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 RESULTS

Vinegar and Bi-carb Soda

Toothpaste

Before Measuring Results

Before Measuring Results

GRAPH AND TABLE OF RESULTS

0102030405060708090

100

Water and Liquid

Detergent

Lemon Juice and Salt Crystals

Diluted Bleach

Vinegar and Bi-carb Soda

Toothpaste

Trial 1 Trial 2 Trial 3 Average

Control -

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/bl

eaches_en.html

Shuttleworth, Martyn. (2008). Validity and

Reliability. Retrieved from Experiment Resources:

http://www.experiment-resources.com/validity-and

reliability.html