The Effects Sunscreen has on the pH of the Water
Question
What happens to the pH of the water when different types of sunscreens are introduced to the water?
Materials
Water
Bowl/beaker
pH tester
SunBum spray sunscreen
Banana Boat spray sunscreen
Coppertone lotion sunscreen
Neutrogena stick sunscreen
Neutrogena face lotion sunscreen
Babyganics spray lotion sunscreen
Obagi lotion sunscreen
Method
1. Fill bowl or beaker with water
2. Test the pH of the water
3. Spray the sunscreen you want to test on your arm
4. Let it set for amount of time I’m testing for
5. Put arm in water for 20 minutes
6. After 20 minutes take hand out
7. Test pH of water
8. Compare pH at the beginning to the pH at the end
Hypothesis
The sunscreen without oxybenzone or octinoxate will change the pH less than sunscreens that have oxybenzone or octinoxate.
Origin Story
When I was in 6th grade, my school had us do sustainability projects. You had a couple weeks to focus on land pollution, air pollution, or water pollution. I’ve always been interested in water pollution and how it’s affecting us. While looking at specific types of water pollution to research, I stumbled across an article about how Hawaii was banning the use of sunscreens with oxybenzone and octinoxate. It intrigued me that something that we use to protect ourselves from the sun could be so deadly to our waters. With the help of my 6th grade English teachers, I put together an essay on why we should focus on fixing sunscreen pollution. When I was trying to come up with a DEEP project, I was thinking about doing something about oil pollution when I remembered the topic that fascinated me most as a 6th grader. While looking through my old documents, I was able to recover my original essay and use it as a reference point. Of course it’s not my best piece of writing, but I can still use it for facts and resources.
Discussion
In these experiments I learned a lot, like not to sit with your hand at an awkward angle for 20 minutes. I also learned that sunscreens change the pH of the water. Although it’s not exactly a big change, it can have a huge impact. Even the slightest change in the water can stress the coral out and cause mass coral bleachings. Not only was I planning on researching whether oxybenzone and octinoxate sunscreens changed the pH more, but I was also trying to find which combination of set times could help reduce the amount of sunscreen that gets washed off your skin. Through the tests I’ve found that the longer I kept the sunscreen on my skin before putting it in the water, the less the pH changed. I also found, sunscreens with oxybenzone and octinoxate don’t change the pH more than sunscreens without oxybenzone and octinoxate, but they change the pH nonetheless.
Ever since its official invention in 1932, sunscreen has been used to protect your skin when you're going to be outside for long periods of time. It provides a layer or protection between our skin and the harmful rays of the sun. Although it wasn't used in lotion form until 1932, for centuries before that people have been using things to protect their skin. All the way back in 3100BC, Egyptians used rice, jasmine, and lupine extracts as a way to protect their skin from the sun. They weren't the only ones though, in Ancient Greece they used olive oil and Indigenous people used pine needles. Later, in the 1930s, an Australian chemist created the first commercial sunscreen, Hamilton. By 1944, sunscreen had been making its way around the world and brands like L’Oreal and Coppertone were beginning to experiment. In 1977, the FDA started approving some brands to be water resistant, but only for 40-80 minutes, then you need to reapply. In 1978, the FDA required all sunscreens to have an SPF label stating the SPF rating of the sunscreen. In 2018, Hawaii banned all sunscreens containing chemicals like Oxybenzone and Octinoxate. They had found that those chemicals were really harmful to the reefs and the marine life living in the reefs.
There are many things that could have gone wrong during my experiments. Many things could have been contaminated such as the bowl/beaker I did my experiments in and my arm. Either one of those could have had chemicals in them that could have changed the pH of the water. To try and battle this problem, I washed my arm and the bowl/beaker each time I used them to ensure that nothing could interfere with the experiments.
Connections
The human condition can be found in a lot of different things. In fact, arguably, it can be found in everything. My experiment also connects to the human condition. In my experiment I focused on a topic that has interested me since 6th grade. Sunscreens containing oxybenzone and octinoxate have been harming coral reefs for years. They can cause coral bleaching. Coral bleaching is when the coral gets too stressed due to a temperature change or a change in the chemicals in the water. This causes the coral to slowly turn white and eventually die. This is caused because us humans decided to add toxic chemicals to something lots of people use at the beach and in general.
Coral is something really important to humans. It supports about half a billion jobs and provides homes to 25% of the sea creatures in the ocean. One of which is a special type of sea slug that is in some cancer fighting compounds. In fact scientists predict we are 300-400 times more likely to find new medicine properties. Of course that’s only if it survives. Coral also protects us physically. Coral reefs help reduce 97% of a wave’s power, and to build sea walls for that same protection, it would cost $2.5 million per mile.
Conclusion
Sunscreen will continue to contaminate the water no matter how long we wait for it to “soak in.” To battle this, you can buy sunscreen labeled “coral friendly” or you can take a second and look at the ingredients for oxybenzone and octinoxate. You can also wear rash guards or swimsuits/clothing that covers more of your skin.