The new soap opera

Teacher was very strict. “Listen carefully to what I have to say, please. No open-toed shoes! No pets allowed in class. And long sleeves at all times.” She distributed the school uniform. Safety goggles, heavy-duty rubber gloves and anti-toxic splashback aprons vital for personal hygiene these days. Teacher gave me the glare. “We’re in a very toxic environment.” The topics under discussion in the lab that morning, she announced, would be strong alkalis, inorganic compounds, mono-unsaturated fatty acids, essential hydrosols, shea body butter, bespoke floor cleaners and rash-friendly bath bombs. Miss Heathcote-James handed out the apparatus. A Pyrex jug, spatula, small hand whisk and two stainless steel saucepans. Tin, iron, aluminium and “Teflon” being forbidden on school grounds. Then the ingredients – pomace olive oil, coconut and palm oil, bottled water (filtered rain not being available ), peach kernel nutrient oil and my chosen fragrance, Evening Primrose (13ml) .  And, most important of all, the NaOh. Sodium hydroxide is an indispensable ingredient of the core curriculum at the UK’s only soap-making school. Emma Heathcote-James runs the “Little Soap School” in Upper High...