PH for shaving prep.

[sychodelix]

If it's one thing I've learned from this forum, it's a whole lot about shaving prep. Alkalinity of shaving cream is what damages the cuticle of facial hair and allows water and moisturizing oils to penetrate the hair so that it swells up so that it can be cut cleanly and easily. Of course too high of a ph would give you caustic burns but it seems a ph of around 10-11 would be optimal for breaking down the outer layer of hair.

From my research, I've found that Ivory and Dial both have a ph around 10, and this is why old school prep info tells you to thoroughly wash your face first with soap and water. I was just wondering if anybody knows what the ph levels of different shaving creams and shaving soaps, so that we can identify what would make the best prep for breaking down the cuticle and if plain bar soap might be more or less effective than your favorite cream.

Does anybody have some litmus paper to help do some scientific discovery on this?

n/m found a much better thread on the subject than what I posted.

 

[SiBurning]

I posted the pH of soaps and creams for a dozen or so soaps and creams. You should be able to find litmus paper rather easily online. You should be able to find 100 for $2us (plus probably more than that for shipping). Make sure it does the full range of 1-14. Stick with the paper rather than a meter because most meters have trouble with surfactants.

By the way, I don't really believe the idea of pH damaging the cuticles. I won't say it's incorrect science, just that the mechanism as usually described doesn't seem to matter to shaving. It may have some other unknown effect. I just posted something yesterday about water &keratin which is based on an earlier post on the scientific literature on shaving. Heavy reading for folks here, but based on a lot of much heavier reading for me. And still a work in progress.

 

[sychodelix]

Yeah, I know, your thread is a much better reference for the subject. Didn't see it until after I posted this one or I wouldn't have put this one up. You really know your stuff!

 

[SiBurning]

You wouldn't believe the time that goes into some of this. It's hard work that requires more bottom (as in sitting on it) than brains. I really like the simple things, like being able to take $2 worth of litmus paper and post some numbers in a few minutes or hours.

 

[sychodelix]

Hmm...you know, the best way to check if there is any real cuticle damage depending on PH is to look under a microscope. We know for sure that things like bleach and lye eat hair for breakfast, so that does point to there being some correlation with being caustic, but I don't think we really know at what point exactly that PH has to be to damage the follicles. The problem is, bleach is way too caustic and damaging to the skin itself, so at what point can it be a safe PH for damaging the hard outer cuticle for a minute or two, without causing severe skin irritation. Proraso is around 10, so it's obvious that level isn't going to torch your skin. I don't have a microscope, but I'm wondering if you could try checking what a hair looks like during every 5 minutes to direct exposure to the cream to see just how much it really does affect it. It would be even better to find something with a similar PH without all of the surfactants to see the result.

 

[SiBurning]

Did a little of that.

You can find a few more things on my personal wiki page.

Also check out the Science of Shaving wiki page for further research.

 

[sychodelix]

Very nice!

It's just so difficult to tell if its the ph of the Tabac causing it or the moisturizing. Or the water itself. Very tricky to identify which one it is without seperating out some of the variables. But it does prove that at least prepping with cream helps.