Acids, and bases, and face wash. Oh my!

Let's talk pH. It is incredibly important when it comes to skin care, something I had not considered until I was researching cleansers. The human skin is naturally acidic, with a pH of between 5-6 typically. The skin's protective acidic layer is referred to as the "acid mantle." The acid mantle serves an important purpose, acting as a barrier between bacteria and other potentially harmful contaminants.

If you have ever taken chemistry you should know that 7 is neutral on the pH scale; anything below is an acid and anything above is a base. You may also recall that acids and bases neutralize each other. What you might not know is that face wash you are using is probably pretty far on the basic side. Many face washes (and shampoos) seem to fall in the 8-10 range, some going as high as 11, which is about the same as ammonia. So when we put these basic products to cleanse the skin, with the intention of treating and preventing clogged pores and acne, we actually destroy the acid mantle and the skin's ability to protect itself. This leaves the door wide open for all that bacteria you were tying to keep at bay and chance to move on in while the skin tries to repair the acid mantle and restore a normal pH. Additionally, most products are far to abrasive and harsh for the delicate skin on the face.

I saw a post about using baking soda as face wash and see that it has mixed reviews. Many people love it and says it makes their skin glow and feel soft because it is exfoliating. Others think it is too harsh and causes redness and drying. Baking soda has a pH of 9, so it is pretty basic. From everything I've gathered, using a basic product on your skin isn't all bad as long as you do something to restore the skin's natural pH after. A slightly acid toner should do the trick. I decided to make a toner out of green tea, honey, and lemon juice. As I have not actually gotten around to that I will cover what I will do and why in a future post. Another important step is moisturizing. Coconut oil is a good choice because it has a pH of 5.5-7.8 making it a good choice for most skin types to not only moisturize, but also restore pH. For the purposes of my own face I have decided to use baking soda occasionally (1-2) times a week to exfoliate, but not as an every day cleanser.

When trying to find something natural to wash my skin I found a post about Jojoba oil. After a little more research I concluded that stuff is pretty amazing. What makes jojoba oil so great? Turns out it is very similar to the oil our skin naturally produces know as "sebum."

I know it seems a little scary to put straight oil on your skin. Oily skin is what we're trying to prevent, right? Turns out putting oil on your skin actually helps reduce how oily it is. This sorcery is possible because you essentially trick the skin into thinking it's already produced enough sebum. Oil is oil, so putting more oil on my skin will just make the problem worse, right? Wrong. Jojoba oil has a few extra benefits that your skin's oil doesn't. That is not to say that your own natural skin oil isn't great or necessary, but it can still benefit from a little extra help.

Jojoba oil has natural anti-bacterial properties and has been used to treat wounds in traditional medicine. It is also an effective moisturizer that is easily absorbed because it is so similar to sebum (which is the benefit of using jojoba oil instead of commercial products). Jojoba is anti-inflammatory, so it helps reduce redness and inflammation caused by acne or other irritations. It also reduces the signs of aging in skin, contributing to a more youthful appearance.The pH is 5.5 making it the perfect match for the skin.

Because of these many reasons I have decided to use the "oil method" for daily face washing for the foreseeable future. It is simple and fairly self explanatory. Basically you wet the face with warm water, massage a few drops of the oil into your skin for approximately 30 seconds or so, then use a wet and warm wash cloth to wipe away excess oil. There you have it, washed and moisturized in 3 simple steps.

The oil should not only do all the aforementioned things, it should also soften and dissolve the dried sebum and skin flakes hanging out in my pores (aka black heads). Incidentally, clogged pores can be a cause of oily skin because it inhibits the skins ability to absorb the moisturizing oil it needs, making your skin think it needs to produce more. Which in turns keeps your pores clogged, you see where I'm going with this?

I have to admit, I am a little nervous because I read some people go through a "purge" phase where the skin expels all the bad stuff it's been hanging onto. Not super thrilled at this prospect but I know it's good for me in the long run. Also my boyfriend is on vacation for the next couple weeks so nobody will be getting too close to my face anyway.

I'm off to try my newly purchased oil from my local health food store. I'll post results as they come. I was intending to get around to the face cream I made but there was just too much out there on skin pH that I thought was valuable knowledge, so next time. I will also try and include pictures and recipes in posts to come (I don't want this to be boring for the 2 people that read it besides myself).

p.s. I would just like to add that I wrote this post after being up since 5:45 am and sleeping only about 4 hours. Therefor I am too tired to proofread what I have written (which is difficult for the grammar nazi in me) and am hoping for the best. Goodnight!