It's More than a Weed, It's Sun Screen

Overview

Objectives/Goals This project's objective was to find out if dandelion extract had superior UV protection properties when tested against SPF 15, 30, and 50 Coppertone sunscreens. Methods/Materials For this experiment UV sensitive paper, SPF 15, 30 and 50 sunscreens, Dandelion extract and Ziploc bags were used. 120 UV sensitive papers (papers that start off blue and turn white according to how much UV radiation impacts the paper) were put in to individual Ziploc bags. 0.6 ounces of the Dandelion extract was smeared evenly on 30 papers and the same was done with all the other sunscreens. These papers were then simultaneously taken out and exposed to the sun for 15 minutes, and then soaked in water to stop the chemical reaction. Each paper was then marked a specific number 0-5 (0 being the best) to mark the sunscreens efficiency. Each sunscreen was then given an average from the sun scale, once again 0 being the best. Results SPF 15 had an average of 1.23, SPF 30 had 1.10, and SPF 50 had 0.93, whereas the Dandelion extract had an average of 0.5. The hypothesis was that Dandelion extract would be as effective as SPF 30 sunscreen, but the results showed that the extract was even more effective than SPF 50 sunscreen Conclusions/Discussion The tested Dandelion extract proved to provide better protection against the sun's UV rays than the commercial Coppertone products having SPF 15, 30 and 50.

Awards (1)

• First Place

Competition history

• CSEF 2015 Product Science (Biological) (Junior Division Only) · Entry J1923

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

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