Dacey Presnell

Chemistry

Mr. Carter

5/12/22

Soap Presentation

For this project, I was able to partner up with one of my close friends who I worked really

well with. We were able to complete all deadlines on time and put all of our effort into every part

of this exhibition. The essential question was, “How can we use our chemistry knowledge and

business skills to create an antibacterial hand soap that kills germs and meets the needs of the

consumer?” My partner and I answered this question by creating a hand soap that met the

requirements of our potential buyers, using the ingredients that made our hand soap antibacterial,

and creating a presentation that hooked our potential investors. We started this exhibition with

research and learning what stoichiometry was (and how to use it.) It took some time to learn,

however once we got the hang of it and we were able to understand the concept of stoichiometry,

we created our Empirical formula with ease. The formula was created a little later in the project,

though, because we needed to know what materials (and the amount of each ingredient) we

needed to create our soap. With our research, we thoroughly searched for the best proportions for

each ingredient, and which ingredients are the best to make soap. There are many different ways

to make hand soap and which ingredients to use, but Lilly and I wanted to make sure ours was

the best that we could accomplish. We spent a lot of time researching what to include in our soap

and what each ingredient did for the soap. We were then suggested a website that allows the user

to plug in their information about their potential soap. The website would then calculate the

results, providing the user with graphs, percentages, and specific numbers about their soap. The
graphs included the bubbliness, cleansing, conditioning, longevity, creaminess, and the hardness

of the soap, while the percentages included the amount of each ingredient we should include for

a certain size batch. Once Lilly and I were happy with the results, we started the actual process of

making the soap. We grabbed the materials we had planned to use for our soap, which included

olive oil, coconut oil, cocoa butter, and shea butter. We measured out our materials to the set

amount we had calculated and heated them up. The lye and water (that we needed to add to the

soap to make it harden) was something I had to mix separately from the rest of the materials.

Lilly kept the other ingredients at a certain temperature while I mixed the lye and distilled water

together (which heated up on its own.) Once the ingredients were at the same temperature to the

water and lye, Lilly and I mixed everything together. We quickly added our essential oils (which

was lavender,) and coloring. We used purple coloring, which gave our soap a creamy coloring

due to the other naturally yellow colors in the ingredients. Once we had mixed everything

together, we quickly poured it into our molds that we had purchased prior. We left it to solidify

for two days before we took it out of the molds. After those two days, we let the soap air harden

for a few days before moving onto the packaging stage. We then bought our packaging to put our

soaps in. The packaging were exfoliating cloths that allowed the buyer to carry the soap in it as

well as use it to exfoliate their hands (by leaving the soap in the small bag when washing their

hands.) We then created our presentation. Lilly and I took our time to choose our format and

design so it would fit our business the best. We spent a lot of time making our slides and we then

had to decide who would say what during our presentation. Lilly and I decided that I would say

the first and last parts while she would talk about the second and third parts of our presentation.

The first part was stoichiometry, the second part was the business aspect, the third part was the

design and materials, and the fourth part was the process and final product. We thoroughly
explained each part and made sure our presentation kept the audience (as well as our potential

“investors”) engaged. We were able to show off our product while presenting and answer their

questions with confidence.

Through this project, there were many setbacks. My partner and I were able to come over

these problems with great communication and collaboration skills. One of the setbacks was when

we were measuring our materials. Since we were working alongside other groups making soaps,

all of the materials available were being used. Since Lilly and I had been one of the last groups to

gather the materials we needed, there wasn’t an abundance of everything anymore. One of the

materials we needed was already gone, which was a problem. I talked to my chemistry teacher,

and due to scheduling he wouldn’t have been able to get the ingredients we needed over the next

day. Thanks to my critical thinking and communication, I was able to purchase the material

myself so we would have it the following day. To save time, we measured out all of the materials

we did have that day. The following day when we went back to the place we had left our

measured out materials, we ran into another problem. Our materials had been mistakenly tossed

out so Lilly and I had to measure out our materials again. Another problem popped up when we

were remeasuring out our materials. We realized one of the materials that we had measured out

the previous day was almost empty. My partner and I used communication, critical thinking, and

our problem solving skills to work around this problem. We decided to edit our ingredient list so

we did not need as much of the material and then quickly measured everything out again. We

were able to work quickly and get to the mixing process. When we poured all of the heated up

ingredients together, we added lavender essential oil and purple coloring. As it began to harden,

we were unable to perceive the actual color of our soap. At first it seemed like another problem,

but after we took it out of the mold, we realized we liked the creamy color. Without the purple
coloring, it most likely would have been a more yellowish color, so we were okay with what

could be considered a “happy accident.” One last problem we ran into was the packaging. The

packaging we originally had was not eco-friendly (plastic,) so Lilly quickly ordered a different

packaging. This packaging allowed the user to use it as a carrier as well as an exfoliant cloth.

Our solution could not have been better for the packaging. If we had to change anything, I would

have liked to change our ingredient list a little. I would have added other ingredients that allowed

the soap to be more bubbly and conditioning and would not have added as much of the original

products. The original recipe made our soap decently hard, which made the edges crumbly a

little. It was not terrible, but it is a small detail that I would change if I redid this project.

This project as a whole was a great experience. It allowed me to learn the extremely varying

aspects of chemistry used when creating products such as soap. I never realized how many

elements/ingredients make up things like olive oil, shea butter, and cocoa butter. Throughout this

project, Lily and I were able to stay really organized with our work, which helped when creating

our slideshow. We were also very good at communicating and making sure each other were

completing their parts (and being responsible.) When it came to the presentation itself, we knew

what we were going to say and vice versa. This allowed us to professionally present our product

and answer all of the questions with ease. We both understood everything that had occurred

throughout the project, so we relied on each other without any stress. This helped us stay on top

of our work, meet deadlines, and complete all of our work to the best of our abilities. My main

take away from this project was that chemistry is a huge part of life itself. Whether it involves

creating soap or building a spaceship, chemistry can be found basically everywhere. I was also

able to learn stoichiometry, which I think I would have struggled with more if we did not work

with it before and during this project. This project has a bunch of connections to the real world.
Stoichiometry is the relationship between relative quantities of substances that form a compound.

This will not just be used for this singular project, but in many instances out in the world of

work. Creating a business and understanding the steps of making a successful business also will

be a part of the real world. A successful job/career is mostly everyone’s goal, so learning how to

make a successful business will be very important in the future if that is something I decide to

pursue. My role during this project was no different than my partner’s because we both worked

together. This made it easier to understand every step of our process as well as what we needed

to work on. Overall, this project was a lot of fun and the time spent on it flew by. I am happy

with the outcome of our soap and our overall exhibition execution, and hope to have projects just

as fun as this one in the future.