Chill Pill Bath Bombs Recipe

Cute Chill Pills!

How much do we LOVE this new mould?! 

So easy to use, this is a 2D tray style plastic mould that can be used for lots of crafting applications - soap, bath fizzers, mini melts etc. What's more, because it is produced with Food Grade plastic, it's also suitable for chocolate making*.

Our passion as you may have guessed is for all things fizzy.  With that in mind we thought we'd share with you our simple recipe for creating rock solid chill pills that you can package up to make excellent gifts.  

(Don't let us stop you from using this mould for your other crafts though! Let us know what you've used it for :) )

Of course, you can simply use your own favourite bath bomb making recipe for this mould if you prefer.

As these are small fizzers you don't really want to end up with crumbly fizzers therefore we've created a recipe using Witch Hazel as the primary binder and including Corn Flour for a smooth finish.  Witch Hazel will help create a strong solid fizzer.  All good when making and packaging gifts :)

This recipe is also what we'd term oil free.  Because of the size of these adorable fizzies, a lot of people will use them in a shower.  No slippy oils or butters here then please!

We've made ours in white. If you want to add either some colour though you can include a powder pigment/water colour or a liquid colour at the dry stage before binding with Witch Hazel. 

Note that if you use a liquid colour, it is likely that with this recipe you will end up with spotting due to the speed of drying going on. We like spots, but we know not everybody feels the same. 

This recipe will dry at this size in just minutes.  Once you've filled all 6 cavities you are safe to turn them out and go ahead and use the remaining mix to refill and repeat the process.  You could go on like that forever, so if you wish to make more or less Bath Fizzers simply reduce or increase the mix proportionately, keeping the ratios of one ingredient to another.

We suggest wiping the mould with kitchen paper before refilling to avoid the subsequent fizzers from sticking to any residue in the cavities.

To make around 12 Chill Pill Fizzers

Chill Pill Mini Mould

150g Sodium Bicarbonate

75g Citric Acid, Fine Grade

25g Corn Flour

Up to 5ml Fragrance Concentrate

Witch Hazel to bind

Gloves

Optional colour

Method

Sing "Hi Ho, Hi Ho, I must work quickly you know" whilst you place all of the dry ingredients in a plastic bowl (saved for B&B crafting) pop on your gloves and mix everything thoroughly with your hands.

Add your fragrance a couple of drops at a time and keep the mix moving with your free hand. 

Once you've added all of your fragrance, spritz the mix with Witch Hazel. Work steadily until the mix is holding together when squeezed in your hand.(Think sandcastle sand)

Take your mould and press mix into each of the cavities.  Compact the mix and level the base.

As soon as the cavities are all filled, you can turn the fizzers out carefully.  You might want to cover the mould with a plate or tray and use that to help turn out the fizzers without damage.  If necessary, apply firm but gentle pressure to the middle of the mould to release the fizzer.

Set your creations aside, wipe the mould with kitchen paper and repeat until all mix is used. (Keep singing!)

If wrapping the fizzers we suggest leaving them up to an hour to totally dry out and become safe to handle.

Enjoy!

Click here for our Keep Calm & Carry on Chill Pill making KIT

*As with all plastic moulds, do not overheat your ingredients or pour into the mould at high temperatures, whatever medium you are using. For soaps we recommend allowing the soap to cool for a few minutes before pouring but in the case of bath melts where you are using hot oils, it is necessary to exercise lots of caution - have the liquid oils as cool as is practical before you pour. You will find that oils & butters will still pour at quite low temperatures.

Natural Cleaning Challenge - Week 4 - Descaling #NatClean2012

Hard water causes limescale - we all appreciate that.

But did you know that you can remove scale easily just by using natural ingredients?

Using a simple solution of Citric Acid (a very mild acid, derived from and found in Lemons for example),

or vinegar, it's possible to banish accumulated limescale and with regular use, keep it away.

Limescale is mostly Calcium Carbonate which can be readily removed without the need for chemical descalers.  

Why would you want a chemical descaler in your kettle?  Or indeed want to pour the used chemicals down the drain?

Kettles clogged with scale will be less efficient so this #NatClean2012 tip will save you money whilst caring for our environment.

To descale a family kettle;

Either; 

Fill to just above the scale line

Add 2-6 teaspoons (depending upon the amount of scale. Do this frequently and you will only need a couple of teaspoons) of Citric Acid

Boil the kettle

Allow to cool

If clear of scale, tip out and rinse, boil again with clean water, the tip out.

If any scale remains, repeat. If you know your kettle is really "furry", leave the Citric solution overnight.  I've never had to do this though and we have REALLY hard water.

OR

Empty your kettle

Fill to just above the scale with vinegar*

Leave overnight

Tip out and rinse

Boil with clean water and tip out

*Any kind of vinegar will do, the aim is to rinse and rinse until the kettle is clear of any residual vinegar anyway. If you're worried about possible smell or taste remaining, use White Vinegar. 

Happily, you can press this method into use with your coffee machine, washing machines, dishwashers and baby bottle sterilisers.  Cheap, quick and with no fear of nasty chemicals remaining.

Coffee machine - as above in the water unit - leave overnight (switched off)

Dish washer - place Citric acid directly in the base of the dishwasher and run as normal

Washing machine - use a cup of vinegar or a solution of Citric Acid in your laundry powder drawer and run (without clothes) 

Here's my kettle in its various stages. 

I descale with Citric every couple of weeks so it's not too bad at the beginning but it will give you an idea.  This took only minutes.

