pH: Testing & Info: all links so far

pH: testing & info

• Clinique’s 1-2-3—Just Say NO! (includes a pH test)

• Here is a cleanser you DON’T want to use on your face!

• HOW TO test the pH of your skin care products: DO THIS! (upcoming)

• “Is Dr. Bronner soap OK to use on my body?” (new!)

• More pH tests with another client’s products (new!)

• Proper pH & your skin care products

• Questions about pH and pH papers

• Since you asked: all the Yonka products I use and their pH tests! (upcoming)

• Testing the pH of a client’s facial products (new!)

“Is Dr. Bronner soap OK to use on my body?”

I know you say not to use products that aren’t pH balanced on my face. But what about my body? I love Dr. Bronner’s lavender/castile soap but didn’t know if I should continue using it.

Yes, it’s OK to use Dr. Bronner products on your body. I have used their (liquid) peppermint soap for decades as my body cleanser. Just know all of their soaps are not pH balanced—they are all alkaline products; I tested them years ago and I’m sure nothing has changed. That means this soap can be more drying than an acidic (on the pH scale) soap would be. For me, I love Dr. Bronner products—especially the wonderful peppermint aromatic—and because I always use lotion on my entire body after a bath or shower, the moisture gets put back that is lost using an alkaline product.

I do not recommend using these products on your face. Not the bar soaps or their liquid soaps. I’ve said many times that I am meticulous when it comes to what I use on my face. With my body I am a lot more lax as far as what I use. I tend to go less expensive with body products and, as in this case with non-pH balanced Dr. Bronner soaps, I use what I like and make sure I compensate for the alkalinity.

If you try just once to wash your face with your favorite Dr. Bronner lavender soap, I know for a fact you will never do that again! Your skin will feel so dried out and dehydrated—especially since you’ve been using high-quality, pH balanced products (Yonka) on your skin for so many years.

I have written several articles about how to test the pH of your products, whether face or body, and I highly recommend you take a look and see how to do this simple step. Then there will never be a question of whether or not a product you are using is right for your (facial) skin or not—in other words: is it pH balanced or alkaline. A very important distinction.

For more information, see:

• Questions about pH and pH papers
• A Body Hydration Quick Tip for Bathtime
• Winter Skin 101

More pH tests with another client’s products

Here is another example of how to test your skin care products and what your results might look like. In some cases these particular products have been changed or discontinued altogether, but that is beside the point. These photos simply provide a visual for what to do when you test your products. And hopefully your results will find that all of your products are pH balanced. You can click on any image to have it enlarge.

In order to perform the test, I laid out a towel (usually I use a folded Kleenex but there were a lot of products for this test) and lined up the products as they would be used: cleansers, toner, moisturizer, eye treatment, etc. Then I got out my pH papers and tore small pieces and put each piece (untested) in front of each product. Then one by one I opened the tubes or jars and put product on the paper and laid the paper in front of its perspective product. The paper will turn, if it’s going to, almost immediately upon contact with the paper.

One thing to remember: Keep your hands clean in between tests so you don’t accidentally get some of the previous product on the one you’re testing now.

The first products are cleanser, toner, and sunscreen that this client is using as her moisturizer. On the left is Korres Greek Yoghurt foaming cream cleanser for all skin types. In the middle is (I love the company name) Face Reality calming facial toner for sensitive skin. Next to that is Face Reality broad spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen for acne-prone skin. When I looked this one up it came up ultimate protection SPF 28 broad spectrum sunscreen for acne-prone skin. I’m guessing that is its replacement (these client photos were taken a few years ago). As you can see, all 3 of these products are pH balanced—they don’t turn the test paper green, which is great.

• Korres Greek Yoghurt foaming cream cleanser all skin types
• Face Reality Calming Facial Toner for sensitive skin
• Face Reality Broad Spectrum SPF 30 sunscreen for acne-prone skin

As you can see the first product in the tube far left tested alkaline. It is a discontinued Shiseido Gentle Cleaning Cream. The other 3 are moisturizers and are pH balanced. Usually hydrating creams are not alkaline; I’m always surprised to see what products turn the pH paper green (alkaline).

