SCIENCE FAIR 2018

By: Adi Tui Vuniwaqa

Question
Which type of lip balm has the best
water resistant property?
Hypothesis
I think that the almond oil recipe would
have the best water resistant property
because almond oil has chemicals in it
while the virgin coconut oil is pure. I
think that the chemicals in the almond oil
will give the lip balm a better water seal.

Aim
My aim is to see which of my 4 lip balms
has the best water resistant property.
Some people apply lip balm before going
to bed. While sleeping, some drool and
sometimes the lip balm can get soggy
and possible ruined if it does not have a
fine water resistant property.

Materials/Ingredients
● Beeswax
● Petroleum jelly
● Virgin coconut oil
● Almond oil
● Lip Balm tubes or jars(empty)
● Wooden Stirrers/ Spoon
● Labels (to label tubes and jars)
● Heat proof containers
● Digital Scale
● Saucepan
 ● Water
● Bowl
● Kitchen Towel

Method
1. Make lip balm.
2. Pour it into the lip balm jar.
3. Let it rest.
4. Cut construction paper into
squares.
5. Label them with different colors.
6. Apply the different lip balms on the
different construction papers.
7. Add three drops of water onto each.
8. Put a timer on 5 minutes so that
you can get an accurate result.
9. Observe which lip balm allows
water to sink through and which
 doesn’t. (If the drops of water are
sinking through the construction
paper, the lip balm isn’t suitable for
rainy weather. If the water doesn’t
sink through the construction paper
then that lip balm is suitable for rainy
weather.)
10. Note down results and comments.
11. Carry out different lip balm tests on
people to see which is most
 comfortable and why.

Variables
Independent: are the ingredients I am
changing in my experiment. The
ingredients are petroleum jelly, almond
oil and virgin coconut oil.
Dependent: It is the variable that is
being tested in an experiment. I am
going to increase the quantity of the
ingredients in my lip balms.
Controlled: These are the things that
stay the same throughout your
experiment:
- Materials
- Beeswax Beads

Discussion
The purpose of my experiment was to
see which recipe or ingredient would
have the best water resistant property. I
made two lip balm recipes, one with
almond oil and the other with virgin
coconut oil. I also decided to make the
same recipe twice. The second time I
filtered both recipes. I still thought that
the almond oil lip balm recipes would be
more suitable for the water resistant
experiment.

For my second lip balm test, I did not

only filter the lip balm but I also changed
the amount of ingredients to make it. I
changed the amount of ingredients
because I wanted to know if it would
impact my results. When I was done with
my water resistant experiment on my
four lip balms, I was surprised because
every single lip balm that I made had a
water resistant property.

My first 2 recipes had a water resistant

property and so did my second test even
though I changed the ingredients in my
second test. I was so shocked because
in my hypothesis I had mentioned that I
thought the almond oil lip balm recipes
would have the best water resistant
property because it had different types of
chemicals in it. I also thought that the
chemicals help the almond oil have a
water resistant property.
I thought that the virgin coconut oil lip
balm recipe wouldn’t have a water
resistant property because it doesn’t
have any chemicals in it. After I had
tested the water resistance I went
around to the people in my household
and asked them to try on the different lip
balms. I also told them to let me know
which one out of the unfiltered and the
filtered felt the most comfortable on
his/her lips.

I drew a table in my log book and took

notes down on which lip balm was most
liked and on the bottom of my table I
wrote down why people liked which lip
balm the most. 6 people liked the virgin
coconut oil filtered lip balm recipe the
most, because it was smooth to apply on
their lips, and the lip balm didn’t feel too
dry or too watery.

Research

What is a lip balm?

Lip balms are also known as lip salve.
They are made to protect our lips. It
contains moisturizing ingredients that
stops water loss from our lips. Some of
the moisturizing ingredients that could
be used in lip balms are called shea
butter, lanolin or petroleum jelly.
Beeswax is also an ingredient to lip
balm. Beeswax is used to help the lip
balm stick onto your lips. Some lip
balms are called “medicated” lip balms
because it has ingredients that are
actually used as medicine. Some lip
balms do not have medicated
ingredients in them but they do consist
of other types of chemicals/ingredients.
Some people wear lip balms to help get
rid of chapped lips while others just
wear them as an alternative to lipstick.
What are some of the ingredients
found inside a lip balm?
Virgin Coconut Oil - this is oil extracted
from coconuts without the use of heat. It
is called “Virgin” coconut oil because it
is made the natural way without any
artificial filtering. Artificial filtering is also
used to make refined coconut oil.
Chemicals aren’t needed when making
virgin coconut oil. It is also known as
“Unrefined” coconut oil, because it is
pure.

Almond Oil - There are two types of

almond oil, sweet almond oil and
almond oil. The almond oil is originally
from Southwest Asia and the Middle -
East. Almond oil is used for food,
cosmetics and even as a skin
moisturizer. It prevents the skin from
being dry. Almond oil can be used as
salad dressing or to make dough for
pizza or bread.

Beeswax - this is used to make candles

and pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceuticals
are basically creams or ointments with
medical ingredients in it. Some
examples of pharmaceuticals are lip
balms and salves. Beeswax is also
used to make crayons, furniture polish,
etc.

Petroleum jelly - Petroleum jelly or

better known as Vaseline is used for
many things such as dehydrated skin,
diaper rashes, etc. People with skin
conditions like pimples or rosacea aren’t
allowed to use petroleum jelly because
the thick emollient can make these
conditions way worse.

Test 1 (Unfiltered Stage)

Ingredient Recipe 1 Recipe 2
(Almond oil) (Virgin
 Coconut oil)
Almond oil 16g ------------------
Virgin coconut ------------------ 16g
oil
Beeswax 6g 6g
Petroleum 16g 16g
Jelly
Test 2 (Filtered Stage)
Ingredient Recipe 1 Recipe 2
(Almond oil) (Virgin Coconut
 oil)
Almond oil 20g -----------------------
Virgin coconut ---------------------- 20g
oil
Beeswax 10g 10g
Petroleum 15g 15g
Jelly

Reference

Scratch Mommy LLC [US] (2018)

 Balms vs Salves, Available at:
https://pronounceskincare.com/balms
-vs-salves-is-there-a-difference/
(Accessed: 2nd September 2018).

Leaf (2018) The Difference between

Refined and Virgin Coconut oil,
Available at:
https://www.leaf.tv/articles/differences
-between-organic-coconut-oil-extra-
 virgin-organic-coconut-oil/ (Accessed:
15 July 2018).

Organic Facts (2018) What is Virgin

Coconut Oil and What are some of its
Benefits, Available at:
https://www.organicfacts.net/health-
benefits/oils/virgin-coconut-
oil.html(Accessed: 17 July 2018).
CARE2 (2018) Shea Butter: What it
is, What it does for our Skin, Available
at:
https://www.care2.com/greenliving/sh
ea-butter-what-it-is-what-it-does.html
(Accessed: 20 July 2018).

Beeswax and Beekeeping (2018)

Beeswax: A unique substance for
which there is no substitute, Available
 at: http://www.bees-and-
beekeeping.com/beeswax.html
(Accessed: 12 July 2018).
What is Petroleum Jelly (2018) What
is Petroleum Jelly, Available at:
http://www.vaseline.us/faq.html
(Accessed: 12 July 2018).