When making skin care products, you want to ensure that you are making a product that has a balanced pH level. The balanced pH for our skin is anywhere between pH of 4 – 7. I tend to aim for a pH of 5.5, but this might need to be slightly higher or lower based on your skin type. It is important to note that skin looks it’s best with a balanced pH level.
Table of Contents
What is pH?
PH is a chemistry term that means potential of hydrogen. In a nutshell, pH is the level of how alkaline or acidic something is. You want to ensure you have a balance ph level so you do not disturb the acid mantle on your skin.
Why does a balanced pH level matter?
It’s all about not disrupting your acid mantle. The acid mantle is a thin layer that protects your skin’s surface from external factors, bacteria and holds moisture in.
When the acid mantle is disrupted, it can cause increased scaling, increased transepidermal water loss and dry skin. Also, your skin may be more prone to acne breakouts and sun damage.
Exclusions:
Sometimes, when making skin care you do not need to worry about a balanced pH level. The exclusions are Nonaqueous products and handmade soap. Let’s go over why:
Nonaqueous products
Products that do not contain water (nonaqueous), such as a balm, do not have a pH. Since pH is a measure of the hydrogen ions, without water there are no hydrogen ions to measure.
This means, if you are creating a whipped body butter, you do not need to worry about testing the ph level.
Handmade Soap
By definition, handmade soap has a high pH level, typically between a pH of 9-10. This can be compensated for a little bit by superfatting. By definition, if the soap pH goes down lower, is it still soap?
I do not worry about the pH level of my homemade soap. I also, do not use a bar of soap on my face. Rather, I use a face wash that I make sure has a balanced pH level.
How to measure pH level?
There are two different ways to measure the pH level of you products: PH meter or pH strips. The pH strips are good to use when you are first starting out. However, they are nowhere near as precise as a pH meter is.
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Adjusting the Ph
Temperature dependant: Remember that pH is temperature dependant.
In order to ensure that we have a product with a balance pH level, we need to test it. When you test the pH, one of three things are going to happen when you test the pH of your product.
- The pH is at or about your range. Cool, you don’t need to do anything further. (This is normally not the case, but it is cool when it happens!)
- The pH is lower than your range; this means that you will need to raise it.
- The pH is higher than your range; meaning that you need to lower it.
Raising PH
Baking Soda: Add a small amount of baking soda to the product and mix well. Wait a few minutes and test again.
Tetrasodium EDTA: Make a 50/50 solution of tetrasodium EDTA and distilled water. Add it to the product a drop or two at a time and mix well. In between adding it, wait a few minutes and test the pH adain.
Lowering PH
Citric Acid: Make a 50/50 solution of citric acid and distilled water. Add it to the product a drop or two at a time and mix well. In between adding the citric acid, wait a few minutes and check the pH level again.
Check out this post on How To Make A 50% Citric Acid Solution.
Sometimes, I will add the citric acid directly to the product without adding in the water. However, I am taking a few grains at a time. Remember, a little bit can make a big difference.
What if I raise or lower the pH too much?
With all things, in time you will get adjusting pH down to a science. However, in the meantime it is always best to work in small batches. I find it a lot less painful to toss an ounce of a product than a pound.
Also, when you first start out, keep a log of everything you do. What ingredients did you use? How much of each? How much citric acid did you use? Etc.
By making sure you have all this information in your testing, when you are scaling the batch you will know how much is needed.
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