Aluminium Moulds and Citric Acid Warning!

Was a little shocked to find aluminium moulds being marketed to use to make Bath Bombs. Initially I thought that they looked great until I noticed what they were made from.

 I don't have an A level in Chemistry or even a GCSE for that matter, however I do have enough knowledge to be sure that Citric Acid an ingredient in Bath Bombs does not work well with aluminium. And so I went on a mission to look at the MSDS for Citric Acid. As we stock Citric Acid at Summer Naturals, I have MSDS - Safety Data to hand but I went an extra mile and pulled up different MSDS data on the internet.

My initial fear was confirmed, Citric Acid does indeed corrode Aluminium, the two do not react well at all.

As part of the EU, and manufacturing in the UK I am fully aware of the regulations that those who make bath and body products including bath bombs have to adhere to. In some EU countries, mainly France and Spain, MSDS is required for not just the products being manufactured but also the equipment used to make the products. It stands to reason, any piece of equipment used in the manufacture of products that come into contact with the skin should be safe to use.

Can you imagine buying a bath bomb that has been moulded in an aluminium mould if the aluminium mould reacts badly with the ingredients used in the bath bomb?

I am very aware in my line of work that aluminium poses a threat to a lot of people, personally I use aluminium foil in my kitchen, I have consumed coke from aluminium cans and so this led me to explore why coke that is packaged in aluminium can's isn't a problem. The reason being, the amount of Citric Acid in Coke is minimal. The amount of pure Citric Acid used to make a Bath Bomb is actually quite a lot of undiluted citric acid.  I searched and searched more just to be sure, Snopes raises some useful information.

What I recognise is that the contact from pure citric acid with aluminium is an issue, small diluted quantities of citric acid is not. Bath Bombs use citric acid mixed with bicarbonate of soda as well as other ingredients but in quite a pure and un-concentrated form, the amount of pure anhydrous citric acid used to manufacture a bath bomb is far more concentrated than the amount of citric acid contained in a can of coca cola.

Top and bottom, the EU reg's scream safety. And then researching this more I look at aluminium food cans and learn that whilst aluminium is a great medium for holding food products that the aluminium cans are lined. At this stage the best I can offer is that dinted cans should not be purchased because there is a risk that the protective coating over the aluminium may be damaged and may contaminate the food. This is a whole new story.

And so, if you have purchased Aluminium Moulds, described as being suitable for making bath bombs in and are selling those products or even offering them as gifts, with or without safety assessments then hopefully this information will be helpful.

Christmas Moulds - The Holly and The Ivy

We love these lovely decoration moulds, perfect for decoration Christmas themed soaps and bath bombs!

We still need to make a Holly Berry Mould, hope to have that made in the next few weeks.

Both of these moulds are currently on offer at
www.themouldsshop.co.uk

Made in top quality silicone, in the UK for cosmetic use only.

As soon as we have a Holly Berry Mould made, I feel a new soap design coming on.

The moulds would also make fragranced mini wax melts, three or four in a burner - lovely!

Concave Bath Bomb Mould - Something Different!

Well, I say something different, we have been asked time and time again to make this mould and now we have!

www.themouldsshop.co.uk

And so the mould is in two parts, the bottom semi sphere and the top a concave semi sphere. Simply make like a regular bath bomb and then you can fill with piped decoration, we used foaming bath butter and decorated with M&P soap decorations. Very pretty!

This new bath bomb mould is available at The Moulds Shop

The Twister Bath Bomb Mould Now Available To Purchase

The Twister Bath Bomb Mould

This new Bath Bomb mould which, I have named The Twister is now available on the website The Twister Bath Bomb Mould Only At The Moulds Shop

New Mould Testing, easy bath bombs!

Do you struggle to make bath bombs? I know that I do, they are either wonderful or end up as bath crystals. Getting the two halves of a sphere mould to stick together is the hardest and then when I do get them to stick, I end up with flat bits on the bottom. And so, we have designed and manufactured a new Bath Bomb Mould. No sticking bits together, no issues with flat bottoms!

We test all new moulds that we make and often I will send them out to expert "bath and body" manufacturers to be tested. Nic at Marshmallow Blends kindly agreed to test this new bath bomb mould and here it is, brilliant Video, thank you Nic!!