Fab Labs Bath Bomb Kit – Review

So a few weeks ago we were sent this Fab Labs Bath Bomb Kit to review much to the excitement of my eldest.

“Cool”, I thought …

I love a good diy beauty product (as some of you may know) and bath bombs are one of my favourites. This would be one kit she could open up and get on with by herself whilst I take some photos.

If you like this review you may also like Nickelodeon Sea Shapes Soap Kit, Nickelodeon Scent-sational Spa Kit, DIY Winter Lip Balm or  Calendula Bath soak

 

Inside The Kit You Get

• 50g sodium bicarbonate (red)
• 50g sodium bicarbonate (blue)
• 50g citric acid
• 2 plastic spoons
• 2 ball moulds (these divide in two)
• bamboo wooden stick
• measuring beaker
• pipette
• tissue paper, ribbon and star labels
• detailed instruction booklet

You will also need to purchase some liquid soap.

I have my own method of making bath bombs and they  can be tricky little things to make. You’ve got to get the balance of liquid to dry ingredients just right. To little liquid and your  bath bomb crumbles. Too much liquid and your bath bomb mixture starts fizzing it’s little heart out before you manage to get it in the mould.

We followed the instructions in the booklet, the gist being … mix 2 tsp of sodium bicarbonate with 1 tsp of citric acid; add a couple of drops of liquid soap; get mixture so it forms a small ball when squeezed together and add into the mould.

We made two batches doing this. The first went wrong straight away … too much liquid soap and so we had a bit of a fizzy ball. The second looked more hopeful and we managed to get it in the mould but again there was too much liquid and although the reaction was slower there was enough fizz and pressure to pop the mould open when it was drying. Unfortunately, I didn’t capture any photo’s of this as I was trying to help my eldest but you can see it on the video below (coming later).

Here are some of the problems we encountered …

• The spoons were wider than the bottle opening so my eldest had to pour the sodium bicarbonate out onto the spoon which meant it wasn’t easy to get the same measurements and it was messy.
• She had trouble distributing the liquid soap evenly and quickly through the dry ingredients.
• The beaker seemed too small to mix in especially using the plastic spoons.
• The ball moulds were quite tricky to snap together and the opening was small which made getting the bath bomb mixture in difficult
• The gloves were a little big which made some of the steps a little tricky

So on to plan B

• we poured all the dry ingredients out not separate little bowls

• We used water instead of liquid soap (we used the beaker to hold the water) … when I make bath bombs I dip my fingers in a little water and flick it on to the dry ingredients a little at a time mixing continually. You get a little fix but it’s minimal as the water is quickly mixed in to the dry materials.
• We used a wider shallower mixing bowl
• We still used the ball moulds but we also used the two plastic teaspoons as a mould and also made a ‘wonky’ bath bomb by mixing up two failures and shaping them into a ball with our hands

• We eventually stopped using the gloves (Citric acid can be an irritant so do this with caution) as my eldest found they were more of a hindrance than a help. The mixture dries your hands out so wash the mixture off afterwards and have a good hand moisturiser present.

The above made it all a lot easier and we finally managed to make some bath bombs!

Don’t despair if your mixture doesn’t work the first time around and don’t throw it away!

Kids absolutely love making bath bombs … even if they end up being a little wonky! Not only are they making something themselves but there’s a bit of weird science included.

My eldest thought it was great fun when the mixture started expanding when we had a little too much liquid. She ended up playing with the expanding mass for a while. She would squeeze it tight and then watch as it grew again. When our second batch started to expand (this was a lot slower) we decided to mix the two together and eventually the bath bomb mixture started to harden forming a ‘wonky’ bath bomb.

We’re looking forward to seeing what happens when it gets put in water.

NB: Interplay is aware of the difficulties this kit can pose and will be looking at ways to improve the kit in the future. Although it can be tricky it’s still heaps of hands-on fun.