Okie doke here are my tips for making bath bombs!
So the basic base that I make is ¼ cup citric acid, ¼ cup corn starch, ¼ cup Epsom salts, and ½ cup of baking soda. This makes about 4 of the half-balls that I make.
Then I mix my oils and such. I don’t really measure this, but usually I melt APPROXIMATELY 1tbsp of coconut oil (sometimes I go back for more) and add scents (either essential oil or baking extracts) until it smells like I want it too. I don’t really add water because it just makes it fizz too much and I don’t really need it to make it damp enough. You can also add food colouring to the wet ingredients. Then mix up your oil and stuff and SLOWLY add it to the dry ingredients while whisking or mixing QUICKLY. Stirring a lot is the key to prevent fizzing. And don’t add to much wet stuff. Check often to see if it’s a good texture. To check that, squish some of it in your hand (it should form 1 or 2 chunks in your hand), and bounce it a bit to make sure it doesn’t crumble too much (a little is okay). Less is more with the liquid because you can always add more but you can’t take it back out! If it needs just a bit more dampness I spray it with some witch hazel (which you can get at drug stores near the band-aids) and mix quickly.
Then to shape them! I wish I had advice for how to make them spheres, but last time I tried that I wanted to throw them at a wall! I stick with the half-spheres now because they’re super easy and I like the size better for every-day sorts of baths (if that makes any sense). I just got some round plastic molds from the craft store (heeyyyy michaels), but you can use loads of different things! Like plastic measuring cups, measuring spoons (for smaller bath/shower bombs), ice cube trays, silicone molds (cupcake decorating sections in stores are really helpful!) or muffin tins (you can even use cupcake papers in the tin to make your bombs look like cute little cupcakes:)!
Basically you just fill the mold with your mix, and pack it realllly tightly (as tight as you can without breaking your mold). If you want things on top, just sprinkle them in the mold first and press your mix on top of it. I find the coconut oil alone is good for sticking them together, and I’ve never tried using alcohol.
To get them out just tap them gently on the counter/a plate, and they should pop out! In silicone molds you can leave them to dry for a few hours before popping them out.
From there you can mess around and experiment! I like to add some sprinkles and fun stuff like that (anything sugar will dissolve so you don’t have to clean it up later, but don’t over do it because you don’t want to get sticky!). To make the tea scented ones I just got some loose leaf tea in bulk (super cheap) and ground it into almost powder in the blender (I wish I had a mortar and pestle, but alas) then mixed it in! It’s nice to do this with oats too because they’re great for skin! The more dry ingredients you add, the more wet you have to also to get it to stick together so keep that in mind!
(@bombasparami I hope I answered your questions! If you have any more let me know:)!
(Also @half-ace, I hope this helps you too!) Edit: I also want to add that mixing cocoa powder into the mix makes it smell and look lovely!