Importance of your skin's pH.
Danny Siegenthaler
Natural Skin Care – The importance of your Skin’s pH
Our skin’s functions are too many to go through here in detail, however it protects our ‘insides’ from the external environment, acting both as a barrier and a filter between ‘outside’ and ‘inside’.
The skin helps in regulating our body’s temperature, like when we have a fever or we’re physically working hard, we tend to sweat, which is the body’s way to attempt to lower the temperature.
Our skin also protects us from harmful substances entering our body, and it eliminates many toxins. This takes workload off our Liver and Kidneys to filter out by-products from our body’s metabolism. The skin also breathes!
The pores of our skin are made up of a combination of oil and sweat glands (sebaceous and sudoriferous glands) helping to keep our skin healthy and elastic. An excessive sebum secretion is often associated with oily skin and acne. This is particularly common in adolescents as the increased levels of sex hormones stimulate sebum production and secretion. When in balance, the combined excretion of oil and sweat from the skin’s pores has a pH of about 5.5.
This slightly acidic layer, also referred to as the “Acid Mantle”, is our body’s first defence mechanism against bacteria invading it and is not a favourable environment bacterial growth to occur. This defence layer develops at puberty, which is why children are more susceptible to disease, viruses and fungal infections such are ringworm. The pH of children’s skin is closer to neutral (pH 7).
At puberty, however, we start to produce more hair on our bodies. Hair follicles have an associated sebaceous gland or glands which become active as hair growth increases, causing changes in the skin’s pH. The hormones that control sweat also become active and the whole surface of a teenager’s skin is totally different to that of a young child. This is our body’s way to increase our defence system.
The pH of normal, healthy human skin is somewhere between 4.5 and 6. However, this varies with age. Typically, newborns have a pH closer to neutral (pH 7) that quickly turns acidic in order to protect young children’s skin.
In the late teens to early 20’s, our Acid Mantle is well developed and provides good protection against potentially harmful, external environmental factors. Our skin usually looks healthy, heals quickly when injured and seems to take care of itself.
With increasing age however, the skin’s pH becomes more and more neutral, and thus more susceptible to bacterial growth. This reduced acidity kills fewer bacteria than before, leaving the skin susceptible to bacterial growth and infections. The skin weakens as a result and begins developing problems with increasing age. (Interestingly, the pH value rises beyond 6 when a person actually suffers from a skin problem or skin disease.)
The aging process of the skin causes biochemical changes in collagen and elastin, the connective tissues underlying the skin, which give the skin its firmness (collagen) and elasticity (elastin). The rates of loss of skin firmness and elasticity differs from individual to individual, depending on their genetic makeup, general health, over exposure to the sun, skin care regime, or lack there of, and other factors.
As the skin becomes less elastic, it also becomes drier; the underlying fatty tissue begins to disappear resulting in the skin beginning to sag. Our skin is less supple, and wrinkles begin to form. At this stage, our skin is more easily injured, heals more slowly and tends to dry out more quickly. As outlined above, the skin’s pH is important and maintaining a slightly acidic pH of around 5.5 is critical.
The skin’s pH value is one of the major contributors to acne and other skin problems. Propionibacterium acnes is a bacteria that normally lives on the skin and is a normal bacteria found in all persons regardless of the presence or absence of acne.
However, in individuals prone to acne, the number of P. acnes is greatly increased. It has been found that the growth of this bacteria is very much dependent on the pH value of the skin and its growth is at its minimum at the normal skin pH of 5.5. A slight shift towards the alkaline pH would provide a better environment in which it can thrive.
One of the major culprits that radically alter the pH of the skin, is soap. Ordinary, commercially available soaps are highly alkaline (pH range 9-11) and raise the skin’s pH to be much more alkaline. This can be adjusted by using products such as the Wild Herb Toner or Milk of Roses Toner (http://www.wildcrafted.com.au/Toners.html), depending on your skin type. These toners restore normal pH of the skin and thus provide an environment not conducive to the growth of bacteria. In addition, soap dries out the skin, because of its high alkalinity. Thus if you choose to use a commercially available soap, you must restore the pH of your skin to prevent loss of moisture and the excessive growth of bacteria. It is important to remember that this applies to the entire surface of your skin, not just the face.
Instead of using ordinary soap, you need to use products such as the Skin Renewal Gel from Wildcrafted Herbal Products, which cleanses your skin, removing dead skin cells and leaving your skin’s pH as it is meant to be. Following this with the use of a Toner will close the open pores, preventing blackheads and loss of moisture from the skin.
