Personal care product

Overview
In this assignment, you will pick a personal care product to research, and prepare a graphic/poster (if you are graphically oriented) or an article (if you are text oriented) to teach others how it works at a chemical and personal level.

As samples, I have included two approaches to teaching the chemistry of UV/LED-cured gel manicures. They are very different, but both give you a sense of the level of detail I’m hoping for in a full-point assignment! Please note: if you wanted to do gel manicures, you’ll need to take a different approach than these two examples. There are still a lot of avenues, talk to me about it.

Objectives:
Learn more about the science of a personal care product you use or are interested in
Put together a presentation (either graphical/poster format or article) teaching about this that you would be proud of sharing with a friend or family member… or your prof.
Directions:

Research a personal care product that you are interested in. Some examples may include sunscreens (mineral, chemical, or both), shampoos and/or conditioners, skin lotions, eye shadow, chemical approaches for permanent hair curls or straightening, hair sprays/gels/etc, tooth whiteners, mouthwash, shaving cream, chemical depilatories, or any other personal care product.
If you have a household product you’d REALLY like to research instead, email me through Carmen to ask – I might approve it, if it is sufficiently interesting. In the email make sure to tell me what you’d like to research, and why you’d like to research that rather than a personal care product.
Use multiple sources. You will typically need to look at several to pick a few that are accurate. Check back against your common sense and your textbook to make sure that the chemistry claims are accurate.
Be careful while reading to make sure you are distinguishing science/chemistry from advertising copy. Be critical – remember your chapter 1.10 FLaReS framework, look for multiple sources, and don’t take advertising claims at face value. For example, in gel manicures, companies distinguish between “UV” and “LED” cured polishes… but the LED lamps still put out UV-A light. They’re not actually that different.
Think about how you can best communicate your topic. Your audience is other undergraduate students who may be interested in learning how your chosen product _really_ works. Make yourself an expert!
If you have an idea for an alternate creative presentation, check with me first to make sure it will be ok.
Your final product should be converted to a pdf that you can upload to Carmen. Please make sure that it is readable in its final form! If it can’t be read, it is not good communication.
Things to Include:
Title
At least 3 figures that help to illustrate your topic. You can use images from the web, as long as they are fair use and properly attributed (photo attributions do not count as part of your research references). You can also draw your own figures if you’d like.
Any background information required to understand your product. For example, a product used on hair or skin may require an introduction. A product meant to solve a particular problem may require an introduction.
Appropriate history of your product (this may be brief or more extensive depending on your approach – see for example the infographic where history is scattered through the text)
How your product works at a chemical level. Remember this is a chemistry class! Make sure you are taking a technical approach, rather than solely a user-approach. This is the major part of your presentation!
Pros and cons for your product, as appropriate.
Some kind of comparison. This may be between similar types of the same product, or between a product and a competitor, or a sense of variation of the types of product on the market… Help us position this in the world!
Any health and safety or environmental warnings that would be appropriate for your product. This can also be a place to discuss any controversies or debates surrounding your product.
Your references. You should have at least 3 references, NOT including your photo attributions. One of these references can be your textbook, if appropriate.

Samples (note: these are professionally done; I don’t expect professional quality from you!)
General reference for articles: The Beauty BrainsLinks to an external site., who have a long-running blog and podcast on the science of beauty products
Reference for manicures, article format: The Royal Society of Chemistry chemistry education divisionLinks to an external site.
Reference for manicures, graphic/poster format:

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