Simple soap making: alphabet soaps

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With all the ingredients and moulds readily available, soap making has never been easier.

The basic technique

● Cut amount of soap base you need with a knife – 200g/7oz will make a medium bar.
● Slice soap base into small chunks for quick melting. Place in a glass jug and microwave in 15-second intervals till melted.
● Once melted, add any extra ingredients, such as colour, fragrance and exfoliants.
● Pour into a mould and, once set, place in a freezer for 20 mins. Remove from mould.

To make

You will need white soap base, pumice exfoliant powder and alphabet- shaped silicone moulds. Add pumice powder to melted white soap base. Pour into desired letter-shape moulds and set, as instructions. We used pumice, but you could use lavender flowers or poppy seeds as an alternative natural exfoliant.

■ White soap baseand pumice powder, both from Hobbycraft. Alphabet moulds, from Yellow Moon

Feature: Kirsty Robertson. Photo: Richard Burns

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