Judging Criteria
Theme: What if?
SunBrew is a revolutionary new product that will change the way sunscreen interacts with the environment forever! Our team, CAFFEiNATION, have some major concerns about commercial sunscreens: Oxybenzone and other harmful ingredients are used very frequently. These chemicals greatly harm aquatic life, so replacing the most toxic materials is ideal. We found that coffee grounds are a greatly wasted product that we wanted to reuse. So, what if we could make a natural sunscreen that is safe for the skin and aquatic life? Therefore, SunBrew was born!
Viability
Creating a viable product was of utmost importance to our team. We used a spectrophotometer, a new field that we hadn't explored, that showed if we had a viable product. We also used UV detecting beads that would show if our lotion actually absorbed the UV light. We made sure that all aspects of the rubric were followed and our team made sure we used the most natural and effective ingredients to make our lotion.
Creativity and Innovation
Natural sunscreens scatter the internet and have for years; so what makes SunBrew different? SunBrew contains ZERO zinc oxide but still contains SPF protection. Also, the reused coffee grounds greatly reduces the amount of waste in the nation.
Cross-Cutting Concept Integration
Structure and Function:
SunBrew is such an incredible cutting-edge product. The sunscreen we created uses so many different natural products that will change the sunscreen world forever. We looked into what ingredients are in commercial sunscreens for different purposes (for example, moisturizing and UV protection). We found that some were not harmful and then others were. We researched what ingredients could be substituted with natural ingredients for our sunscreen.
SunBrew is such an incredible cutting-edge product. The sunscreen we created uses so many different natural products that will change the sunscreen world forever. We looked into what ingredients are in commercial sunscreens for different purposes (for example, moisturizing and UV protection). We found that some were not harmful and then others were. We researched what ingredients could be substituted with natural ingredients for our sunscreen.
Modeling and Prototyping
Visit our modeling and prototype page to see how we made our 4 different lotion formulas!
Expert Input
Dr. Richard Molinelli, a professor from Western Connecticut State University, worked with us in his lab to test our product using UV-Visible Spectrometry. With this, we received important input on the best composition for our sunscreen and acquired quantitative data on how much UV Light each sample absorbs.