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SKINCARE DECODED • 40 CLEANSERS • 41

Cleanser Tip 2: Consider the pH

If you’re sensitive, or have chronically dry skin, psoriasis, or eczema, it never

hurts to double-check the pH of your cleanser. Your skin’s natural acidity (usually

hanging out in the pH 5.5 neighborhood) is an important part of its microbiome

and general health. Though scientists don’t yet fully understand the complexities

of the microbiome and skin pH, try to reach for cleansers with a listed skin-

friendly pH (roughly, anything under 6).

But is pH the be-all and end-all? Actually, healthy skin has the ability to

self-regulate pH. So, if you have normal, healthy skin but use a high-pH

cleanser that you love, don’t freak out! pH is a much more important

consideration for those with compromised skin.

EXPENSIVE CLEANSERS

One of our pet peeves is those ridiculously expensive cleansers you see in some

department stores. You know the ones: fancy packaging, big price tag, claims to be made

with concentrated mermaid tears and promises to wash away your wrinkles and sins.

Ridiculous claims are everywhere in skincare, but we find them most eye-roll-worthy

in cleansers. Assuming for a second that they did infuse their cleanser with a Fountain

of Youth distillate, cleansers are just not really a good way to deliver all that anti-aging

goodness into your skin. Remember, a cleanser’s job is to take things off, not to add on.

Regular priced cleansers with normal ingredients will do the job just fine.

CHEMIST CONFESSIONS: SHOPPING TIP