Baking Soda

What is it? Baking soda is an alkaline (basic) abrasive powder.
INCI Sodium bicarbonate
Appearance White powder
Usage rate It depends on the use; probably no more than 60% in most cases, and those cases would be bath products where it is highly diluted (in bath water) when used.
Texture Abrasive semi-fine powder
Scent A bit salty & bitter
pH 9
Solubility Water
Why do we use it in formulations? It reacts well with acids like citric acid to create fizzy products like bath bombs, fizzing bath salts, and fizzing scrubs. It can also be a useful abrasive as a household cleaner.

Baking soda is too basic and too abrasive to be regularly used on the skin—read more on this here. For this reason, I do not recommend using it unreacted in facial scrubs or deodorants. It can be fine as an ingredient in bath salts for occasional use as it would be highly diluted in bath water and is unlikely to be used on a daily basis.
Do you need it? Not unless you want to make fizzy bath things.
Refined or unrefined? All baking soda is refined.
Strengths Excellent for creating fizzy bath products.
Weaknesses Too basic for use in skincare products.
Alternatives & Substitutions When you need baking soda it’s really the only thing that’ll do. Good thing it’s inexpensive and widely available!
How to Work with It When blending it with acids like citric acid and Cream of Tartar be sure to keep the mixture as dry as possible until the moment of use to prevent pre-emptive fizzing.
Storage & Shelf Life Stored somewhere cool, dark, and dry, baking soda should last indefinitely.
Tips, Tricks, and Quirks Baking soda is much cheaper if purchased from an online store in bulk rather than at the grocery store, so if you really like making bath bombs I’d recommend going online. DIY suppliers typically have it for good prices, and so does Amazon.
Recommended starter amount For bath bombs, I’d recommend at least 500g (1.1lb). For pH adjusting, 30g (1oz) would be enough.
Where to Buy it  Buy it from an online DIY ingredient supplier or Amazon.

Some Formulations that Use Baking Soda

Skills

Posted on

November 25, 2018