Hypothesis for test:

If I test two store bought, my homemade lotion and no moisturizer on sphere shaped playdoughs, then the homemade lotion will moisten its designated playdough equally as well as the other two moisturizers in testing because it contains fewer but primely the most effective ingredients to sustain the skin's moisture. The playdough with nothing on it will dry out due to having no barrier preventing it from losing its original moisture.

Hypothesis for making the homemade lotion:

If I create a homemade moisturizer using the maximum of three ingredients with no chemicals applied, my homemade lotion will be a great alternative to other store bought lotions while having a less chance of a negative impact to our skin.

What are the benefits of homemade lotions?

Homemade lotions are considered to be moisturizers crafted usually by hand and done not using any machinery. They are made by mixing multiple different ingredients into one mixture and experimenting to find what works best on your skin by solving or nearly solving dryness to the skin. When making homemade lotions you are in full control over what ingredients are to access the moisturizer. Meaning that what you are to put in the lotion is choosingly safe for your skin. You would know exactly what is being put on your body and its effects. To accomplish this you need to do your research on what ingredients to use in which they may be harmful.

How long does The Glycerin, Rosewater, and lemon mix moisturizer last? 

When put into a sealed container, my homemade lotion usually lasts around one month. It only lasts so long because most powders and oils don’t last longer when put in a constantly room temperature area. This is due to the moisturizer being fully natural with no preservatives such as chemicals and ingredients like alcohol which help the lotion last longer.

What is Glycerin?

Glycerin is a type of carbohydrate. A carbohydrate consists of carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Glycerin is found naturally in plants and is colourless and odourless. Glycerin can be produced synthetically by hydrolysing fats and oils. It is commonly used in cosmetics and drugs. It is usually used in skincare products in things like the healing of cuts, bruises, scars and many other physical appearance injuries. A 250ml bottle of glycerin costs around $6 (canadian) keeping the product very cost efficient when creating your own moisturizer. Very rarely, allergies and reactions such as blistering and dehydration may occur due to the application of glycerin. 

What is Rosewater?

Rosewater is made of extracted rose petals. Rose petals are naturally grown on flowers and are found in plants organically. Rosewater is commonly used in flavouring and giving food a scent as well as a component in moisturizers. For a 300ml bottle of rosewater it costs $2.29. There is a chance that your skin can react in a negative way to the rosewater by feeling irritation, burning, and stinging.

What really is squeezed Lemon Juice?

Lemon juice is made of extracted lemons. Lemons are highly citrus fruits which grow naturally as plants. Lemons are usually used in the making of many drinks and as a bold flavour in a dish. Lemons are also used in lotions for their strong and fresh scent. For a singular lemon it would cost around $0.50. Lemons in moisturizers may slightly change your skin's PH level (Potential of hydrogen level) due to how citrus the fruit is. Reactions that may occur when this substance makes contact with the skin could result in things like irritation and redness to the skin. When only using a small amount of lemon juice in a lotion it can improve your skin by providing vitamin C. Vitamin C is an antioxidant (Meaning it doesn’t contain oxygen) that can help your skin with aging/ wrinkles, and reduce damage to the skin’s layer.

Could this mixture actually heal variations of Eczema?

Firstly, what is Eczema? Eczema is a non-contagious dryness to the skin that occurs to humans. Having this skin condition can cause things like rashes, itching, and the appearance of redness to the skin. Many say that glycerin has its chances of supporting and healing minor Eczema conditions because of its ability to decrease the show of things like wounds and scars.

Could this moisturizer decrease acne or acne scars?

Mainly glycerin, a key ingredient that was put into my homemade lotion with a high percentage is a perfect product to make an effect on acne scars for its way of wound therapy and healing. Glycerin does this by creating a bacteriostatic area which then decreases the growing of bacteria in the wound.

How could my homemade moisturizer help Psoriasis?

Psoriasis is a skin disease where the immune system of your body is overly active making your skin cells multiply again, and again. Psoriasis can cause major scarring to the skin. As searched before glycerin can reduce scarring which would be caused by the after effects of Psoriasis. Knowing that my homemade lotion contains a high percentage of glycerin, my crafted moisturizer could reduce the wounding.

Could allergies be caused by my homemade lotion?

Allergies could be caused by the limonene in lemons. Limonene is a common chemical in citrus peels. Lemon juice and its high rate of citric acid may irritate the skin by making differences to its PH (Potential of Hydrogen) level and cause redness to its layer as well

Why is Glycerin so commonly used in moisturizers?

Glycerin is almost always used in moisturizers for dry and flaky skin. Glycerin is known for being an amazing ingredient in moisturizers for the curing of the dryness held in your skin. How does this one ingredient make such a big impact? Glycerin pulls the moisture from deeper areas of your skin and oxygen, pushing it to the outer layer of your skin. In other words, it sustains the hydration in the skin that it leads in.

