pH of Traditional Shaving Creams & Soaps

[Extrawurst]

Ist there even auch a thing like an acidic mantle?
Yes, our skin is slightly acidic, but it's unclear if it's on purpose or because of other influences. The advertising industry uses this term as an argument for selling products, but there's no scientific proof for it.
Either way the skin returns to it's acidic state quickly.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

I can't tell if you're just being obstinate, or if you are confused. Of course everything is a chemical, and of course many "natural" things are dangerous. We can all agree on that.

I'm not sure what you are saying when say products are "balanced" using citric acid. Are you still talking about pH? I can tell you that when a soaper adds sodium citrate to his soap, he is not doing so to balance the pH. It is being used as a chelator. That is to say, sodium citrate helps to take magnesium and calcium out of the lather, to allow for easier lathering.

The cheltating effect of the citric acid is directly related to lowering the pH.

 

[patrickBOOTH]

With your acknowledgement of the famous YMMV, I suggest getting some artisan soap made by a reputable vendor of your choosing and use in the place of your normal soaps and shampoos for a couple weeks to a month. It will be the only way for you to truly know and gauge which your skin/hair/body likes and or reacts best to.
If you notice no difference, go back to using whatever you were using before. If you like the results, it's up to you to decide if what to continue to use real soap. And it goes without saying that if you react badly, stop using the real soap asap.
But, you'll never truly know untill you try real soap for yourself. Good luck to you!

I definitely plan to try it out, however I have different experiences using natural soaps on my hair. For whatever reason I had to wash my hair everyday or I got dandruff. It could be unrelated to the pH, but switching to a traditional "shampoo" lets me go every other day between washes without any flakes.

 

[Javelin]

As with anything I think there is a bit of groupthink here. I am curious if there are actual studies that show effects of various pH's on skin aside from biased (this is a traditional shaving forum) anecdotal evidence. As much as pH is hyped so is irritation by sulfates. I think some of it is largely public perception, and psychosomatic. Also, sulfates are even in high-end non-mass produced products. Also many sulfates used aren't nearly as harsh as those listed above such as Sodium Lauroyl Methyl Isethionate, Dosodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, and Sodium Laurel Sarcosinate and sodium isethionate. I know large corporations have a rep for being the devil, but they also have access to capital that many soapmakers, well, don't. There is a lot invested in R&D and these large companies test products on real people and see that they get positive results before going to market so I am skeptical to just fall into the "corporations that mass produce products are the devil" camp.

I'm just playing the devil's advocate here because the pH thing is interesting to me and wondering if there is any scientific material out here. I have no strong feelings either way, but I do know a little bit about chemistry. As to washing your hair with soap, alkalinity will cause mineral build-up (what people traditionally call soap-scum) if you have hard water and can leave a weird tacky feel to hair, but as with most things YMMV.

I have short hair and do not get mineral build up. People with longer hair who it bothers generally use a diluted vinegar rinse occasionally to control any mineral build up.

 

[ciderguy]

I think the important thing here, other than the numerous benefits observed by members here is that a small amount of product won't significantly change the pH of skin - the 'buffering capacity' of the human body/skin is far greater than any effect a small amount of product can have. Of course it will vary considerably from person to person, but in general I don't think there's any reason people would be using 'older or traditional' products just because they are 'traditional,' it's because we feel and observe that they work better than modern offerings with more synthetic ingredients in them that can tend to cause irritation to people.

Maybe not empirical evidence, but I doubt even with a deep review of dermatological journals that you're likely to find consensus on this particular topic.

I have a feeling the pH of the tap water has a greater overall effect on the pH of one's skin after washing than the pH of the cleansing product. Apparently, EPA guidelines for tap water are between 6.5-8.5. If one is worried about the acid mantle, it seems like after rinsing, an application of a solution with a buffered pH near that of skin would likely be effective.

 

[ahoiberg]

I have a feeling the pH of the tap water has a greater overall effect on the pH of one's skin after washing than the pH of the cleansing product. Apparently, EPA guidelines for tap water are between 6.5-8.5. If one is worried about the acid mantle, it seems like after rinsing, an application of a solution with a buffered pH near that of skin would likely be effective.

Great point. Our tap water in central Iowa usually runs around 9.

 

[Javelin]

I have a feeling the pH of the tap water has a greater overall effect on the pH of one's skin after washing than the pH of the cleansing product. Apparently, EPA guidelines for tap water are between 6.5-8.5. If one is worried about the acid mantle, it seems like after rinsing, an application of a solution with a buffered pH near that of skin would likely be effective.

The acid mantle is created by secretions from your skin. It does a great job of replacing itself without any work from us.

In any case my skin tells me that good soap is better for it than most commercially available on-the-shelf products and I'm going to continue listening to it!

 

[patrickBOOTH]

Has anybody had any experiences with oils that are imparted into soaps causes clogged pores? I found this list of oils that are likely to cause pore clogging and am curious if anybody has experiences any of these effects by certain oil content in soaps?

https://www.beneficialbotanicals.com/facts-figures/comedogenic-rating.html