Skin's pH Balance Explained - And How to Restore Damaged pH Barrier

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Lately, the phrase “skin’s pH balance” has been thrown around everywhere. You’ll hear it wherever beauty treatments are present, from dermatologist offices to department store aisles. Additionally, pH-focused beauty products like cleansers, moisturisers, and toners are taking over skincare trends.

With all these talks about pH levels in skincare products, do we know what pH is? Why do we need to keep it balanced? How does it affect our overall skin health? If you’re a bit confused, let us explain all about your skin’s pH balance.

What is the pH level of the skin?

pH is the abbreviated term for “potential of hydrogen”. On a numeric scale, the pH of a solution can go between 0 and 14. pH neutral is 7; when a solution’s pH goes below 7, it’s acidic, while when it’s above 7, it’s alkaline.

Our skin’s surface has a surprisingly acidic pH level. It may vary from person to person, but the average pH level of the skin is 5.5. As we age, our skin’s pH level becomes more acidic due to our lifestyle and environment.

The concept of our skin’s pH level is like the term “acid mantle”. The acid mantle is the term used in referring to the acidic nature of our skin’s surface. It’s a thin film made of sebum, sweat, and dead skin cells located on the surface of our skin that serves as a shield from bacteria and preserves our skin’s microbiome.

Keeping our skin’s pH level balanced is important. When the acid mantle is too acidic or too alkaline, our skin will act up and cause different skin conditions such as dermatitis, rosacea, acne, and eczema. Additionally, skincare products can influence the pH balance of our skin, which is why we need to be more aware of the pH level of skincare products.

How can your skin’s pH get destroyed?

Anything can throw your skin’s pH out of balance. The slight disturbance to the acid mantle of the skin makes it vulnerable to bacteria, environmental stressors, and other threats. Here are the most common skin offenders that disrupt your pH balance:

Chemicals and toxins: Chemical emulsifiers found in cleansers, makeup, and laundry detergent can wipe out your skin’s natural oils, which serve as protection.
Hormones: When your oestrogen and progesterone levels shift, your skin can produce excess oil which throws off your pH balance.
Unbalanced products: Most skincare, soap, and hair care products can be too alkaline or too acidic.
Diet: The food that you eat has no direct relation to the pH levels of the skin, however, GMO’s and added hormones in food can affect your hormones as well.

Alongside these pH balance aggressors, other ways you can throw your skin off balance is by scrubbing your skin too hard and using too much hot water.

Signs of Damage to Your Skin’s pH Barrier

When your skin’s pH barrier is damaged, your skin’s overall health will be affected and will be penetrable to infections. A pH level that is too alkaline causes skin dryness resulting in problems like eczema and wrinkles. Meanwhile, if your skin’s pH level is too acidic, it will undergo redness and inflammation, which triggers acne and rosacea.

How do you restore pH levels in the skin?

Once you have determined the scale of your skin’s pH balance, you’ll need to ditch skincare products that contain harsh ingredients like parabens, fragrance, SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate), and BHT (synthetic antioxidants).

You can also repair the pH barrier of your skin naturally with ingredients like ceramides, urea, HA, or aloe vera. Together with a comprehensive Korean pH-balancing skincare routine, healthy lifestyle habits can also boost your skin’s pH level back to its natural balance.

Korean Products That Protect and Restore the pH Level of Your Skin

Proper cleansing is essential when restoring your skin’s pH balance. However, looking for the pH level of the right product and reading the fine print can be a bit of a hassle. With this, we’ve rounded up some of the best Korean pH-balancing products to help you out.

Cleansers

There can be a lot of facial cleansers that are too alkaline for the skin. It may feel like your face is thoroughly cleansed. But it disrupts your natural pH level making your skin dry and irritated.

One of the best gentle cleansers in K-beauty is COSRX Low pH Good Morning Gel Cleanser. It has a low pH formula that doesn’t strip the natural oils from your skin. Additionally, another cleanser is Missha Near Skin pH Balancing Cleansing Foam. It restores pH levels in the skin’s protective layer to cleanse bacteria if your skin pH level is too alkaline.

Toner

Using toner resets your skin to its normal condition, which is why you shouldn’t skip it after cleansing. Toners also provide immediate hydration and serve as an effective makeup remover.

Our top recommendation is HYGGEE – Own Vegan Calming Toner. It’s a multitasking toner that suits all skin types and has a pH level of 4.5, which is effective in resetting your skin’s natural pH balance. Another great toner that balances your skin’s pH barrier is ACWell Licorice pH Balancing Cleansing Toner. With a pH level of 5.5, this brightening toner deep cleans dirt from your face without disrupting your skin’s pH barrier.

Essence

Essences have a lightweight formula that doesn’t contain any ingredients that clog pores or feel greasy. We recommend using heimish – All Clean Low pH AHA/PHA Hydro Vegan Essence a 4.5 pH essence that has glycolic and lactic acids that help regenerate collagen and even out the skin tone.

Additionally, Acwell Licorice pH Balancing Essence Mist is also a great essence packed with liquorice water, liquorice root extracts, and moisture-locking bamboo water for that hydration boost.

Moisturiser

Whatever your skin type is, you shouldn’t skip the moisturiser. When you don’t use moisturiser, your skin increases its production of sebum which will make your skin look oily.

Some of the best Korean moisturisers are Muldream – Vegan Green Mild Fresh Facial Cream for acne-prone skin and Etude House – Soon Jung Centella Hydro Barrier Cream for irritated skin.

Sunscreen

The key to youthful-looking skin is sunscreen. It protects your skin from environmental aggressors that can irritate your skin. One of our favourite and reliable Korean sunscreens is SWANICOCO Daily Soft Sun Milk. It has a pH level of 5.5 which prevents the damaging of your skin’s acid mantle.

Whether you’re aware of it or not, pH level in skincare products affects your skin which can easily influence your skin’s health. Because of this, Korean brands became mindful of the pH level of skincare products. Once you have determined the pH state of your skin, it will be easier to find the right product that your skin needs.