Dan Abrams

October 18, 2012

Consumer Product Testing: Shampoo pH

Purpose: The purpose is to see if the shampoos are damaging to the hair and scalp.

Hypothesis/Prediction: If the shampoos’ pHs are between six and eight then they are not

damaging to the hair and scalp.

Procedure: Dip the stirring rod into the shampoo and then the beaker and add ten mL of

water to it. Stir the mixture with the rod until suds form. Dip the pH paper into the

mixture and determine the pH by using the color indicator. Give the shampoo a ph-

Balance score based on how neutral it is. Rinse the beaker and stirring rod and repeat

three more times.

Discussion & Conclusion: Shampoos become damaging when they are not between six

and 8 pH. The results were all between this range, meaning that all of the shampoos were

safe for use. The uncertainty of the experiment came from determining the pH of the

shampoo. The indicator of pH displays multiple colors, which correspond to a certain pH.

The only problem is that the colors are often between two different pHs and it is hard to

tell what pH it is. It is very important to know the precise pH considering the pH scale is

a negative logarithmic scale and each single increase in pH is a tenfold increase in the

concentration of hydrogen ions. Although the exact pHs were not as clear, the overall end

result was apparent that all of the shampoos were between a pH of 6 and 8.