From Waters to Wellness: A Study of Traditional Fish Oil

Hi everyone, I'm Ceejay Harper and I'm from Garden Hill Anisininew Nation High School.

In many northern First Nations communities, the cold weather causes dry and cracked skin. Skin irritation and dryness are common problems.

For generations, our people have relied on fish not only for food, but also for traditional uses. Some elders say fish oil can help protect skin from dryness.

Question: Can fish oil increase skin moisture?

To test this, fish were boiled for three hours to extract the natural oil.

Fish oil was applied to one side of the skin. The other side had no oil. After 30 minutes, skin moisture was measured again.

In many tests, the skin with fish oil showed higher moisture levels. Statistical analysis showed the difference was meaningful.

This project shows that sometimes the best science begins with the wisdom of our people.

My Story:

I started this project because I wanted to find a solution to dry skin which is very common in my community. I also wanted to acknowledge the knowledge our Elders have passed down to us. People in Garden Hill live off the land and water. Fishing is one of the things we do a lot here and we respect each living organism by ensuring there is no waste.

The inspiration for this project came when Myra and Ivan, our knowledge keepers told us on Traditional Day that pickerel fish (Okath) fat has been used in traditional Indigenous medicine as a means to protect skin. I wanted to see if science could prove that these fats have value, so they wouldn’t go to waste.

My question was:

Can traditional fish fat increase skin moisture compared to untreated skin?

My research matters because it highlights the experiential basis of Indigenous knowledge systems and how they inherently value nature. It also helps remote communities like mine have access to natural skin care remedies. Validating Indigenous ways of knowing through scientific experimentation proves they are still valid today.

Hypotheses:

(H₀): Fish fat on skin will not produce a greater change in mean moisture level than skin with no treatment.

Background Research:

My background information began with personal experience and participating in Traditional Days. On Traditional Days Mr. and Mrs. Ivan Harper taught us that fish fats can be used to help your skin from drying out in the cold weather. This connected with me because I always seem to get dry skin when I am outdoors.

To gather more information, I partnered with my science teacher to create a fair test using both the Elders knowledge and scientific ways of learning.

I learned that we need to respect cultural knowledge and scientific knowledge.

Materials:

Pickerel (Okath) fish fat

Dropper and small containers

Skin moisture meter

Timer

Soap, water, and paper towels

Procedure:

I sliced the fish fat into small chunks, simmered it for 3 hours to extract the oil. Then recruited five volunteers to test it on. Each volunteer used two equal sized areas of skin:

• One with fish fat (Treatment)

• One without fish fat (Control)

I measured moisture content in both areas, applied fish fat to treatment area, waited 30 minutes, and measured both areas again.

I recorded each participant's moisture levels before and after application and tabulated the results.

Controlled Variables:

Size of skin area

Amount of fish fat

Time before measuring

Room conditions

Skin cleaning before testing

Main Results:

(Table 1)

Skin moisture levels went up by an average of 8.6 units with the application of fish fat. Dry skin without treatment changed by -0.2 units. This means that the improvement was due to the fish fat.

(Table 2)

Skin oil levels with treatment decreased by 11.2 units. Skin oil levels without treatment increased by an average of 2.4 units. Fish fat allowed the skin to absorb the oils and return to normal levels.

Statistical Evidence:

(Table 3)

I used a paired t-test to compare the results before and after for each person.

·   Moisture (with fish fat): p = 0.0016 → significant increase

·   Oil (with fish fat): p = 0.0055 → significant decrease

Both p-values are below 0.05. The results are statistically significant.

Interpretation:

The numbers don't lie, fish fat:

raise moisture in the skin

decreased excess oil upon absorption

Conclusion:

The data concludes that okath fish fat is a natural effective moisturizer. This conclusion backs up my community’s teachings and shows that it is effective through research.

Okath (pickerel) fish fat benefits skin by moisturizing and regulating sebum production.Fish fat is a great option when it comes to natural skin care.

One of the biggest parts of my journey was listening. In our community, we have been told that how we care for our skin and body comes from Mother Earth and the resources she provides us. When my Elders told me that fish fat can help protect our skin I understood because I struggle with dry skin as well.

By listening to the elders and testing their teachings, I was able to prove that their teachings do work. What they tell us is true and can be used today.

Importance:

It teaches us to listen to and learn from our Elders.

It helps keep Indigenous ways of knowing alive.

It gives us solutions that can help people in remote places like where I live.

It inspires us to use what we have around us that is natural.

It respects the sacrifice of any living thing by teaching us to use as much of it as we can and not waste any of it.

Final Thought

If we listen and pay attention to what our Elders have to teach us we can learn from the past and use that information to help us today and tomorrow.

How I can improve my experiment?

I would have tested on more people and for a longer period of time. Also include people with different skin types.

Dream:

I want to create simple skin care product line that are grounded in my culture using both Indigenous knowledge and science to better my community.

Participate in the Traditional days as a speaker presenting the products I made.

How my community can benefit?

It can provide our community with natural and cost effective skin care products using items we have around us. All while allowing us to honor our traditions.

In Appreciation of Those Who Shared Their Knowledge, Guided, and Helped Me:

First I want to thank our medicine people in our community Ivan and Myra Harper. They taught us about traditional medicine on Traditional Day. They gave presentations that helped me think of my project.

Second I want to thank all the staff in our school that helped me and allowed time to do my project. They were patient with me and that allowed me to complete my project.

Third I want to thank my grandparents and family for helping me through this project.

Last I want to thank my friends that helped be participants. They helped me gather data and complete my experiment.

Thank you all for helping make my project stronger.

(n.d.). Skin Problems - Illnesses - Traditional Medicine - Nunavimmiuts - Avataq. Avataq Cultural Institute. https://www.avataq.qc.ca/en/Nunavimmiuts/Traditional-Medicine/Illnesses/Skin-Problems

Huang, T., Wang, P., Yang, S., Chou, W. & Fang, J. (2018). Cosmetic and Therapeutic Applications of Fish Oil's Fatty Acids on the Skin. Marine Drugs 16(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/md16080256

(2024). Upcycling fish byproducts for skin health: An enzymatic approach to sustainable nutricosmetics. ScienceDirect. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfda.2024.03.001

Garrity, C., Garcia-Rovetta, C., Rivas, I., Delatorre, U. & al., e. (2023). Tilapia Fish Skin Treatment of Third-Degree Skin Burns in Murine Model. Journal of Functional Biomaterials 14(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/jfb14100512

(2018). Cosmetic and Therapeutic Applications of Fish Oil’s Fatty Acids on the Skin. Marine Drugs 16(8). https://doi.org/10.3390/md16080256