• Shiseido Gentle Cleansing Cream (no longer available)(I don’t put links to products that test alkaline)
• Shiseido Benefiance Wrinkle Smoothing Cream SPF 23 (This is the current formula, the exact product in the photo has been reformulated. Most likely it’s still pH balanced. SPF “23”—?)
• Shiseido Benefiance NutriPerfect Night Cream (Again, most likely reformulated and still most likely pH balanced.)
• Ole Henriksen Nurture Me Soothing Creme (no longer available)

Dr. Dennis Gross Alpha Beta Peel Original Formula has gone through a change since 2016 when I tested these towelettes. It’s now called either Universal Daily Peel or Extra Strength Daily Peel; both have the 2 step clothes, now called: Step 1—Exfoliate & Smooth; Step 2—Anti-Aging Neutralizer. As you can see the second step is totally alkaline. Why, I don’t know. Regardless, you don’t want to use it, especially since it is the 2nd/last step to go on your skin.

Again, I will stress the importance of testing the pH of your current products to be sure they are all acidic or to find out if something you have in your routine is actually alkaline, in which case you really won’t want to use it. And you can test new products so you don’t start using something that isn’t balanced and good for your skin.

The fact that several of these products that I tested in 2016 in my Boulder office are no longer available is moot to me. What I am showing you here is not only how to test your products but a few of the results you might find and what they mean. Products, as this client knows since many of her products have morphed or are no longer available, change and are discontinued left and right every single year. I guess my complaints about Yonka could be a little less loud since they really don’t change too many things over a long period of time.

The bottom line here and the point in writing articles about the proper pH of your skin care products is in hopes you will learn to do these tests yourself (after purchasing pH papers, of course) and then know definitively if you should be putting any and all products you have on your skin.

For more tests and information, see:

• Testing the pH of a client’s facial products
• Proper pH & your skin care products
• Clinique’s 1-2-3—Just Say NO! (includes a pH test)

Testing the pH of a client’s facial products

I love it when new clients bring in their skin care products for me to peruse. I always test the pH of their products because finding out the pH of any product is truly the first and most important piece of information I can find out before knowing if a products is “good” or not.

• I fold a tissue in half the long way
• Then I line up the products behind it
• I’ll tear off a small piece of the pH test paper in order to test each product

This client brought in all of her moisturizers (photo above), but it is actually the cleansers and toners I like to test. It is much more likely that a cleansing or toning product will be alkaline; less likely for moisturizers, including eye creams. But still, it is important to test any and all products a client is using to be sure that no product—zero—are alkaline.

When my client saw that the sunscreen she’s been using was alkaline, she was surprised. She said the salesperson said it was also a moisturizer, but my client said it didn’t feel at all hydrating—in fact the opposite. I explained most likely that was due to the alkaline nature of this particular product.

The sunscreen is a cream so it is or should be moisturizing. But due to its alkalinity it was actually stripping the skin on some level of its natural moisture. Just the opposite of what you want in any cream product, sunscreen or moisturizer.

I put this article up not to slam her sunscreen product or even talk about these particular products in detail, but to show you how simple it is to get this important information before you start using new skin care products. And, obviously, you can test what you are using now to be sure they are pH balanced and OK to use on a daily basis. In case you're interested, the sunscreen is from a company called First Aid Beauty (FAB): Ultra Repair pure mineral sunscreen moisturizer.

The other products in this photo, although a bit hard to see, that tested pH balanced are:

• Shiseido Bio-Performance Advanced Super Revitalizing Cream
• Clarins Double Serum
• Kiehl’s Pure Vitality Skin Renewing Cream
• Kiehl’s Powerful Wrinkle Reducing Cream

In the articles on this blog, some listed below, is all the information you need to get the test papers and be one step closer to using the perfect products on your skin now.

For more information, see:

• Proper pH & your skin care products
• Questions about pH and pH papers
• Clinique’s 1-2-3—Just Say NO! (includes a pH test)

Here is a cleanser you DON’T want to use on your face!

In several articles on this blog (some of the links are listed below) I have discussed the need to know the pH of your skin care products in order to avoid using things that are alkaline on your face. Alkalinity, among other things, can cause dehydration—something that makes your skin feel dry even though it may not be true-dry. This can set up a reaction of using moisturizers that are too rich for your skin (unless it is an oil-dry skin type) to make up for the dry, tight feeling after using such products—the pH imbalanced kind. Another effect is the possibility of your oil glands producing more oil to compensate for the loss of oil from the alkaline cleanser getting your skin too clean.

The photo below shows a test I did with pH papers on a Neutrogena “natural” hard bar soap. As you can see on the label, it looks like it might be good: avocado and olive oils “gently” cleansing your skin. But no—there is nothing gentle about washing your face with an alkaline cleanser, whether it be a bar soap or a milky cleanser.

