5 Tips to Maintain Your Skin’s pH Level

In chemistry, pH is a scale used to specify how acidic or alkaline a solution is. The pH values of most solutions fall into a range of 0 to 14, where 0 is the most acidic (think battery acid), 7 is neutral (pure water), and 14 is the most alkaline (for example, lye).

The human skin also has a pH level. It may sound surprising, but healthy skin pH is not neutral; it is in fact more on the acidic side. Ideally, skin pH level should be around 5.5, but in reality it can range from 4.8 to 6, depending on your skin type.

Acidity helps the skin combat pathogenic microbes and maintain a healthy flora, as well as to neutralize the harmful effects of free radicals in order to prevent premature aging. Sadly, there are a lot of factors that can disturb your skin’s pH; they include, but are not limited to, tap water, harsh facial cleansers, skincare products that do not match your skin type, air pollution, excessive sweating, and sun exposure.

Because of this, it is important to know how to restore the healthy pH of your skin and maintain it. Here are a few tips on balancing your skin’s pH level.

Use a Gentle Facial Cleanser

For generations, women have used soap to wash their face. The biggest problem with soap is that it has an alkaline pH that adversely affects the skin’s optimal pH level. Facial cleansers formulated with harsh surfactants such as SLS/SLES also have this effect. To protect your skin pH, you should wash your face with gentle cleansers that have a balanced pH level and don’t contain any harsh chemicals.

Check this out: 5 Ingredients to Avoid in Your Face Wash

Use a Skin Toner

Skin toners are specifically designed to balance skin pH after washing your face. Even if you’re using a pH-balanced facial cleanser, tap water affects your skin’s pH; using a skin toner will help bring it back to normal. If you’re a fan of DIY skincare products, try using apple cider vinegar. Dilute half a cup of apple cider vinegar with four cups of water and pour the mixture into a spray bottle. Use it as a toner every time you wash your face.

Check this out: How to Choose the Right Face Toner

Moisturize

We’ve already mentioned above that hydration is very important for the health of your skin. One of the reasons it is so important is that moisture helps maintain the skin’s protective mantle responsible for its acidic pH. If your skin doesn’t get enough moisture, the mantle gets damaged, leaving your skin vulnerable. Moisturizing religiously will help rebuild the natural protective barrier of the skin and maintain its pH balance.

Check this out: How to Pick the Right Moisturizer for Your Skin Type

Be Careful with Acidic Skincare Ingredients

Skincare products with alpha and beta hydroxy acids, retinoic acid, and other acidic ingredients are quite popular these days. They help slough off dead cells, even out skin tone, stimulate skin regeneration and renewal. However, they also inevitably affect skin pH, so it is very important to use them carefully and follow up with a toner and a moisturizer to balance the skin.

Check this out: Pros and Cons of Using Salicylic Acid for Acne-Prone Skin

Use Sunscreen

Sun exposure is one of the factors that disturb skin pH, so it is very important to apply sunscreen before going out into the sun all the year round. Not only will it help maintain your skin pH, but it will also protect your skin from sun damage that may result in serious problems such as skin cancer.

Check this out: How to Choose the Best Sunscreen for Your Face