Controlled Variables

• Type of playdoughs
• Colour of playdoughs
• Amount of playdough per batch
• Place the playdoughs were stored
• Temperature in the area playdoughs were stored
• Type of measurement used (to measure moisture of each batch) 
• Times each playdough is measured

Manipulated Variables

• Different types of moisturizers including The Vaseline, the Aveeno, my homemade lotion and the “No moisturizer”

Responding Variables

• Which playdough will be softest to let the Vernier caliper push farthest in (Showing how well the moisturizers worked)

_{Procedure for Homemade Moisturizer 1-7 steps)}

1. Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water
2. Grab a bowl and pour 3 tablespoons of Glycerin in the bowl
3. Next pour 1 teaspoon of Rosewater in the same bowl
4. Cut a lemon through the middle using a butter knife
5. Now pour 1 teaspoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice into the same bowl
6. Mix all of the ingredients in the bowl using a tablespoon until fully mixed
7. Pour the mixture into the miniature travel container

1.  Wash the butter knife thoroughly
2. Take 2 playdoughs out of its container and place one sideways laying on a plate
3. Place the second playdough laying on its side on another plate
4. Measure the playdoughs on their side to determine the halfway point (ex. Measurement: 4 cm then halfway is 2 cm)
5. Divide both playdoughs into 2 equivalent portions and roll each division into a ball/ sphere using the butter knife
6. Create a hole of 10 mm in each sphere of playdough (using a Vernier caliper)
7. Clean and wash a syringe
8. Inject Aveeno in the first batch using the syringe
9. Clean the syringe using water and wiping the outside of it with a paper towel
10. With the same syringe, inject 3 mm of Vaseline in the second batch
11. Clean the syringe with water and wiping the outside of it with a paper towel
12. Inject 3 mm of the homemade lotion in the third batch using the syringe 
13. Label the first batch “Aveeno”
14. Label the second batch “Vaseline”
15. Label the third batch “Homemade”
16. Label the fourth batch “None”
17. Measure the depth by putting the vernier caliper in the hole of the “Aveeno” labeled playdough batch and in a light but consistent pace push the vernier caliper in the hole
18. Measure the depth of the playdough labeled “Vaseline”
19. Measure the depth of the playdough labeled “Homemade”
20. Measure the depth of the playdough labeled “None”
21. Record your observations and measurements for each playdough after 3 hours
22. Record observations after 6 hours
23. Record observations after 9 hours

When in the process of starting the experiment the homemade lotion was colourless but visible to the naked eye, meanwhile both of the store bought moisturizers, the Vaseline and the Aveeno had a heavier consistency and a creamy texture. Both could easily lay on top of their playdough. My homemade moisturizer on the other hand dripped and slid down the playdough. The consistency of my homemade moisturizer was much lighter indicating that it needed a decrease in amount.

Once 6 hours had passed by I had noticed something strange about my homemade moisturizer. It had absorbed about ⅓ of what was originally placed on it. The moisturizer gave the batch of playdough a drenched and moist look. The Aveeno application gave a somewhat dry look as the Vaseline did as well but not as strong. The playdough with no application in it had seemed to crack and looked extremely dehydrated.

Once the testing was over at 9 hours, I decided to feel the playdough that had no moisturizer on it. Not only did it look very dry, it also felt very crisp. It had a rough an uneasy touch to it.

As you can see in the graph, at 0 hours all playdoughs had the depth of 10 mm as it is the starting time of the experiment in which all three playdoughs are equivalent.

After 3 hours Vaseline actually moistened its batch of playdough the best out of all three moisturizers with a measured 20 mm depth meaning that the playdough allowed the Vernier Caliper measurer to push the farthest in. This is due to how well the lotion worked by softening the surface of the playdough. The Homemade lotion had a depth of 18 mm and the Aveeno had a 16 mm in depth. The playdough with no moisturizer on it had a depth of 10 mm.

When 6 hours passed the playdough with the homemade moisturizer on top started falling behind in the lead causing the playdough with the Vaseline moisturizer to be tied with it at 23 mm. The playdough with the Aveeno on its surface had a depth of 19 mm and the playdough with nothing on it was still stuck at 10 mm.

Lastly, after 9 hours the playdough that had my homemade moisturizer on it had the depth of 27 mm causing it to be tied next to the playdough with the Vaseline moisturizer and have a lasting result to be even better than the playdough with Aveeno on it at 23 mm as well as the playdough with nothing on it at 10 mm.

Conclusion for experiment

In conclusion my hypothesis was incorrect. This is because my homemade lotion actually did much better than I had expected. It did even greater than all the others in testing. The Aveeno did not retain as much moisture as the other lotions did and ended up only doing greater than the playdough with no application. After all, the mixture happened to do such a great job it barely beat the Vaseline moisturizer which I think would have been the biggest challenge.

Conclusion for homemade lotion

In conclusion my hypotheisis was correct. As shown in my experiment, my homemade moisturizer is actually a great alternative to multiple storebought moisturizers by carrying most of their functions using only three ingredients.

I have chosen this experiment for multiple reasons. First, Alberta has a very dry climate and citizens have been suffering from dry and irritated skin and finding at least one effective lotion to cure this.  However the side effects and the cost of market lotions have been a struggle for most albertans.

