Understanding Skin: The Role of pH in Skin Health

The lessons on pH go beyond high school chemistry. If you’re big on skincare and love experimenting with new regimens and products, understanding what is pH and its role in skincare is crucial.

Keynotes:

• Understanding what is the pH value of skin is crucial for maintaining balanced, strengthened, and healthy skin.
• The human skin maintains a slightly acidic range between 4.7–5.75 to support barrier function, moisture retention, and microbial defence.
• Imbalanced pH in skin is often caused by harsh cleansers or alkaline products. It can lead to acne, dryness, and irritation.
• Using pH-balanced, soap-free skincare helps maintain the acid mantle and skin health. Dermatologically tested products like Eucerin’s DermoPurifyer range can support pH balance and skin clarity.

pH or ‘potential of hydrogen’ is a 14-point scale that indicates how acidic or alkaline something is, where 0 has the highest acidic value and 14 has the highest alkaline value, with 7 being neutral. Everything has its natural pH value, and the pH value of skin tilts towards the acidic side and is slightly lower than 7.

This low pH of the skin is known as its acidic mantle. The acidic mantle acts as a protective layer that shields your skin from environmental aggressors, retains moisture, and allows an antimicrobial barrier to exist between your skin and pathogens. This barrier prevents bacterial skin concerns, such as staph infection.

The optimal pH value of skin on most of your face and body lies between 4.7 and 5.75. The skin is an active organ too, and maintaining this acidic pH in the skin is crucial to keep its functioning balanced. The ideal pH in skin has a number of functions, such as:

1. Skin Functioning:

   The outer layer of your skin (stratum corneum) goes through a cycle where skin cells grow, mature, and eventually shed. An acidic environment helps your skin balance the process.

2. Barrier Strength:

   The skin barrier is made up of fats, especially ceramides. An acidic pH helps enzymes produce ceramides, which lock in moisture and block out irritants.

3. Immunity:

   Many skin concerns and inflammatory skin disorders like atopic dermatitis (AD), contact dermatitis, psoriasis, fungal infections, and acne can be caused due to a high skin pH or a compromised acidic mantle.

4. Skin Renewal:

   Your skin naturally sheds dead cells using certain enzymes that work properly in a slightly acidic environment. If the pH in skin is off balance, you may shed dead skin too fast or too slow, compromising your skin texture.

Some studies also show that maintaining a low pH in skin may help your wounds heal faster and can reduce the risk of infections.

Did you know?
Newborn babies have a nearly neutral pH of around 7, and within a few weeks, it begins to shift to a more acidic level. As humans begin to age, the pH value of skin begins to tip towards the alkaline level again.

Harsh cleansing, exfoliating, and using other alkaline products can take a toll on the pH in skin. This imbalance can invite several skin concerns, despite following a proper skin regimen. 

• 1. Acne

  A shift in the natural pH value of skin leaves it vulnerable to infectious and inflammatory conditions like acne. If your skin pH isn’t acidic, the composition of natural bacterial flora on your skin changes. Bacteria like P. acnes and Staphylococcus aureus may increase, and the functioning of acne-fighting peptides may decrease, making your skin more prone to infection. Research also suggests that anti-acne products that are not pH balanced may be making your treatment ineffective. While several factors can be responsible for your acne, these flare-ups are often accompanied by a compromised skin barrier and a low level of ceramides.

• 2. Dryness

  A healthy, balanced, and slightly acidic pH in skin helps you maintain its lipid structure. This keeps your skin barrier intact and prevents concerns like TEWL (Transepidermal Water Loss), where your skin loses hydration through its surface. The acidic pH value of skin also goes hand-in-hand with the Natural Moisturizing Factors (NMFs) that are present on the outermost layer of the skin and keep it hydrated.

• 3. Irritation

  When there’s a high pH in skin, or when your skin is more alkaline, it is more vulnerable to irritation caused by your daily skincare products. Even common ingredients like sulfates, found in cleansers and acne treatments, can cause severe irritation. This irritation disrupts the protective barrier of your skin and may lead to inflammation. All factors combined, an alkaline pH may even give you induced acne or acne caused by products.

While some non-modifiable factors, such as age, ethnicity, and gender, affect the pH of your skin, many modifiable factors play a role too. With the latter in your reach, it’s best to tweak your skin regimen to keep your skin pH balanced.

• Select pH-Balanced Cleansers and Products
  
  Many traditional soaps and soap-based cleansers are alkaline and have a high pH, which can strip your skin’s moisture and disrupt its acid mantle. Studies show that cleansers have a direct effect on pH in skin, and even alkaline tap water can increase your skin’s pH for a few hours. This is why it’s best to switch to gentle, pH-balanced cleansers and toners that are labelled as soap-free. This small change can help you prevent moisture loss while keeping your skin’s immunity intact.
  
  We Recommend: DermoPurifyer Triple Effect Cleansing Gel

• Steer Clear of Harsh Chemicals
  
  Very harsh skincare ingredients may affect your skin’s pH, weakening its defence mechanisms. Strong sulfates, alcohol, fragrances, and foaming, soap-based products may be alkaline in nature, affecting your skin’s pH. Even hard tap water can compromise your skin’s acidic mantle. This is why using a toner becomes crucial for skincare.
  
  We Recommend: DermoPurifyer Toner - Face Toner for Oily Skin

The pH in skin or its acidic mantle may be invisible, however, it largely dictates how healthy or compromised your skin will be. Maintaining a slightly acidic pH value of skin is key for maintaining hydration, clarity, and barrier strength. Ensure that your skincare products are dermatologically tested and pH-balanced to give your skin the best care. For science-backed skincare, look no further than Eucerin.

1. What is the ideal pH level for skin?

   Typically, healthy human skin has a slightly acidic pH value between 4.7 and 5.75. This acidic mantle helps your skin maintain its immunity and moisture while balancing its regular skin cell regeneration.

2. How can I tell if my skincare products are pH-balanced?

   Look for skincare products with labels that state ‘pH-balanced.’ You can also read the product’s description or consult your dermatologist. If you’re uncertain about the cleansers or water you’re using, it’s best to add a toner to your regimen.

3. Can pH imbalance cause acne or irritation?

   Yes. An imbalance in pH in the skin can make it more vulnerable to acne-causing bacteria and harsh products. A compromised acidic mantle leads to inflammation and skin sensitivity, too.

4. How do I restore my skin’s natural pH?

   Use gentle, pH-balanced products, and avoid harsh soaps or alcohol-based products. Add hydrating toners, moisturizers and consult your dermatologist for a proper regimen.

• Eucerin – Skin’s pH – what is it and why is it important?
• PubMed Central (PMC) – The Importance of Skin pH
• IJDVL (Indian Journal of Dermatology, Venereology and Leprology) – Acid mantle: What we need to know
• MDPI (Cosmetics Journal) – The Importance of Maintaining the Natural pH of the Skin
• Wiley Online Library – Effect of cleansers on the skin barrier and pH: A randomized clinical study