Many bath bomb makers consider the possibility of getting a bath bomb press, once they get beyond a certain volume. After all, molding all those fizzies can get really tiring, especially around craft fair time! Since I have never used a bath bomb press, I thought I would ask someone who does for an opinion.

Although bath bomb presses can be a wonderful solution for people producting bath bombs in bulk, they do have their disadvantages.

I asked Michelle, a bath bomb maker I know who uses a press in her shop, how she likes her Willow Way bath bomb press. What she told me was kind of surprising.

“Actually, the press isn’t as good as using the handheld molds.” she said. “It’s about 4 times slower than producing them ‘by hand,’ but we just use it because it saves our aching forearms.” The shop, which sells handmade bath and body products, makes 200 bath bombs per day!

Michelle said that a second drawback to using a bath bomb press is that you don’t get as good a feel for the bombs. This is important if there’s a problem with the mix or recipe. A big part of judging if your bath bombs are “mold-worthy” is in the molding process itself. When you hand-mold them, you can instantly feel if the bath bombs are going to come out.

Although I don’t make hundreds of fizzies per week like Michelle, I can definitely imagine the “oh sh*t” feeling of hundreds of bombs crumbling and cracking on the drying tray right before my eyes! If you do make mass quantities of bombs… maybe you should consider hiring an assistant instead of buying a press. It might be cheaper in the long run!