How bad are alkaline soaps/shave creams for the face?

[x-ray_vision]

I belong to a shave forum where most members shave with old fashioned DE razors and use tradition shave soaps/creams (the kind that are usually applied with a badger brush).

Someone started a thread mocking a video put out by a fairly well known shaving product line regarding the superiority of their shave gel and the founder of the company replied in the thread about how traditional creams are bad for the face because of the high pH.

Well, me being the skeptical type and one who LOVES his shaving soaps and creams couldn’t let this go unchallenged.

His bottom line was that since the pH of the face is slightly acidic, shaving soaps/creams that are on the alkaline side are bad.

He even had his MD send me an email:

Hi [x-ray vision],

[The founder] forwarded me your couple of questions, which I’ll do my best to
answer.

Skin’s PH

The skin’s natural PH is generally between 5 & 6 (so mildly acidic),
with men’s generally being slightly more acidic than women’s.

This acidic layer, sometimes called the acid mantel (created from a mix
of sebum and sweat) provides a natural antibacterial barrier over the
skin’s surface. Due to its acidity the naturally occurring (friendly)
bacteria that live on your skin thrive, whereas foreign (unfriendly)
bacteria will not, so making it easier for the friendly bacteria to
essentially help kill them off.

Using products on the skin that are alkaline in make up can destroy the
acid mantel. Obviously the skin (being a pretty smart bit of kit) will
restore the acid mantel, but it does take time (up to a couple of
hours). During this timeframe your skin is not as well protected from
foreign bacteria. This at a time (post shave) when the skin’s surface
may have been abraded by the razor, so making it much easier for
allergens and microbes to penetrate the stratum corneum (top part of
your skin) and cause infection and irritation.

For those with tough and / or thick skin then probably not a problem,
but for those of us with the more sensitive variety it is definitely
something to consider.

SLS & SLES (Sodium laureth sulphate)

There is a lot of bad press about these products, although I would
suggest much of it is not entirely based on fact.

However, SLES can be a skin irritant and can be replaced by much milder
surfactants as we’re currently doing in several of our shave gel ranges.

Hope that a) makes some sense and b) helps. If not drop me a mail with
any queries and I’ll do my best to get you some answers.

Kindest regards, Andy

How much “destroying” of the acid mantel can occur from a few minutes of using a traditional shave cream and how serious is any threat from bacteria or infections because of this? I’d love some facts that will blow this out of the water because not only do I hate the idea of someone preying on ignorance of others to get them to buy their products out of fear, I’m hoping my soap/cream collection is as superior as I’ve always thought it was.

After doing a little research I found out that the natural alkalinity of soap actually helps soften the beard which of course is beneficial to a good shave, so I’m hoping all the supposed bad news regarding the alkalinity is b.s.

Oh, almost forgot, regarding the part where Andy talks about Sodium laureth sulphate:

The company’s founder wrote this in part of one of his posts:

worth looking at what stearic acid is on wikipedia, also stuff like lanolin. you may (or may not) like what you read.

My response:

Here is the Wikipedia article on Stearic acid and here is the one for lanolin. Which parts are worth looking at and why would one not like what he reads? I didn’t see anything I didn’t like in those articles, however, I wasn’t too crazy what I read about Sodium laureth sulfate which is high up on the ingredients list in [The Company’s] shaving gels.:

Effects on sensitive skin

Products containing these substances can affect those prone to eczema and other irritants. These substances provide a foaming quality to the product, allowing for better distribution of the product while washing hair or skin and while brushing teeth. When rinsed off, the product will have cleaned the area but will have taken moisture from the top layers of skin. In people with sensitive skin (prone to dermatitis, acne, eczema, psoriasis and chemical sensitivity), the drying property of these type of detergents can cause flare-ups of skin conditions or may worsen existing conditions.[4][5]

Health concerns

The Cosmetic, Toiletry, and Fragrance Association (CTFA) and the American Cancer Society stated that the common belief that SLES is a carcinogen is an urban legend.[6] However, the Environmental Working Group has claimed in their Skin Deep Report that SLES may possibly be contaminated with 1,4-dioxane.[7] SLES and SLS have been known to become contaminated with 1,4-dioxane.[8] The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency considers 1,4-dioxane to be a probable carcinogen.[9] While the U.S. Food and Drug Administration encourages manufacturers to remove this contaminant, it is not currently required by federal law.[10]

[Phlosphr]

I dunno how bad those alkaline products are for your face, but for me I never use them. Steel and water my friend…the best shave for this guy is hot water and steel of the blade. WOW that sounds very Rambo but I do not like putting chemicals on my face.

[Favel]

I don’t know what health effects alkaline creams may have, but by dissolving the acid mantel they make it noticeably easier to hydrate and soften the beard, and that much easier to shave it. That means better results per razor stroke, ergo fewer strokes, and less irritation.

[Jackmannii]

There’s a ton of dreck out there about products or foods supposedly violating the sacred pH of our precious bodily fluids. I strongly suspect the same illogic applies to skin care.

Humans have wonderful systems for homeostasis, and in the absence of good studies, the idea that a brief disruption of outer skin pH predisposes to infection is likely hooey.

Some skin/shaving preparations contain chemicals, “natural” or otherwise which can irritate skin, which is another matter.