Acidity of the skin: the view of modern science

From a chemist's point of view, pH is an indicator of acidity. A neutral environment (for example, distilled water) has a pH of 7. Anything less than seven (up to 1) is an acidic environment, more than 7 (up to 14) is alkaline. For a cosmetologist, pH is an indicator of the acidity of the skin's protective mantle and one of the characteristics of its condition, which depends on a number of endogenous and exogenous factors.

The acidity of the skin is disturbed in some skin diseases. For example, with fungal diseases, the pH rises to 6 (weakly acidic reaction), with eczema - up to 6.5 (almost neutral reaction), with acne - up to 7 (neutral). The acidity of the skin surface is one of its physiological characteristics (along with hydration, structure, temperature), the change of which inevitably affects the functioning of this organ and the body in general.

The pH value of healthy skin became the subject of discussion at the end of the 19th century. In 1892, E. Heuss discovered that the entire surface of human skin is acidic. This statement is still an axiom today. The well-known term for the acid mantle of the skin, the "acid mantle of Marchionini", is named after the scientist who confirmed acidophilicity as a protective ability of the skin.

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