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What does  “pH-balance”  mean?

Dry skin, oily skin, sensitive skin, acne, rosacea all of these buzzwords are used by the billion dollar beauty industry. One of the newest advertising “catch-words” is “pH-balance.” Should we ignore it or does it mean anything? How do we figure out what’s best for us?

First let’s start off with basic skin info. Our skin has a thin protective layer called the acid mantle that’s made up of amino and lactic acids that mix with fatty acids from the sebaceous glands, which secrete oil that protects your skin. There is a large concentration of sebaceous glands on or face, where skin is for the most part more delicate and exposed to environmental stress. When you wash your face with soaps, you wash away the dirt and makeup that’s clogging your pores but at the same time you’re washing away the oils that protect it. You remove the natural protection, destroy the acid mantle and you have no more natural protection for your skin. So dry, dehydrated skin is more vulnerable to the things that makes you break out, and leave you with dull looking skin that at times feels dry and itchy or oily and greasy. Either way you know it’s “out of balance”.

The fact is when it comes to skin cleansers; pH levels do make a difference. Our skin has a pH level of about 5.5. Skin — or at least the outermost layer of it — is slightly acidic. The acidic layer helps your skin retain moisture and keeps germs out.

Soap and synthetic, chemical cleansers are too alkaline and will break up the acid in your skin, causing dryness. The pH level of most over-the-counter skin cleansers is slightly higher than 5.5, so the cleanser can break down dirt and oil on your skin. However, soap — especially bar soap — typically has a pH level of 9 to 12, which is too high if you’re trying to keep your skin moist. Cleansers with lower pH levels leave your skin intact instead of breaking down the fatty tissue.

At Urban Retreat Spa, we believe the best facial starts with a skin analysis.  We use only professional lines like Image Skincare and PCA Skin, cleansers with a pH level similar to that of the skin itself. Both of these lines use only cleansers that will leave skin in perfect pH-balance and thus help maintain a healthy acid mantle and the skin’s fatty protective layer. For home use, If you use a soap that’s too alkaline, it will break up the acid in your skin, causing dryness.

Stop the cycle of over-the-counter, expensive junk that the beauty industry feeds and traps you in.  Harsh expensive cleansers throw off your skins pH-balance and keep making your pores vulnerable, so then you also have to buy toners, moisturizers and creams and all sorts of useless stuff that only lead to frustration and bad skin.

Urban Retreat Spa offers solutions! The main thing is this: The pH level of the acid mantle on your skin is about 5.5, or slightly acidic (the pH scale is 1-14, with 7 being neutral, 1 being acidic, and 14 being alkaline). Ditch your alkaline products and let us introduce you to products that are, like your acid mantle, only slightly acidic and pH-balancing.

Looking for the best facial Fort Lauderdale has to offer? Look no more Urban Retreat Spa is here to guide you fantastic beautiful skin.