Make your own shampoo experiment

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Miki1011
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Make your own shampoo experiment

Post by Miki1011 »

Why do we need acetone, can’t we just use plain oil?
17eugenekim
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Re: Make your own shampoo experiment

Post by 17eugenekim »

Hi there,

Welcome to Science Buddies!

I assume you're referring to this experiment: https://www.sciencebuddies.org/science- ... #procedure

My understanding is that the acetone helps make the experiment more "realistic," i.e. the oily wool will more closely resemble oily hair. The oil dissolves in acetone, and the resulting mixture is a less viscous fluid that is going to feel more like penetrating oil (think WD-40). That mixture can easily coat & penetrate tiny pockets in the wool, just like in our hair; then, after the acetone dries off (which happens very fast, because acetone is a volatile compound), the leftover oil is stuck all over the wool. This gives the wool a much more waxy, coated texture that better resembles oily hair. You can surely try it without the acetone, but I suspect the results will be different.

This was a good question -- it shows that you're thinking critically about the components you're using, and why you're using them. Keep up the good work, and keep us posted on how your experiment goes!
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