In case you’ve never used pH test papers, they are an orange color (like the “5” on the package in the photo). If a product tests acidic, it won’t really turn the paper any color, it just looks like the orange paper is wet. This is ultimately what you’re looking for. Any product that turns the paper light green to dark green (the above little test piece is dark green!) indicates alkalinity and means you don’t want to use whatever product you’re testing on your face.

As you can see, it is important to know the pH of any and all skin care products you are using so you can avoid using products like this natural soap on your skin. (Most bar soaps, by the way, tend to be alkaline, which is the main reason I don’t recommend them.)

For more information to help you understand why you want to test your products and what can happen if you use the wrong types of products, see:

• Proper pH & your skin care products
• Using dry skin products on oily skin—STOP THE INSANITY!
• CLEANSERS 101: What IS a cleanser? What to look for and what NOT to use—updated 

Clinique’s 1-2-3—Just Say NO!

My intent with my writing is not to tear down other product lines, but in this case I can’t help myself! Clinique is thought to be a great product for problem (especially teenage) skin, and as you’ll read below I even used it as my first skin care product line as a teen. I have found professionally that these products usually cause problems with clients I have seen. Here is what one emailer sent me:

I have used Clinique but am not very happy with it. I am a new mom, and I think it’s time for a new me and a new skin care regimen. I am 39 years old. My skin is oily in the T-zone but dry everywhere else. Thirty minutes after I wash, it still looks like an oil slick, yet my skin feels taut and dehydrated. I have lines around my eyes from previous sun damage. My skin breaks out a lot, which I think is unusual for my age.

These comments are very common, so I will breakdown this email and explain what she could do.

Well, not happy actually

I have used Clinique but am not very happy with it. I have tested several of the Clinique products and many have turned out to be alkaline on the pH scale. Hopefully you know that you want to use pH balanced products (acidic) on your skin—only—and avoid products that are alkaline.

As a teenager I remember using Clinique as my first formal skin care line. And I also remember having to apply the yellow moisturizer twice before my skin felt hydrated. At this young age, I didn’t know the reason for this was because everything I had used up to that point (the soap cleanser and the Clarifying Lotion toner) was alkaline, basically drying the surface of my skin out and encouraging more oil to be produced to compensate. So beware if you are a Clinique user.

My skin is oily in the T-zone but dry everywhere else. Technically, you are probably oilier in the facial axis (T-zone) and normal everywhere else. You feel dry because alkaline products (like Clinique) remove too much oil and water from the surface of the skin. Thirty minutes after I wash, it still looks like an oil slick. This is because your oil glands are compensating for the loss of oil that was stripped from your skin by these alkaline products. Yet my skin feels taut and dehydrated. Exactly. This is the normal response to using alkaline products. Your skin feels dry but is truly just dehydrated—it has lost all the surface water and oil that normally holds in moisture and makes your skin feel soft and supple. Instead your skin feels tight and dry (dehydrated).

I am 39 years old, and I have lines around my eyes from previous sun damage. At 39 you will definitely start seeing the effects of the natural aging process. That you have had a lot of sun exposure will only increase the lines, for sure. But 39 is normal to start seeing lines (actually mid-30s), although your psyche is surely in disagreement.

My skin breaks out a lot, which I think is unusual for my age. The reasons for your breakouts need to be found out before passing judgment. Until you are no longer alive and as long as you have started puberty, you are going to be subject to full-functioning oil glands. So at 39, it is not unusual for you to be breaking out. Why you are having skin problems is the more important part of your question.

I recommend getting pH test papers so you can test all of the products you are using on your skin. Without this data, it is hard to determine if a product is pH balanced. Then, armed with this knowledge, you can be sure to use products that are acidic and therefore won’t strip the oil and water from your skin or otherwise cause many of the problems you are concerned about.

If you are not already using eye cream—start now. Only through the use of eye creams will you be able to moisturize the area where your crow’s feet are forming.

By changing your skin care routine (only using pH balanced products) and looking at your diet and how that may be contributing to your problem skin, hopefully you can start experiencing skin that reflects the proper care you are now giving it.

UPDATE: 3/2016

Here is a test I did looking for the pH of the Clinique 1-2-3 products. As you can clearly see in this photo, #2 and 3 have turned the paper dark green meaning those 2 products are alkaline. Apparently the cleanser is pH balanced—or acidic, which is good (that product didn’t turn the test papers a darkened color). The yellow soap, not pictured here, has always tested alkaline in the past.

