Welcome to Klog Chat, a new series on The Klog where we ask you to tell us how you do skin care and beauty. Today we’re wondering: How does the pH of products impact your skin? The topic of pH can be kind of confusing and intimidating to both skin care beginners and pros. Here we break down the basics and ask for your input!
pH and your face:
pH is a number on a scale from 1 to 14 that expresses whether something is acidic or alkaline (basic), with 7 being the neutral value. A pH lower than 7 is considered acidic and pH higher than 7 is considered alkaline. This sounds more like a middle school science experiment than skin care, right? Well turns out pH can impact skin big time. The pH level of our skin is what determines the ability to fight off bacteria, infections, and even heal damage. This protective layer of our skin is called the acid mantle, and by nurturing our acid mantle we can achieve optimal pH for our skin.
How we test it at The Klog:
Here at The Klog we decided to find the pH for some of the most beloved cleansers we know, like the Son & Park Beauty Water and the Neogen Green Cleansing Stick. This doesn’t just mean emailing a company for all the answers. In addition to that, we set out to do some testing ourselves. The pH tests done in the labs are very controlled and exact, so definitely good data to base any conclusions on. However, doing the test yourself is also an opportunity get very close to those exact values for your own understanding of the products you are using. Not to mention it’s fun and super easy!
First you take a strip and dip it into the product, then you let it sit for about a minute until the color stops changing.
You then hold it up to the reference squares on the package to match the color, and therefore determine the pH value of the product!
Here are our results:
*Disclaimer: We do our own testing and cross reference our results with the companies themselves. As we get new and updated information we will update this chart accordingly.
How do you utilize the pH of products in your skin care routine? What role does it play? Were you surprised by the results of the graph? Discuss in the comment section below!
