All About Balance: Why pH Balance Skin Care Matters for Acne

by bb on Mar 03, 2020

When it comes to acne, we all generally know the most common facts and the culprits, but one of the most undisclosed contributor to pimple breakouts is the relationship between pH balance skin care and acne. So, today we'll dive into why keeping a balanced pH level is important to keep acne under control. ph level and acne insert image

What is pH level

Do you remember those rainbow colored strip of paper in science class back in middle school? pH is the measure of how acidic or alkaline something is. So, when it comes to discussing pH level on the skin, it is to measure how much skin is acidic or alkaline. There is a scale of 1-14, with 1 being the most acidic and 14 being the most alkaline, making 7 the neutral (consider water neutral).Our skin has a protective layer on the surface which is referred to as the acid mantle. This acid mantle is what protects the skin however, if the pH level of this acid mantle is too alkaline or too acidic, the mantle is disturbed and can lead to different skin concerns such as acne, dryness, loss of elasticity and even rosacea.

How does pH affect my skin?

Yes, the neautral pH level is 7 considering the range between 1 to 14. However, if you ask what is the optimal level of pH level for our skin - it is most commonly known to be pH level of 5. to 5.5, which is slightly acidic. If the skin becomes either too acidic or alkaline, it can break the skin's moisture and oil balance and lead to outbreaks of different skin concerns. So, let's learn what happens when skin becomes either too acidic or too alkaline - and learn how to keep the balance again!

Too acidic

In this situation, the pH balance of the skin has a number lower than the ideal level of a slightly acidic 5.5. When this number drops lower, what happens? The skin become overly oily as an attempt to balance itself out. The pores become dilated, too much oil forms on the skin, resulting in easily clogged pores that trap dirt and excess oil. When these substances get trapped, the pores cannot breath and acne bacteria begins to fester.

“What can I do?!”

Balancing the overly acidic skin back to neutral can simply be done with good gel cleansers. Adding a gel cleanser with a good balance of pH level to remove excess oil and unclog pores, will help to balance the pH level of the skin and prevent skin from having breakouts.

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Too alkaline

When the skin has a high pH level over 6.5+, this will indicate alkalinity. In this case, the skin generally is too dry and will feel tight, irritated, dehydrated, and appear to have fine lines and even wrinkles. You may develop acne due the the dryness of the skin. Dry skin acne is caused when dead skin cells build up on the surface layer of the face, causing pores to become clogged with dead skin cells, dirt, and bacteria.

“How can I fix this?!”

The pH level can be improved by using gentle foam cleansers instead of gel cleansers. Skip out on the morning cleanse and only wash your face at night to reduce the chance of overly stripping off moisture off from the skin. Consider exfoliating the skin once a week to remove the build up of dead skin cells, ensuring your pores can breath.