I have also done this experiment to help people sustain their skin's moisture for longer periods of time. 31 million humans are suffering from severely dry skin and even eczema due to mainly weather conditions and potentially even lotions with many chemical ingredients. Living in such a dry climate leaves our skin so dry where it shows to be cracking and sends a sensation of irritation.  After completing this experiment I believe my product can relieve the skin’s dryness over time. My homemade moisturizer consists of only three ingredients making it easily accessible and has less of a chance to do any harm to the skin. Why would I only put those ingredients? How will it successfully work? Glycerin pulls the moisture from deeper areas of your skin to the top layer. The moisture lays on top of the skin for a longer period of time, healing the dryness before the skin eventually absorbs it again. The first ingredient included in my lotion is, lemon juice. It contains Vitamin C which is known for sustaining hydration in the skin. Lemons also hold natural oils which may help with softening the skin. Rosewater was mainly used in my lotion for a soothing scent by canceling out the smell of the Glycerin and the harsh citric smell of lemon juice. Besides, Rosewater is still a great ingredient in moisturizers because it keeps the skin healthy-looking and nourished. 

Why are homemade lotions a better choice financially? Homemade moisturizers are more commonly made of natural ingredients keeping the cost lower than usual. When gathering the components to make the moisturizer they are often sold at a larger form then needed for the making of only one lotion. This allows you to experiment as well as create copies of your favourite combinations.

• Homemade moisturizer dripped down the playdough - This may have affected due to less moisturizer in the playdough

• The playdoughs may have different expiration dates causing inaccurate results

• Lotions expiration dates could have affected how well they moisturized their playdoughs

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Jacqueline Kilikita, A. J. (n.d.). Vitamin K is the ingredient said to fade dark circles - but does it work?. Vitamin K Skin - Dry Skin, Eczema, Broken Capillaries. https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/vitamin-k-skincare#:~:text=%22In%20turn%2C%20vitamin%20K%20strengthens,skin%20can%20get%20much%20drier. 

Medically reviewed by Dr. M. Khawar Nazir, X Ramona Sinha MA (English Literature), Sinha, R., Das, E., Chakraborti, S., Mbbs, More, Editor, Editor, A., & Editor, C. (2023a, November 14). Rosewater and glycerin for skin: Uses, benefits, & side effects. STYLECRAZE. 

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Brand. (2023, August 29). Skincare benefits of lemon. and Vitamin C – Garnier India. https://www.garnier.in/skin-care-tips/skincare-benefits-of-lemon#:~:text=Using%20a%20lotion%20enriched%20with,and%20notice%20a%20visible%20difference 

Lemons. Nippy’s. (2024, February 28). https://nippys.com.au/product/lemons/ 

Real Canadian superstore supermarket: Grocery shop online or instore. Real Canadian Superstore Supermarket | Grocery shop online or instore. (n.d.-a). https://www.realcanadiansuperstore.ca/rose-water/p/21217237_EA 

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); citric acid molecule. Citric Acid Molecule. (n.d.). https://www.worldofmolecules.com/acid-base-molecules/citric-acid.html 

U.S. National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). About PMC. National Center for Biotechnology Information. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/about/intro/ 

Bradley, J. (2022, June 2). Could your odd symptoms mean you’re allergic to citric acid? Verywell Health. https://www.verywellhealth.com/citric-acid-allergy-symptoms-and-how-to-cope-1323907 

Life brand glycerin: Shoppers drug mart. Life Brand Glycerin | Shoppers Drug Mart. (n.d.). https://shop.shoppersdrugmart.ca/life-brand-glycerin/p/BB_057800006909?variantCode=057800006909&utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=2022~12~22~ld~external~shoppersdrugmart~na~sdm~sdm-frontshop~national~shopping~2023-sdm-ecomm-ao&utm_content=6014349~2023-sdm-ecomm-ao-pmax-frontshop-en~na~en&utm_term=&gclid=Cj0KCQjwncWvBhD_ARIsAEb2HW8J-1W77_-nr8ppxX4mMQXGeZGq27mBFpRNq8vYCRZfe5jyrku3HecaAvysEALw_wcB 

Rose oxide. indiamart.com. (n.d.). https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/rose-oxide-4124617697.html 

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(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); citric acid molecule. Citric Acid Molecule. (n.d.-a). https://www.worldofmolecules.com/acid-base-molecules/citric-acid.html 

Stout, E. I., & McKessor, A. (2012, February). Glycerin-based hydrogel for Infection Control. Advances in wound care. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3839013/#:~:text=Clinical%20studies%20have%20shown%20that,results%20in%20better%20healing%20outcomes. 

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Thank you to,

Mrs. Burkell for helping Calgary Youth Science Fair students and I to improve our projects and by taking time out of your day to teach us new things.

Mrs. Meloche who helped me come up with the idea to use playdough for this experiment when I was struggling to find a different alternative for skin while still keeping the tests constant. 

My parents who supported me throughout this spectacular journey by supplying me with the materials needed to accomplish this project.

Ella Sky and Christina Kange for helping me gain interest in the science fair this year.