Why pH Levels Matter for Healthy Skin : Dr.Shivani

What is meant by Skin pH?

The full form of the term “pH” is the potential of hydrogen which explains about the acidic or basic nature of water or water containing solutions due to the activity of hydrogen ions in it; as chemically water contains two molecules of hydrogen. If, we do a pH test of a solution and it shows lesser than 7 pH then, that solution is considered as acidic while, the solutions with more than 7 pH then, it is considered as basic in nature.

Skin is considered as a 1^st line of defense between the external environment and our body. Our Skin pH is naturally acidic in nature (around 4-5 pH) that’s why it is important to use skin care products which are acidic in nature. Try using ADHYAY Shata Dhauta Ghrita Skin Repair Emollient - Made with 100 Times washed Cow Ghee. Which has optimal pH of 5.5

What does skin’s acid mantle do?

Acid mantle means the acidification of Stratum corneum (outermost layer of skin) which helps a lot to skin by:

• creating barrier against harmful pathogens
• keeping stratum corneum intact
• maintaining defense against anti-microbes

Is there any difference between the skin pH of children and adults?

Yes, the skin pH of neonates (newly born child) is always higher than adults which significantly decreases as the child grows. The skin pH of a newly born baby is slightly higher than the neutral pH which later turns into acidic when, the formation of acid mantle occurs.

What are the specific skin sites which have higher pH?

Everything in this world is not perfect and this is true about our skin too. There are some of the specific sites which lack this physiological acid barrier to harmful pathogens. These are –

• interdigital spaces between our fingers and toes.
• Some intertriginous areas of our body like axilla, groin region, inframammary folds, skin folds behind the ears.

The pH of these specific skin sites is higher than other sites which makes these areas more prone to various kind of fungal infections or any kind of pathogenic invasions. The higher pH of the axilla may not inhibit the colonization of various bad odor producing bacteria like propioni bacteria as well as staphylococcus to take care of these problems many of the deodorants contains citrates to reduce the pH of our axillary skin areas which helps to reduce the bacterial activity.

Where we can find higher pH in our body?

Alkaline pH is common in chronic wound conditions which increases the risk of invasion of bacteria.

What are the general factors which can affect the skin pH?

• Newborns and old age persons can have significantly higher pH which results in lower natural skin defense against pathogens and this leads to many unwanted infections or lower immunity in these age groups.
• According to some research, it was found that lighter skin persons have slightly higher pH than the darker skin shades. But the results are statistically insignificant.
• Excessive use of soaps, detergents or even water can raise the skin pH that’s why we should avoid washing our face or skin multiple times.

REFERENCES:

• Kuo SH, Shen CJ, Shen CF, Cheng CM. Role of pH Value in Clinically Relevant Diagnosis. Diagnostics (Basel). 2020 Feb 16;10(2):107. doi: 10.3390/diagnostics10020107. PMID: 32079129; PMCID: PMC7167948.
• Ali, S. M., & Yosipovitch, G. (2013). Skin pH: From Basic SciencE to Basic Skin Care. Acta Dermato-Venereologica, 93(3), 261–267. https://doi.org/10.2340/00015555-1531