WATERPIK Skincare was a 2 year R&D project that explores adding skincare and beauty to the shower experience. Working with WATERPIK’s principal engineer and the director of new products, we looked at how we can bring WATERPIK into the skincare space and develop a new skincare system that includes a fixed mount shower head + a handheld shower wand with an integrated rotating body brush.
Scope of work included: consumer/market research, user experience, ergonomic studies, user testing, architecture exploration, form development, iterative rapid prototyping, CMF exploration, and engineering support.
We first looked at the shower experience to see how that affected the system architecture. The system included a fixed shower head, a hose that connects the shower head to the body brush, and a “switch” that either sprays out water or turns on the body brush. We looked at things like where the brush lives when not in use and where this “switch” that allows the user to turn on the brush or spray water will reside.
Next To Shower Head
On A Fixture
On The Wall
Nested In Shower Head
Exploring different ways and areas to mount the body brush when not in use.
Exploring simple mechanical (and electrical) solutions to turn on/off the water and brush + an idea to dispense skincare products directly from the brush.
Interchangeable/replaceable brush head concept.
Idea for a brush extender to reach one’s back + extra brush storage.
Body brush form exploration.
The hero of the skincare system is a hand held shower wand which includes an integrated body brush. Water from the hose moves past a diverter vale which directs the water either to the water nozzle or to the brush engine which spins the brush. This allows the brush to either spin, spray water, or perform both. After conducting a series of user testing, we found that certain households does not have enough water pressure required to effectively spin the brush without the brush stalling when pressed against the skin. Hitting this roadblock, we quickly pivoted to embedding rechargeable batteries cells within the handle to power the spinning brush.
Water Powered Brush
Battery Powered Brush
We had to redesign the size and shape of the handle due to the addition of rechargeable battery cells. The length of the handle had to grow but without the large diverter valve, we were able to slim down the cross section making it much more ergonomic. The engineers at Waterkpik had concerns about running water up the handle past the batteries so they suggested that the hose connected at the top of the brush (behind the bristles) rather than at the bottom of the handle. After prototyping that concept, I quickly realized that 1) the hose created an awkward moment arm and 2) it unpleasantly rubbed against the body while in use. I pushed Waterkpik’s engineers to come up with other solutions and in the end, they were able to relocate the batteries to the top of the brush (behind the bristles) freeing up a pathway in the handle for water to pass.
Battery In The Handle
Battery Behind The Bristles
Charging Explorations
Button Explorations
How To Disconnect Hose
1. Pull
2. Eject
Conductive Charging Puck
