in progress

Will be documenting the whole process here.

context

Whether it was because my mom used to always ask about my skin (and whether I was drinking enough water) or because I over-obsessed about my skin, I used to spend hours of my week leaning over my sink, observing and picking at almost every millimeter and pore of my face. I knew it wasn’t good for me. I knew that the more I picked, poked, and squeezed, the larger my pores would get. The worse my skin would get. But it was so hard for me to stop.

Since high school, I’ve been thinking about making something that would stop me from scrutinizing my face. Now, I want to actually build the thing. So here it is.

ideas

Here’s my thought process whenever my face-analyzing starts to happen:

I’ll be at the mirror–washing my hands or face–when I spot something or feel an uneven dot on my face. I’ll then lean close to the mirror (probably within 2 inches) and see if it’s something immediately fixable (ie pick-at-able). Often it is, and so I’ll continue there for a number of minutes, just going at it. I know in my mind that I should stop, but usually I fall into a default state and just keep going.

I think there are a couple of possible inputs and outputs:

Inputs:

  • Proximity sensor. I need to get close to pick at my face and see where the imperfections are.

Outputs:

  • A mist maker to make my mirror foggy. I need to see clearly to know where the imperfections are.
  • A speaker and annoying voice reminder. I’m usually in that default state when I’m that close to the mirror. And if the only way to stop the voice is to back up, I won’t be able to pick.
  • A bright light. Maybe I just blind myself if I’m really close to the mirror?

BoM

Here are my possible order lists so far for the mist version:

Parts Quantity vers.
Arduino Nano V3.0 (CH340 chipset version ultra mist atomizer) 5
HC-SR04 Sensor: 2 Fan 2
Water level sensor 2
Silicone tube 1 meter
5v one channel relay 2

And for the sound version:

project design and dev

design
electronics