The pH range of the skin on your face and body fluctuates between 4.7 and 5.75. For context, the pH scale ranges from 0 to 14; 7 is considered neutral (water has a pH of 7), anything below it is acidic and anything above is alkaline. Hovering around 5, your skin is slightly acidic. It’s vital that your skin stays in this range—when it doesn’t, it impacts its overall function largely due to the role o the microbiome. “The skin microbiome prefers a relatively acidic environment,” notes physician Kara Fitzgerald, N.D.
The range, here, is important. The pH of the skin varies slightly for men and women—men usually having more acidic skin. The skin also becomes more alkaline with age, especially for women as they go through menopause. “The pH level of our skin changes at around age 50, skin becomes more sensitive, and women are more likely to develop rashes and easily irritated skin,” says board-certified dermatologist Keira Barr, M.D. Skin type can also affect the pH, with oily skin tending to be more acidic (sebum itself is quite acidic).
Finally, the pH of the skin can be affected by what you come into what it comes into contact with—such as skin care products or even water. See, when you put on a substance that has a different pH (be it acidic or alkaline), it influences your skin’s. Now, for the most part your skin has an impressive ability to bounce back. (Read: Your skin’s pH goes back to its natural state pretty fast.) However, if these fluctuations are too dramatic or happen too consistently, that’s when you have a problem.