pH and Your Skin Barrier: The 30-Second Science

The 30-second science: healthy skin sits at a pH around 4.7–5.5 — mildly acidic. That acid mantle is a working part of your barrier: it keeps the right microbes happy, the wrong ones struggling, and the enzymes that build your barrier lipids working at their optimal pH.

What disrupts it: classic soap (pH 9–10), very hot water, and over-washing. Skin rebalances itself, but it takes hours — disrupted daily, it never quite catches up, and you get tightness, sensitivity and flakiness with no obvious cause.

What to do: pH-balanced ("syndet") washes instead of soap bars, warm not hot water, and moisturisers formulated in the skin-friendly range so you're not undoing the balance you just kept.

Formulated skin-neutral: Butta Drop Body Milk.