Bath bombs turned grey!!!

squelchy69

Hi all
Today I made my first ever batch of bath bombs using a recipe from the superscrimpers tv show.
It involved bicarbonate of soda, cream of tartar, olive oil, Rose petals, essential oil and food colouring.
I mixed it all up and pressed into ice cube moulds as shown in the tv. They looked and smelt fab.
I then put them in the airing cupboard to dry out.
Next time I looked, they pressed out lovely but had turned grey instead of pink!!!!
Any ideas why this may have happened???
Thanks in advance for any advice.

sinister_nutmeg

It sounds like the dye might have been altered by the pH of the mixture, the reaction taking time so not apparent until after it's been sitting about in the cupboard. I would try a different dye that might turn out to be less sensitive, or if that's no good have a look around on t'internet for a different recipe with different proportions of bicarb/cream of tartar, which are the ingredients which will have most bearing on the pH.

I think it's going to be a case of experimenting til it comes out right!

midnightraven3

i make quite a lot of bath bombs (more at christmas time)
i would never put them in an airing cupboard, they dry out too quickly and too much, i dont know if that could be anything to do with it or not though

i leave mine in a cool but not warm or hot room sitting out in their molds until almost dry, they are on the outside, but probably not in the middle, i then take them out and leave on a wire rack for 24 hours so air can circulate

i use cosmetic dye for mine but instead of buying that (its not expensive but you literally only need one drop) try using the TINIEST, and i mean tiny, half the size of a postage stamp size, of tissue paper AT MOST
i use that to dye handmade paper, and 1 postage stamp size piece will dye 12-14 A4 sheets, yellow tissue will dye those a lovely pale lemon shade, so as you can see it goes far

i however work the paper mixture longer and that releases the dye more, you dont get so long with BBs so i would try half the size i use

squelchy69

Thanks for the advice guys. I will definately get some cosmetic dye and try leaving them out of the airing cupboard. I will also check out some different recipes online to get a different mix.
I was so disappointed with this batch but don't want to lose heart as I really want to make them for my friends and family as presents.
I'm sure practise will make perfect.
Do you guys have any failsafe recipes I could steal?