How do bath bombs work? What is the science behind bath bombs? Every kid and many adults want to know what makes their rice Krispy cereal pop and what make’s their bath bombs fizz. We can’t help you with the former, but nearly a decade of research has led us to the development of the world’s fizziest bath bomb formulas. Creating bath bombs isn’t rocket science, but creating long lasting bath fizzies requires special attention to the quality of ingredients, formulation, curing, packaging, and storage.
If you don't know what bath bombs are, they're circular balls made up of mostly baking soda and citric acid. At Spa-Da we take great pride in having the fizziest bath bombs in the world, but we also infuse our bombs with moisturizing natural oils, salts, food grade colors, and natural aromatherapy. Bath bombs are fun for kids, relaxing for adults, and may even be good for you skin. -
Baking Soda & Citric Acid
The two hero ingredients behind every both bomb’s fizz are citric acid and sodium bicarbonate (aka baking soda). When these two ingredients are exposed to water it creates the fizziness that we all desire. More specifically, there are multiple chemical reactions that occur. The first fizzy reaction occurs when water(H2O) causes the sodium (Na) molecule to break away from the sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO3) to form bicarbonate (HCO3). While this initial fizz is happening the citric acid begins to dissolve and releases a single hydrogen ion. The second fizzy reaction occurs when the free hydrogen ion interacts with bicarbonate to release CO2. The CO2 gas being released is what creates the long-lasting fizz.
What Makes Bath Bombs Fizz More?
Some bath bombs will contain additional ingredients called surfactants. Surfactants don't create fizz, but they do create bubbles and foam that compliments the fizzing reaction. However, sensitive skin consumers should be cautious, many surfactants are known irritants. At Spa-Da all of our bath bombs are surfactant free, but we do use a safe surfactant called Sodium Lauryl Sulfoacetate (SLSa) in our soap bars and Kids Sprinkles.
Why do bath bombs dissolve faster in hot water?
Bath bombs that have higher quantities of fats, butters, or oils will often require warm or hot water to melt down the essential fatty acids. These ultra moisturizing bath bombs are great for dry skin, but they often lack the fizz that many kid's expect to see. Bath bombs that are formulated with moisture in mind will often require warm water to melt away the essential fatty acids and expose the citric acid and baking soda to the water.
The Spa-Da Difference
The freshest bath bombs are often the fizziest.
Not all bath bomb’s are made the same and creating the world’s fizziest bath bombs requires extreme detail during our handcrafted processes. More importantly, most bath bombs that are mass produced tend to oxidize during storage and this kills the fizz. If you’re tired of buying bath bombs that don’t fizz then you need to pay attention to the born on date! The perfect bath awaits you, drop a Spa-Da bath bomb today. - Read more about our secrets, How To Create The World’s Fizziest Bath Bombs: When Do Unused Bath Bombs Expire?
