Background: We lose our bodys natural moisture through our largest organ, the skin.

Thats why
it is so important to moisturize- to retain the natural oils your body produces. But which
moisturizer does the best job of retaining the skins natural moisture? For my ongoing science
project, I will answer this question by testing different moisturizers. Because using actual skin
could create many uncontrolled variables, I will test them on Jell-O. Like skin, Jell-O will lose
moisture over time, which will show how effective each moisturizer is. I am going to test
Eucerin emollient-rich moisturizer, Vitamin E oil, shea-cocoa butter cream, Olay moisturizer,
Cetaphil moisturizer, Clarins moisturizer and olive oil.
Title: The Effect of Different Formulations of Moisturizers on the Moisture of Skin
Question: How will different formulations of moisturizers affect the moisture of skin?
Hypothesis: If different moisturizers are used on a skin simulant (Jell-O), then Eucerin
emollient-rich moisturizer will keep the skin the most moist because it seems like the thickest
formulation and so it will create a barrier that will prevent any moisture from leaving the skin.
Materials:
-Petri dishes (two for each moisturizer you will test)
-Moisturizers of your choice
-Two or more packets of Jell-O (try to pick a neutral color, like apricot)
-Measuring cup
-Measuring spoons
-Scale
-Labels
Procedure:
1. Gather all of your materials.
2. Make your Jell-O according to the instructions on the packet.
3. Transfer the Jell-O to a pitcher.
4. Measure 20 mL of the Jell-O and pour into each petri dish, making sure that it spreads
out. Let set.
5. Give each of your moisturizers a number. For every moisturizer, label two of your petri
dishes with that number and either a or b. This will make it easier to identify what
moisturizer is in which dish.
6. Weigh each Jell-O dish (in grams) and remember to subtract the weight of the dishes
themselves, so that you are just weighing the Jell-O. Record.
7. Now, take one tablespoon of each moisturizer and put it in the coordinating dish (there
will be two tablespoons per moisturizer). Weigh and record.
8. Place the dishes in a safe place where they are all evenly spaced and in a line.
9. Continue to weigh them during the day and night and record in the table shown below.
The weight will represent if any moisture is being lost from the dish and if each
moisturizer is effective.
Note: Eventually, your Jell-O will get moldy. You should stop weighing at this time because
the mold/bacteria is a variable.

Investigation Design
Title: The Effect of Different Formulations of Moisturizers on the Moisture of Skin
Question: How will different formulations of moisturizers affect the moisture of skin?
Hypothesis: If different moisturizers are used on a skin simulant (Jell-O), then Eucerin
emollient-rich moisturizer will keep the skin the most moist because it is the thickest formulation
and so it will create a barrier that will prevent any moisture from leaving the skin.
I.V: Different moisturizers
D.V: The moisture of a skin simulant (Jell-O)
Constants: Amount and type of Jell-O, placement of dishes, amount of moisturizer, size and type
of petri dishes
Weight (in grams)
Petri dishes:

Time

1a

1b

2a

2b

...

Jello Alone
0 hours
Next morning
...

Data Analysis: All of the Jell-O dishes lost a little bit of weight, so they lost moisture. Petri
dishes 1a and 1b (no moisturizer) lost an average of 17 grams of moisture. Petri dishes 2a and 2b
(Eucerin) lost an average of 3 grams of moisture. Petri dishes 3a and 3b (vitamin E oil) lost an
average of 2 grams of moisture. Petri dishes 4a and 4b (shea butter) lost an average of 20.5
grams of moisture. Petri dishes 5a and 5b (Olay) lost an average of 16 grams of moisture. Petri
dishes 6a and 6b (Cetaphil) lost an average of 27 grams of moisture. Petri dishes 7a and 7b
(Clarins) lost an average of 7.5 grams of moisture. Petri dishes 8a and 8b (olive oil) lost an
average of 0 grams of moisture. This data proves that olive oil is the most effective moisturizer,
because it prevented any moisture from leaving the skin. Cetaphil is the least effective because
it caused the Jell-O to lose the most moisture.
In conclusion, my hypothesis was not correct. I thought that Eucerin would do the best job of
retaining moisture in the skin but it lost 3 grams of moisture, whereas olive oil lost no moisture
at all. I was incorrect because I thought the thickest formulation (Eucerin) would make the
strongest barrier that would prevent any moisture from leaving the skin, but actually the heaviest
formulation (olive oil) would create the strongest barrier. Also, olive oil actually collected

moisture from the air, which helped it maintain the Jell-Os natural moisture. Overall, olive oil
does the best job of retaining moisture in the skin.
Experimental Limitations:
-Room temperature varied
-Humidity varied
-Sunlight that the dishes were exposed to varied