Just realized what a real cleanser pH test shows you

Overheard a girl at the coffee shop in Santa Fe say she tests every cleanser before buying. That got me thinking. I always just picked stuff based on scent or texture. Stupid. So last week I grabbed a pack of pH strips. Tested my top 3 cleansers. Two were way too alkaline, like 8.5 or higher. That explains the tight skin after washing. The third was a 5.5, perfect. Now I test everything before it touches my face. Anyone else surprised by what their cleanser pH actually is?

3 comments

3 Comments

evan_wilson1828d ago

nancybailey you made a good point about surfactants, but heres something nobody is talking about. The water youre washing with can throw off pH tests. My tap water in Austin is hard and sits around 8.2 pH. Even if a cleanser tests at 5.5 out of the bottle, the moment i mix it with that water the pH of the lather changes. I tested it once. Poured some 5.5 cleanser into a cup of my tap water and the mixture tested at 6.8. So now i have to wonder if my perfect pH cleanser is even doing its job when i rinse with alkaline water. Might explain why my skin still feels off sometimes even with the right products.

nancybailey1mo ago

@avery_lopez I get what you're saying but pH isn't everything. My skin is oily and reactive to high pH, so sure a 5.5 cleanser helps. But I've used a 7.5 cleanser for years with zero issues because it had the right surfactants. pH strips are just one tool, not the whole answer. You can still wreck your moisture barrier with a pH 5 cleanser if it's loaded with sulfates or stripping ingredients. A lot of people get obsessed with hitting that 5.5 number and ignore the actual formula.

avery_lopez1mo ago

Did you notice a difference in how your skin felt after switching to that 5.5 cleanser? I had the same wake up call when I tested my go to gel cleanser and it was a 9. My face would feel tight and dry right after washing, and I thought that was normal. Now I use a gentle milk cleanser that's a 5, and my skin doesn't scream at me anymore. It's wild how something so basic can mess up your whole moisture barrier. Makes you wonder what else we're just guessing about.