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The Importance of Skin pH - CWI Medical

It’s well known that the skin is the first line of defense against all elements, such as microorganisms, wind, and pollutants. And it’s the acid mantle, a fine film with a slightly acidic pH on the surface of the skin that provides protection for the skin. It plays a very important role as an integral part of the barrier function of the stratum corneum. Recent studies have demonstrated that increased enzyme activity of phospholipase A2 is related to the formation of the acid mantle in the stratum corneum. This combination makes the sin less permeable to water and other polar compounds. It also contributes to the low pH of the skin surface. Normal skin surface pH is between 4 and 6.5 in healthy people, though it varies among the different areas of the skin.

Newborn infants do have a higher skin surface pH compared to adults, but this normalizes within three days. It’s important to protect the stratum corneum because if it’s damaged, skin surface pH has been shown to increase, creating susceptibility to bacterial skin infections or skin damage and disease.

Providing Protection

The acid mantle protects the skin from bacterial and fungal infections. The acid mantle contains lactic acid and various amino acids from sweat, free fatty acids from sebum, and amino acids and pyrrolidine carboxylic acid from the cornification process of skin.

The acid mantle:
• Supports the formation and maturation of epidermal lipids and therefore the maintenance of the barrier function
• Provides indirect protection against invasion by microorganisms
• Provides direct protection against alkaline substances (alkali neutralizing capacity)

If the acid mantle becomes disrupted or damaged, or loses its acidity, the skin becomes more prone to damage and infection. Washing skin with soaps or detergents can cause the loss of acid mantle. Repetitive washing alters the stratum corneum and barrier functions, including skin pH. Once damaged, it can take up to 14 hours to restore, by which time, it’s most likely under assault again from another washing. Most people wash their hands about three times a day, on average. Single washings shift pH to the alkaline region, which can shift back to normal within a few hours.

Other Factors that Affect pH

There are many diseases that cause an increase in skin surface pH. Skin conditions that can cause this phenomenon include:
• Eczema
• Contact dermatitis
• Atopic dermatitis
• Dry skin


Acute eczema with erosion can cause skin surface pH to shift from normal to 7.3 to 7.4. This is a 1,000- fold increase in the pH shift, as pH is measured in logarithmic function. The entire skin surface pH is increased on skin of people with atopic dermatitis. An increased skin pH contributes to Staphylococcus aureus colonization, which can play a role in the genesis of atopic dermatitis, discoid eczema, and infective dermatitis as a superantigen.

Systemic diseases that can cause an increase in skin surface pH include:
• Diabetes
• Chronic renal failure
• Cerebrovascular disease



This is the beginning of the article. As usual, too many iinvisible embedded images to copy the whole article.

Go to the link - it is WELL worth the read.


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