For more information, see:

• Questions about pH and pH papers
• Here is a cleanser you DON’T want to use on your face! 
• Finding the Right Products—for You

Questions about pH and pH papers

pH is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration and refers to the acidity or alkalinity of any given substance. The pH scale ranges anywhere from 1 to 14.

Your skin is naturally acidic—about 5.5 on the pH scale. In order to maintain this pH balance, you only want to use acidic skin care products, or rather products that are acidic on the pH scale. The reasons for this are twofold. First, bacteria (the type found in infected blemishes) cannot thrive in an acid environment. Therefore, if you use acidic products, you help to fortify this natural acidic state, keeping bacteria away. Secondly, using alkaline products almost always strips the skin of its natural oils and surface water, causing the skin to become dehydrated. This can look and feel like dry, flaky skin.

Because it is so important to know the pH of all of your products, I highly recommend purchasing pH papers. This will enable you to test any product, whether for your face or body, and know if it’s the proper pH for your skin. Here are a few emails from readers that will help me explain:

One of the first things I did after reading Timeless Skin was order Nitrazine papers. It’s been a long time since chemistry class, and I don’t remember if 4 is on the acidic side or the alkaline side. Exactly what numbers do I want my products to be on the pH scale?

I just picked up pH papers from the local science store with a range from 1-14. So far all of my products have been a 4, 5, or 6. One Clinique® toner was an 8. Please refresh my memory: the products I check should be at what pH level?

If you are using pH papers, whether Nitrazine or otherwise, they will provide the pH values on the package. When you put some product on the paper, it will turn a color that corresponds to one of these values listed on the packaging. You will know immediately if the products you are testing are what you want to use or not. Neutral is 7 on the pH scale. Acid is considered anything less than 7, and anything above 7 would be considered alkaline. In answer to these specific emails, anything in the 4 to 6 range is acidic and the proper pH for a skin care product. The toner at a pH of 8 would be too alkaline, and I wouldn’t recommend using it.

Remember: it is alkalinity you want to avoid. I can think of no good reason to use an alkaline skin care product on your face. This is precisely why it is so helpful to have these papers to test the pH level of any and all of your products. 

I used the pHydrion strips that I found in the chemistry department, and they worked the same as the Nitrazine papers you recommend.

You can buy a single roll dispenser of pHydrion much cheaper than Nitrazine papers. They do the same thing, but they do it for one third the cost. If you cannot locate these papers at your local pharmacy, ask them to order some for you. No matter which brand you are able to find, do make a point to locate pH test papers.

For more information, see:

• Proper pH & your skin care products
• Is Your Skin Truly Dry or Just Thirsty?
• Clinique’s 1-2-3—Just Say NO! (includes a pH test)

Proper pH & your skin care products

Hello, I just bought your book, Timeless Skin, and love it! I took your advice in Chapter One about testing the pH balance of my facial products. I bought pH strips with a 0-14 range. [This is the range of all pH papers.] I tested all 7 of my facial products. Three of my cleansing supplies matched 8, my toner was a 4, my sunblock was around 5, and my warming mask was an 8. Is this OK?? I am a bit confused about this process.

Your skin is naturally acidic on the pH scale. pH (defined as the percentage of hydrogen) refers to how acid or alkaline a substance is. The scale ranges from 0 to 14, with 7 being neutral. Your skin has a pH of 5 or 6; soaps usually come in around 10. In order to maintain the natural acidic state of your skin, you always want to use acidic or non-alkaline products. If you are unsure about the pH of your cleanser (or any product), you can purchase nitrazine papers at your local pharmacy.

If your research finds a product you’re using is alkaline, I would toss it. Don’t bother trying to make it work for your skin. It won’t. Although the department stores abhor people testing their products, take your pH papers whenever you plan to purchase products. And at the very least, be sure to know what the return policy is for skin care products wherever you buy them. You may find they will have to be returned due to a high pH and you certainly don’t want to pay for any of these experiments.

Looking at this emailer’s products specifically, anything above a five or six is, in my opinion, too alkaline to use on the skin. Her toner and sunscreen sound like they are the correct pH, all the others are alkaline and therefore I don’t recommend using them.

Simply put, using any products that are alkaline on your face is not a good idea if you are looking to create a balanced skin care regime and therefore healthy, balanced skin.

For more information, see:

• Questions about pH and pH papers
• The Basics 1-2-3 Program
• Product Recommendations Q & As—#1