Before - enough scale to affect the taste of your tea!

During - this was at the second boil

And after - no scale left at all

When using either the Citric Acid method or the Vinegar method, take care not to overfill the kettle - it will fizz and may foam.  If leaving overnight, it's probably best to leave a note near the kettle too...

Enjoy!

If you've enjoyed reading and using our #NatClean2012 posts please do comment and follow us on Twitter for more hints & tips.  Don't forget to use the hashtag #NatClean2012 that way we can share ideas :)

Natural Cleaning Challenge!

Spring! And what am I thinking about?! Yep, how dirty are those windows, when was the last time the fridge was cleaned out, how do I get the limescale off the sink...

BUT...


There's a whole host of reason why you might want to "clean up" your cleaning.

Like me, I am sure you are concerned about your own personal environment.  Many of us make our own Bath & Body products simply to know exactly what is going onto our skin and into our baths.

It's seems natural then that I'm also concerned about the wider world, the impact that over packaging and use of plastics has on our planet.  Indeed that is also one of the reasons I got into making Bath products in the first place. 

In the mix is also a feeling of worry about transportation of goods from the source/manufacturer, to the distributor, from the distributor to the supermarket and from the supermarket to my home.  What IS the real cost of that bottle of oh so handy cleaning spray?

It seems to me that many every day cleaning products are more than a bit of an environmental no no on many levels when you also add harsh chemicals into the equation.

This is my personal list of reasons to change at least some of my own cleaning habits and products;

• Too much packaging
• Harsh unnecessary chemicals
• Cost in money
• Cost in terms of the environment

Don't get me wrong though - I am all for convenience and 100% behind a clean and safe kitchen, bathroom and home.  And what is more I don't want to spend a single second more on my cleaning chores than I have to.  Who would!?

So here's what I thought....

Would you join me?

Could we change our cleaning habits easily?

Among the hot topics I'd love to look at ...

• How to make an effective general purpose cleaning spray
• What removes limescale without seemingly nuking the entire house
• How do you keep carpets fresh with kids/animals around
• Can I live without bleach? (Oh dear, that says so much!)

Up for a challenge?  What do YOU want to change about your cleaning?

Let me know below and we will see what we can come up with :)

Top Ten Tips for Making Bath Bombs

1) Select your Citric Acid carefully; Super fine granules (table salt size) are best. Powder is too volatile, whilst coarse granules have a lumpy appearance and may "bobble" as your bath bombs dry out.

2) Be fussy about your Bicarb! Fine food grade Sodium Bicarbonate is best. Technical grade may contain unwanted impurities and granular varieties will result in a coarse looking bath bomb.

3) Want smooth bath bombs? Use Cornflour (Cornstarch) as 10-15% of your dry ingredient content. Cornflour also helps control the fizzing reaction between the ingredients as you are mixing.

4) Dry Ingredients = food grade.   Some of the ingredients such as Bicarb, Citric & Cornflour can be sourced in food stores.

5)Wet ingredients = cosmetic/toiletry grade. Fragrance, colours, etc should be purchased as cosmetic/toiletry grade.  Essential oils should be pure or blended with base oils.

6) Don't use water. Really, don't. Using water to bind your mix causes fizzing & expansion in the mixing process. Fact. Result = stressful and unattractive mad panic to get the mix to stick and mould without turning into a fizzing flop. (You can do it - but why?!) Vegetable Base Oils (Sweet almond, Grape Seed etc) or Witch hazel work well. Witch Hazel speeds the drying time so that your bath bombs can be safely handled/removed from their moulds within minutes.(depending upon the size of the mould) 

7) Spray your "wet" ingredients onto the mix. If using Witch Hazel to bind, always spritz from a fine mist "finger" spray. Oil can be "dripped" into your mix or sprayed on with the aid of a trigger type spray (the sort you get on a Febreeze bottle). Spraying helps distribute the oil more evenly and therefore there is less risk of some premature fizzing in the bowl.

8) Wear gloves and mix with your hands. You will learn to detect the correct consistency for making the perfect bath bombs, but believe me you will get there faster by using your hands as opposed to a spoon. Simply spray or pour with one hand whilst mixing with the other.

9) Ensure your moulds or containers are dry. Keep them away from the bowl when mixing/spritzing to avoid wetting them accidentally.  Sound obvious? Hmmm well we've been there.  Wet moulds = stuck & stranded creations! If this happens and you cannot remove your bath bomb - run the whole mould under the tap - it's preferrable to breaking the mould.  Alternatively, I've taken an entire-mould-stranded-but-otherwise-perfect bath bomb into the bath before. (Waste not want not as my Gramma said.) 

10) Don't over wet your mix; aim to achieve the same consistency that is needed to make really good sandcastles.  Damp enough to hold together but not sloppy. You can always add more moisture but if you've overdone it, it's almost impossible to recover your mix and adding more dry ingredient rarely helps.

11) Avoid steamy kitchens! Set your creations aside to dry in a damp free atmosphere.  If you've cooked a roast, rustled up some bath bombs and set them aside in your kitchen you may find when you return to admire them later that they've developed "bobbles". This is simply the damp in the air and can be avoided.

We hope these have been useful tips...We'd love to hear your experiences, so please do comment below :)


PS... ok so there are 11 top tips. Things don't always go to plan.... a bit like making bath bombs! Perhaps the best things in life are meant to be a little harder to achieve?  Philosophy aside, if you'd like a few more free recipes, hints and tips - why not sign up to our newsletter?