Alginate is a substance made from seaweed and is safe to use on living people and soft unstable perishable items. Dentists frequently use it to make molds of a patients teeth and gums to allow them to make casts to create crowns. Alginate is in a powder form and is mixed with water. The water temperature will determin the rate at which it sets. Warm water will cause it to set in a matter of a couple of minute while cold water will retard the setting up to five minutes or so. When Alginate is mixed, it will have a lumpy texture but will not affect its usability. Care must be taken when mixing alginate to avoid trapping air. Our example that Meliss aand I will post here shows the result of using a wisk to mix the alginate. We whipped in lots of air and the stuff starts jelling quickly so it was impossible for us to tap the air out of the mix. Algnate will pick up very minute details including finger prints and hair follicles.
