Does your skincare routine include products for flaky, red, oily, dry, or prone to a breakout? Chances are at some point in your life you have experienced at least one of these, or maybe even all of them. Your skin’s health is directly linked to the balance between acidity and alkalinity, which is measured by the pH scale.
Soaps, lotions, cleansers, and other skin care products have an effect on the pH level of your skin. The pH level of a substance is measured on a scale of 0 to 14: 0 is the most acidic, 14 is the most alkaline, and 7 is neutral, which is the pH of pure water. Normal adult skin is slightly acidic with a pH level in the range of 5.4 - 5.9.
Maintaining a healthy pH balance on your skin is important. You can quite easily determine the pH level of your skin, by taking a look at it's behavior. For instance, if your skin is oily and acne-prone it may be overly acidic. If it tends to be dry, sensitive and flaky, it may be too alkaline.
So what can you do to maintain this balance? The answer is to use a vegan facial cleanser.
Soap's pH is between 9 and 10, which makes your skin feel very clean, but is just way too harsh. It removes all natural oils from your skin making the pH level too alkaline causing dry, flaky, and skin prone to inflammation. This can cause the sebaceous glands to overproduce oil to compensate for the dryness causing clogged pores and breakouts. When skin is overly dry and flaky, it can also lead to premature fine lines and wrinkles.
Cleansers are generally at a much lower pH level than soaps and are gentler on your skin. Facial cleansers, which have a lower pH level and are specifically designed to cleanse the face.
