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Alginate Help
The Alginate
We use colour changing alginate in our kits, which we have found easier to use than non-colour changing, as it changes colour throughout the mixing process and goes white when it sets, making it easier for you to tell when your mould is ready. We have it specially made for us with a strong colour change, your cast may look pink when you remove the set alginate from it and this is nothing to worry about as this will fade away as your cast dries out, leaving it perfectly white. We use high quality, dental grade alginate which is normally used by dentists to take impressions in the mouth, it is derived from seaweed and is extremely safe to use on even the youngest baby. The detail that this captures is amazing, every tiny line and wrinkle will be captured in all its beautiful 3d glory.
Life casting and in particular casting a young, wriggling baby is not the easiest thing in the world to do, so make sure you thoroughly read through our easy to follow instructions before you attempt your casts. We recommend that there are 2 adults present, one to hold the baby and one to do the casting. Make sure that you wear old clothes and protect all areas and clothes as alginate does not come out of clothes. Our kits contain plenty of powders for several attempts and we always state quite clearly how many casts you can make from each kit, this is to give you the best chance of creating a finished piece you will be proud of.
When mixing the alginate, you need to work quickly as it sets quite quickly, make sure that you measure it correctly, put the alginate in a mixing bowl and add the cool tap water and mix thoroughly but quickly until the mixture is fairly smooth. Transfer your mixture into your bag or plastic container (if preferred) and push your child’s hand or foot into the mixture, make sure that all the flesh is covered and wait for the mixture to set, some-one distracting the child is best at this point if you have a wriggly child, because the alginate remains flexible when set, it makes it easy to pull your child’s limb out from the mixture by wriggling it and pulling gently and slowly and your mould is complete. If you find your child’s hand sticking and difficult to pull out, or if your child has really dry skin, then you can try using a very, very thin layer of petroleum jelly or baby moisturiser, use sparingly though!
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