Undergraduate thesis.

Generation Z’s are currently in the adolescent stage and now in the process of discovering themselves. As they go over their physiological development, they become curious of the products that they can use, especially for hygiene purposes and for aesthetics. In this era, many products and materials are accessible with the touch of their fingertips. Information about health is also accessible. However, with the new technology, the right to choose what the student can listen to or want to listen to is also existing. To give concrete educational evidence on the use of hygiene products among the students, it is significant that they can see how microorganisms contribute to their health. The study was conducted to evaluate microorganisms in lip tint, Foundation sponge and Hair Comb being shared by adolescent students. Samples were collected from Grade 12 students who agreed to participate in the study. The study determined the types and the colony forming units (CFU) of microorganisms present in the samples. The samples were subjected to a bacterial collection using sanitized cotton swabs. Bacterial culture diversity was done in four streaks in nutrient agar in petri dishes. One petri dish for one sample with three replicates each. Colony morphology of the bacterial growth was done. Each unique colony was subjected to isolation in a butt slant agar containing nutrient agar. All the collected were transported for putative identification. The method used by the identifier is the microscopy, morphological and biochemicals method, to know what the specific microorganisms are. Commonly isolated bacteria from frequently used and shared Lip Tint includes Staphylococcus aureus. Foundation sponge includes Bacillus sp. And traces of Acinetobacter sp.. The most common bacteria in the hair comb are Staphylococcus aureus. The researchers also found out that there is more bacterial growth in Foundation sponge and Hair comb, while the Lip tint is having the least bacterial growth. This may be due to the presence of beeswax in the products used. Beeswax is known to have antimicrobial properties that could have restricted the growth of the bacteria. The researchers also found out that the majority of the participants or the owners of the lip tint, hair comb and foundation have minimal awareness of the microbial contamination that they could get from sharing different hygiene kits. This shows the level of awareness in terms of health education and hygiene among adolescent participants. Health education for hygiene can significantly increase this low awareness among adolescent participants.