Bath bombs! One of our favorite bath treats!

What are bath bombs? I get asked his question often at shows so here is a little background into one of our favorite products. A bath bomb is an effervescent ball that dissolves in the water releasing fragrance and moisturizing oils. The effervescence comes from the combination of baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) and citric acid. When these two ingredients are combined and introduced to water, they create a chemical reaction. Did you ever make a volcano using baking soda and hydrogen peroxide? This is the same chemical reaction that takes place when making a bath bomb.

Bath bombs have been around for some time now and we're mad wildly popular by a company named Lush. Now you can find bath bombs made by many hand crafters with all kinds of ingredients, but the base is always the same, citric acid and sodium bicarbonate. Different ingredients are often added to bath bombs to help enhance the feel of the water and how the skin feels after. Let's take a look into what is in our bath bombs and why we use these ingredients.

We experimented for quite some time, with a LOT of failures, to get the perfect recipe that not only leaves the skin feeling wonderfully hydrated but hold up to the brutal Louisiana humidity. Humidity plays a huge factor when making bath bombs, just ask any bath bomb maker. To ours, we add sunflower oil (helianthus annulus), which is an amazing moisturizer. It's packed with vitamins (including vitamin E) and nutrients, including selenium, carotenoids, and omega-6 fatty acids.

We add a little corn starch to help soften the water and leave a silky feel on the skin. We also add goat milk powder for the creaminess and benefits of all of the vitamins and minerals found in goat milk. Sea salt and Epsom salt are added for mineral content. Shaved Cocoa butter quickly melts in the warm water leaving your skin feeling soft and supple.

To create a relaxing foam, we use sodium lauryl sulfoacetate(SLSa), a gentle coconut-derived surfactant. We chose this surfactant because it is much gentler than SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), SLES (sodium laureth sulfate), or ALS (ammonium laurel sulfate) which are very cheap to produce. It costs us more to use SLSa, but from a skin standpoint, we chose to use what is more gentle on the skin.

Another ingredient you will find on our label is polysorbate 80. This is an emulsifier used in many cosmetics. Imagine pouring oil into a glass of water. We all know that the oil will sit on top of the water because oil and water will not mix without the use of an emulsifier. We use a small amount in our bombs so that the oils and butters we add for moisturizing bind with the water and not just float on top. The bond created between the oil, water, and polysorbate allows for moisturizing to every inch of your skin, not just what is touching the surface of the water.

Most of our bombs contain water soluble lake colorants. Lake colorants allow the water to turn beautiful colors without leaving behind stains in your tub. No one wants a discolored tub! You get the best of both worlds, wonderfully colored water and no messy stains. Our bombs also contain the same quality phthalate free fragrance oils or essential oils we use in our soaps and other body products.

If you've never tried a bath bomb, I encourage you to give it a chance. They enhance the relaxation of your normal bath while transforming your tub into your own personal spa oasis! Ours are kid tested and approved!