Healthy, beautiful skin just by choosing the right products

Determining the right products for our skin can be difficult, understanding pH levels can make it easier.

Many of us have an array of different skin care products in our bathrooms and may or may not be using them properly. One of the most overlooked factor in our products is understanding the products general pH level and how the pH can positively or negatively effect our skin.

Let’s start with what does pH refer to in terms of our skin and how simple it truly is.

pH - “potential of hydrogen” measures the acidity or alkaline of a solution, in this case our skin care products. To start tap water has pH level of 7 and is considered neutral. Anything below 7 is moving towards acidity and anything above it alkaline.

On average our skin’s pH level is on the acidity side at a pH level of 4.7 and as we age are skin becomes more acidic making it more sensitive.

When we use products on a daily basis that are not in the range of our skin’s natural pH level, we can start to run into, breakouts, dryness, redness and overall sensitivity if we are not using them properly.

Here are a list of common skin care products we use and their pH levels; Keep in mind our skin is on average has a pH of 4.7.

Daily

• Cleansers: pH 4.5–7
• Toners: pH 5–7
• Moisturizers: pH 5–7
• Sunscreens: pH 5–7.5
• Serums: pH 4–6

Weekly - 2 to 3 times

• AHA and BHA Exfoliants: pH 3.2–3.9
• Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) products: pH 2.6–3.2
• Retinol products: pH 3.7–5

Monthly

• Professional chemical peels: pH 2 - 3.7

It may seem that variances between products pH level are very small however those variances are actually tenfold and can have considerable impact on our skin. A tenfold increase makes the product a product pH level of 3 is 100 times more powerful than a pH of 5. 

What if I don’t know the pH level of my skin care products?

The good news is, chemist know and understand the importance of making skin care products what we refer to as “pH balanced”. This refers to products formulated in the range of normal, healthy skin of between pH 4 and pH 7.

So what this mean for my skin?

It’s important to pay attention to how often and how many different products you are using on your skin. When we introduce new products into our skin care routine we are looking for immediate results, which can lead us to over use a product or not use it long enough.

Most products will list the suggested way to incorporate them for the best results. Either way, give it a full 28- 30 days before judging the effectiveness of the product.

How do I layer different skin care products with different pH levels?

We suggest the following lawyering process and it can be done immediately one after another. Be sure to use small portions as to not overload the skin.

Take this as an opportunity to have a professional natural skin rejuvenation treatment with our medical aesthetician at EASTND.

BOOK NOW

MONCTON at 1.506.830.8333 or email at [email protected] 

CHARLOTTETOWN at 1.902.367.5300 or email at [email protected]

Karen, Medical Aesthetician

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