Another factor that helps in regulating your skin’s pH is the presents of microflora on your skin. Staphylococcus epidermis is involved in the breakdown of fatty acids, and is therefore partly responsible for the acidic pH of skin. The use of ordinary soap, not only changes the pH of the skin to be more alkaline, effectively removing the protective acid mantle, but also kills the bacteria responsible for creating, at least in part, the acidic pH of your skin – a double whammy.
It is therefore of great importance to have a good skin care regime in which high quality, natural skin care products are employed. There are a couple of simple steps to take before buying a particular brand of natural skin care products. 1.Identify the skin type(s) on the face. There are usually two or more. One skin type is usually isolated to the T-Zone (forehead and nose), the other applies to the rest of the facial skin. 2.Carefully select your natural skin care products. It is not good enough to choose products, which add natural ingredients to an otherwise non-natural base crème or lotion, as is the case in many supermarket brands. READ the label carefully, ask questions and if you are buying the products on-line, make sure there is a guarantee that allows you some time to evaluate the products before they need to be returned for a refund. 3.Look for manufacturers that have qualified herbalists or naturopaths on staff. These people generally do not support the use of artificial ingredients because it goes against everything they teach their patients, friends and family. – For the most part, it’s a pretty good indication that the products are pure, when natural therapists are in charge of the formulation of the products.
About the author: About The Author Danny Siegenthaler is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine and together with his wife Susan, a medical herbalist and aromatherapist, they have created Natural Skin Care Products by Wildcrafted Herbal Products to share their 40 years of combined expertise with you.
The latest information and news on Skin Care:
WILMINGTON, Del., Feb. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Prolastil.comProlastil Skin Cream and Eye Serum Scientific UpdateThe products, marketed under the name , Prolastil E-50 work by increasing the amount ...
Spoiler Alert! Aura Laser Skin Care Teases Top-Secret Product
Pharmaceutical skin-care line will be latest innovation for Seattle, Washington-based Aura Laser Skin Care, no stranger to breaking the dermatological mold.Seattle, WA (PRWEB) January 31, 2012 Pay no attention to that revolutionary product behind the curtain! At least, not for a few more weeks, until Aura Laser Skin Care is ready to debut what?s already being heralded as a major skin-care ...
Quick Milestones for Aura Laser Skin Care?s Fractional CO2
State-of-the-art ?resurfacing? treatment is reshaping the skin-care industry ? and redefining Seattle, Washington-based Aura Laser Skin Care, where record numbers of patients are lining up for ?DOT Therapy.? (PRWeb February 02, 2012) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9147777.htm
Aura Laser Skin Care Announces Staff Additions
Busy Seattle, Washington-based Aura Laser Skin Care starts 2012 with biggest hiring spree in clinic?s history, bringing on four new estheticians to meet growing demand.Seattle, Washington (PRWEB) January 29, 2012 Aura Laser Skin Care announced today a major addition to its clinical staff, tripling its number of active medical aestheticians to better serve its rapidly increasing patient base.Katy ...
Health Tip: Wash Skin Properly
(HealthDay News) -- Good skin care can help keep it healthy, moisturized and acne-free.
Aura Laser Skin Care Announces Record-Setting 2011
New products, unique focus helped Seattle, Washington-based Aura Laser Skin Care reach new heights in 2011, setting records for number of patients seen and number of successful treatments.Seattle, Washington (PRWEB) January 30, 2012 Aura Laser Skin Care announced today that 2011 went down as the biggest year in the clinic?s history, with new records set for number of patients treated and number ...
Apsara Skin Care, Inc. Introduces 100% Natural Facial Toners
Apsara Skin Care, Inc., based in San Jose, California, welcomed 2012 with the launch of a new product category of facial toners. Keeping with its clean and green philosophy, all Apsara facial toners are chemical & alcohol free. They are based on rosewater, and formulated using the purest herbal and floral extracts to safely raise the beauty quotient of your skin. Detailed product information can ...
Skin Care for Athletes Uses Indiegogo Campaign for Soap Line for Women?s Shel...
Skin Care for Athletes' Giving Goddess Soaps Launching with Help from On-Line Fundraising Campaign [PR.com]
Aura Laser Skin Care Reports: Man Up
Seattle, Washington-based Aura Laser Skin Care clinic announces surprising findings on skin-care trends, including dramatic increases in number of male patients. (PRWeb February 01, 2012) Read the full story at http://www.prweb.com/releases/2012/2/prweb9147775.htm
Mango Madness Skin Care Announces Re-Packaged Retinol Cream for Enhanced Potency
Anti-aging skin care product retailer Mango Madness Skin Care, Inc. has announced new packaging for its ReNew Youth? retinol cream in an airless pump for enhanced protection from light and air in a move to enhance the long term potency of the product. [PR.com]