As a team, we firmly believe that health preservation, possession of knowledge, and confidence in yourself are all basic rights that everyone deserves. (format this however yall want, but maybe separate it a bit from the next part somehow)

We recognized that repellents were often inaccessible to two special groups: people with skin conditions and people with limited hand mobility.

While on a mission to learn about our project viability with experts in different fields, we encountered an additional piece of advice that became an essential part of our project. These interviews(link to where we talk abt it more) further reaffirmed our understanding that a lot of people with more sensitive skin conditions, like eczema for example, can not use DEET based repellents as it would cause contact dermatitis. It has been documented that exposure to products containing DEET could cause skin irritation, varying severity of rashes, and even blisters. The risk of these side effects discourages users and forces them to use other types of repellents that are often less effective while also being more expensive. Borohma seeks to solve this issue through using a formula that is non-toxic and irritant free.

Furthermore, we recognized another problem of how most repellents are alcohol based despite alcohol being a common allergen in East Asian populations like that in Taiwan. About 36% of East Asians (560 million) or almost 8% of the global population carries a mutation in the ALDH2 gene resulting in an inability to metabolize toxic acetaldehydes abundant in alcohol. Prolonged exposure to alcohol, as is the case with insect repellents that need to be frequently reapplied, can cause contact dermatitis, resulting in varying severity of rashes. Dr. Chen suggested alternative mediums like creams, oil, or water bases that could make our product more inclusive to this large percentage of our target audience who are allergic to alcohol.

Our team sought to provide everyone with the ability to protect themselves from pests of all kinds, which is why we choose borneol, a natural compound, encased safely in minicels that are contained in a water based medium. At our product's core, is a harmless yet effective fragrant repellent whose customizable scents means that consumers can screen for further allergens in the fragrances. Our interviews with healthcare professionals ensured that our product is as safe and viable as it can be.

When we were teaching lower school children on the importance of insect repellents and empowering them to take charge of their health, we identified another problem with the repellent market. These students struggled to press down on the spray bottle to use their newly created fragrant insect repellents.(insert pic of the spray bottles we used next to popular repellents with similar design, we will find it later) If even able bodied children struggled with this bottle design, how would those with arthritis, muscular dystrophy, or even hand injuries use it. We knew we had to create a solution that addressed the needs of those with limited mobility or manual dexterity.

Thus our human practice team worked with our dry lab team to create the Borohma Spray, an innovative spray bottle designed for people with disabilities in mind. We talked to elderly people with arthritis and medical professionals to create an inclusive spray bottle. (insert design description and picture once drylab figures it out)

Furthermore, we wanted to account for the needs of people who are visually impaired. Our team worked to design an inclusive label for our product. Our label features high contrasting colors, large print text, and tactile features. (work with art team to create this)

We wanted to create a viable and attractive solution to insect borne diseases globally and educate others on the impacts of insect borne diseases.

We wanted to reach out to a diverse audience in order to create a product that is suitable for a large number of people. Thus, we created an online survey(link to wherever we talk more abt it) and sent it to people all around the world. Respondents came from Taiwan, America, Australia, and more. The 87.4% that responded stating that pests are an issue in their country further proves the large potential for a product that targets this problem. (probably insert charts for data)

We believe that everyone should feel confident in the body they possess and understand the smell in a large part of it. Borohma seeks to end the practice of sacrificing one’s presentation for protection from pests and vice versa.

Talk abt negative self image in teenagers and connect to us Fragrances are not only for girls

There is a product for everyone(link to wherever this is)