
pH In Skincare Products Explained | Dr. Whitney Bowe

The First Meal Rach Ever Made for Her Mom as a Kid: 3 Cheese Rol…

Rach's 10-Ingredient Roast Chicken Dinner + "Top Chef's" Gail Si…

Biggest Closet in NYC?! Plus, Drool-Worthy Spicy Eggplant Pasta

Scarlett Johansson Surprises One of Our Viewers + Rach's Calzone…

Instant Pot Champagne Chicken + Rach and John Answer Viewer Qs

Bob Harper's NYC Apartment Tour + Rach's Everything Pigs in a Bl…

Barbara Corcoran Shares Her Best Business Advice + Nachos 2 Ways

Rach's Bucatini with Bacon & Creamy Onion Sauce + Chef Richard B…

Rach’s Rotisserie Chicken Meal + Stacy London's Makeover

Season 17 of Rachael Is Coming—Here's When!

3 Tools Every DIYer Should Have

3 Kitchen Tools NY Times' Melissa Clark Can't Cook or Bake Witho…

3 Things You Should Add to Your Medicine Cabinet, According To a…

A Style Expert on Why the Nap Dress Is So Popular

Rach's Porterhouse Steak for John + Chef Scott Conant's Cast-Iro…

Summer-Ready Raw Zucchini Salad + Best Seasonal Produce Buys

Our Shortcuts Show: Chef Kelly Senyei Shares Ultimate Baking Sho…

Chef Curtis Stone Makes Grilled Fish Tacos + Rach's Veal Francese

Viewer Goes Meat-Free for a Week + Carrot and Butternut Squash C…
When it comes to choosing skincare products, there is so much (read: TOO much) to think about. And now you have to pay attention to the pH level, too?! (Sigh.)
Don't fret, though. Leading NYC dermatologist and the author of The Beauty Of Dirty Skin, Dr. Whitney Bowe, is breaking it all down.
"pH stands for potential of hydrogen," Dr. Whitney explains, "and it has to do with how acidic or basic something is."
"Another word for basic is alkaline. And you've probably heard of people drinking alkaline water or eating alkaline diets," she continues. "Those are hot right now, but when it comes to the skin, it is the opposite. The skin does not like being alkaline. The skin likes to be slightly acidic."
Let's look at a pH scale for reference:

So, where does the skin like to be? "The skin likes to be slightly acidic," the derm says. "The skin likes to be at about a 4.5 to 5.5."
"When the skin is in that zone," she goes on, "it's able to trap in moisture, fight off infection, control inflammation [and] slow down the signs of aging."
Now, the question is — can we control the pH level of our skin?
"As we mature, our skin pH starts to actually climb into the alkaline range," Dr. Whitney explains. "You can use your products to bring it back, [but] sometimes products are hurting the pH of your skin."
Scary, we know. But the good news is you can buy pH strips (for as little as $4, the derm says) and test the levels of your skincare products right at home. (Watch the video above to see the pH level of one viewer's soap. Yikes!)
The even BETTER news is that skincare brands are starting to list pH levels right on labels. "They're going to be doing the work for you," Dr. Whitney says. Music to our ears!