easy for you since you have some of the utensils in your kitchen that you can use in the process. We also need to get the color balance right and that can be affected by the measuring process.
Step 2. Adding measured colorants to the mixture
Here you will need to add the colorants to salts before you consider adding them to the rest of the ingredients in use. Depending on the salt you choose to use, add them to a bowl and the drops of the colorants and stir well. When the mixture is evenly distributed, it is time to mix the bath bombs. Adding colorants to the dry phase is the best choice since you can get color patterns on the bath bombs that you are using. Sometimes getting using a powder sprayer in this stage is commendable as it makes the bath bomb sparkle.
Step 3. Fusing the colorant and rest of the contents
With the choice of salt, you choose, add some drops of the liquid colorants. While you add the drops, ensure that you stir the mixture completely as you continue adding any ingredients that are remaining.
Depending on the salt used, some of it will dissolve while you are whisk. Whisking helps in ensuring that it keeps its shape and takes on the color.
Since you may want to prevent tub stains, there are materials you can add to the bath bombs and prevent such from happening. Polysorbate is a perfect remedy in this case. it works to prevent bath bomb materials from sticking on the sides of the tub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the best way to color bath bombs?
The best way to color bath bombs is when you are in the liquid phase of the bath bomb-making process. Water-soluble colorants work best when coloring bath bombs that are in the liquid phase of the manufacturing process. It is best to do this with a water-soluble liquid dye.
Does food coloring in bath bombs stain skin?
Food coloring can stain your skin when it is used in bath bombs. This is because food coloring is not designed to disperse the same as cosmetic dyes when used on your skin. In addition, it can be difficult to get the measurements wrong and it is easy to use too much food coloring.
Does food coloring in bath bombs stain your tub?
Food coloring can stain your tub when used in bath bombs. Food coloring can be hard to measure accurately when making bath bombs because you never really know what concentration you are going to get using it for something other than its intended purpose. This means you can add too much and stain a bathtub.
Do bath bombs dye your skin?
If made incorrectly, bath bombs can dye your skin. If they are made using a dye that is added at the wrong concentration or a dye that is not intended for bath bombs, it can dye your skin. Avoid this by buying your bath bombs from a reliable source or make them yourself.
Conclusion
In conclusion, making bath bombs does not have to be difficult, but coloring bath bombs correctly can be. Make sure you used dyes that are made specifically for soaps, bath bombs or cosmetics.
If you use the wrong type of dye or the wrong concentration of dye it can lead to a bad situation in which your bathtub and your skin can be dyed.
That is why it is important to use the proper ingredients and make sure you measure accurately.
