pH-neutral soap - pH-neutral / mild soaps – healthy soap
The pH is a measurement for the acidity of an aqueous solution. The pH of a neutral aqueous solution in room temperature is about 7. Acidic solutions have a pH lower than 7, this means that they have a high acidity. Alkaline solutions have a pH higher than 7 meaning that they have a low acidity.
There are many questions, claims and contradictions when it comes to pH and the skin. One company claims that their product is pH neutral for the skin. Another one says that their products are produced without questionable chemicals in the “pH-neutral” product. Actually both parties have business interest by the answer. How does it actually work? The real deception here is concerned on real science. Keep in mind that the majority of the cosmetic claims are complete nonsense.
The skin produces a light-acid secretion to protect itself. This is called the “Acid mantle”. Because it is acidic, the most effective way to clean this, together with excessive oils, dirt and germs, is to use an alkaline-foaming system (soap!). The skin directly starts to separate this acid-mantle from the skin. Within 20 minutes it is back on one third of its original power, and within 2-3 hours it is completely recovered. This varies slightly per person. There are rare cases of very ill people where this mechanism does not work properly. In other words – you do not need to worry about that. There is no health reason to choose the one product over the other based on the pH, as long as we assume that pH values are between 3.30 (like an orange) and 10 (like a bar of sap).
It is interesting to notice that the mildest cleanser you can use – natural soap created in the correct way – also has the highest pH value. This is about 10. In recent years we received hundreds of statements that eczema, skin ignition and other skin conditions have disappeared after using this mild handmade soap. So do not be misguided by the idea that mildness and a low pH are equal to each other – It is simply not true!
Poor quality and mass produced soaps mostly contain free alkali, which makes them hard and dry out quickly. Actually, the producers allow that Alkali remains in the soap. Although it is interesting for the shop presentation, it is not good for the dry skin. It changes all the remaining natural oil in the skin into soap, which makes your skin dry and “squeaky-clean”. A high percentage coconut oil in combination with the normal marketing reinforcements in the formula can make mass production soaps irritating.
The reason that this problem, which actually does not matter for soap, became a marketing war is the fact that laundry detergents (look at the contradiction in: Sodium Lauryl Sulphate) have a pH, which is more acidic than soap products. Market traders use this in order to promote their products over others’ products. Matter the fact only around 12% of the people is oversensitive for laundry detergents. Others are oversensitive for preservatives, synthetic by-products, perfumes and colorants, which are produced by mass producers used in both laundry detergents and soaps. How can a concerned consumer make a wise choice when buying the product?
Humans come from Earth. We are made from substances from the Earth, its chemical groups and materials. Our bodies can or cannot process the natural chemical groups, which we find in plants, animals and minerals in our environment. Over the past 100 years the human has overrun the land, the sea, the air, food supply and production with chemicals that were not known to the Earth. What are we doing? This clearly is a mistake. Cancer, skin conditions and disorders of the automatic immune system are more and more common. The climate changes and the sea level rises.
A very little step, but a very healthy one is to choose for organic, natural soap instead of choosing for a so-called “pH neutral” produced foaming product. The future of the Western civilization is not contingent on this choice. Or is it? If we all decide to make this change on a daily basis, mass production companies will follow.
