INVESTIGATION TITLE: HOME REMEDIES FOR REMOVING FOOD COLOURING FROM SKIN

Robert Hunt

Student ID: 15518828

Date of Presentation: 29/03/2012

INTRODUCTION AND AIM Food colouring, or colour additive, is any dye, pigment or

substance that imparts colour when it is added to food or drink

At the very basic level, all foods are either protein (meats, soy, beans, etc.), carbohydrate based (grains, fruits, sugars) and fat based. (Epp, D., 1995).

This could be said of your skin as well, due to the fact that skin shares similar functional groups

Aim Which home remedy is the most effective at removing stains

from human skin. Changing the home remedies (chemical reactions) will

reduce the total amount of food colouring left on human skin.

MATERIALS Red Food Colouring – 5 Drops On A Skin Sample 10cm By 10cm Squared Plastic Grid ¼ Tsp Household Bleach Diluted With ¼ Tsp Water ½ Tsp Water ½ Tsp Liquid Detergent ½ Tsp Lemon Juice ½ Tsp Salt Crystals ½ Tsp Brown Vinegar ½ Tsp Bi-carbonate Soda ½ Tsp Toothpaste Eye Dropper Wash Cloth Towel 5 Bowls Cotton Wool Buds

Independent Dependent Controlled

Home Remedies for stain removal Total percentage of stain removed •Temperature of the room•Method of application •Force in which the method is applied to the skin sample•Absorption time of the food colouring and removal attempt•Preparation of the skin sample between each trial•The use of the same food colouring between each trial as different food colourings have a different strength of staining•Time allowance for each methods removal attempt.

VARIABLES, VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY

Validity Data collection done over three day period under the same controlled

variables.

Reliability Human judgment can vary wildly between observers, and the same individual

may rate things differently depending upon time of day and current mood. (Shuttleworth, 2008).

Use of plastic grid to reduce human judgement.

COMPARISON OF RESULTS

Before Measuring Results

Water and Liquid Detergent

Lemon Juice and Salt Crystals

Diluted Bleach

Before Measuring Results

Before Measuring Results

COMPARISON OF RESULTSVinegar and Bi-carb Soda

Toothpaste

Before Measuring Results

Before Measuring Results

GRAPH AND TABLE OF RESULTS

0

30

60

90

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 AverageControl -Water and Liquid Detergent 95% 97% 93% 95%

Home Remedy 1 -Lemon Juice and Salt Crystals 53% 55% 48% 52%

Home Remedy 2 -Diluted Bleach 76% 84% 89% 83%

Home Remedy 3 -Vinegar and Bi-carb Soda 86% 94% 90% 90%

Home Remedy 4 –Toothpaste 44% 52% 39% 45%

DISCUSSION OF RESULTS Control group ( Water and liquid detergent) was most

effective. Home Remedies most effective was Vinegar and Bicarbonate

Soda due to the chemical reaction (oxidation) that accords when mixing a acid and case. Most consistent results.

Diluted Bleach performed worse than expected since it can remove tougher stains such as blood.

Toothpaste was the worst with irregular results and not chemical reaction. Abrasive friction only.

Procter and Gamble (2005) states the oxidation process occurs due to the chemical reaction that ‘cuts’ the stain molecules in smaller pieces that are more easily removed when reacting with a acid or base.

CONCLUSION Liquid detergent is the most effective since its mass

produced and sold to remove stains. Vinegar and Bicarbonate Soda most effective due to

the oxidation reaction that happens when mixing acids and bases.

Human Judgement can affect the data collection if not recorded properly as experiment is heavy on observation.

Changing of food colour dye from red to another colour with a weaker straining strength e.g. Yellow, will change results?

Length of time allowed for absorption of food colouring altered will affect total amount of food colouring stain removed.

REFERENCES

Epp, Dianne N. (1995). Palette of Color Series: The Chemistry of Food Dyes. Middletown, OH: Terrific Science Press.

Procter and Gamble (2005) What is Bleach? Retrieved from http://www.scienceinthebox.com/en_UK/glossary/bleaches_en.html

Shuttleworth, Martyn. (2008). Validity and Reliability. Retrieved from Experiment Resources: http://www.experiment-resources.com/validity-and reliability.html