Open Collections

Replication Data for - Moisture Matters: Determining Which Moisturizer Base Will Affect the Growth of E. Coli and Yeast.

Barsky, Rebecca

Many individuals use moisturizers daily without a second thought. However, immunocompromised people struggle with the risk of contamination when choosing the right cosmetics. The objective of this experiment was to examine the effects of E. coli and yeast on different moisturizer bases: oil, water, and silicone. The hypothesis was that if E. coli and yeast were introduced into three types of moisturizer products, silicone, water, and oil-based, then it was anticipated the E. coli and yeast would develop most in an oil-based product, the least in a silicone-based product, and fairly in a water-based product. To test this hypothesis, agar plates were prepared for bacteria growth. Then, E. coli and yeast were cultured and introduced with sterile filter paper discs containing three types of moisturizer solutions and distilled water as a control. After the incubation period, the growth was measured and recorded in the lab. Data analysis was performed in MS Excel and results were analyzed and visualized. The experiment’s results supported the study’s hypothesis. Both E. coli and yeast developed the most on average in the oil-based moisturizer (E. coli – 8.2mm; yeast - 10.3mm), the least in the silicone-based product (E. coli – 5.4mm; yeast – 5.4mm), and intermediately in the water-based lotion (E. coli - 6.4mm; yeast – 9mm). Interestingly, the control group exhibited that E. coli did not thrive in distilled water (3.5mm), however, yeast generated the most prevalent growth (20.6mm). The study results concluded that immunosuppressed individuals could benefit the most from silicone-based moisturizers as these are the least prone to bacteria and yeast contamination. Also, these users might want to avoid using oil-based moisturizers as this type is the most susceptible to E. coli and yeast contamination. This project could lead to further research about other cosmetic products and their contamination health risks.

Dataset

2024-03-26

CC-BY 4.0

https://doi.org/10.5683/SP3/UMLRBT

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0