I can't tell you how many times I've gotten DIY beauty advice from friends, family, and customers from my old jobs. When you suffer from acne or bad skin, it's somehow a green light for strangers to tout all of their beauty knowledge on you, even if they're not necessarily right. One of my regulars at Pinkberry back in the day told me to cut a lime in half, bake it in an oven, and rub it all over my face while it's still hot. Instinct told me not to squeeze a searing hot fruit over any open wound, especially spots on my face! Even though I didn't take her advice home with me, I was't aware of the dangers of some DIY beauty ingredients until I really started my research on skincare. It's all about keeping your skin in balance and maintaining your skin's most natural pH level, or problems like acne or dehydration can wreak havoc. Here are two DIY ingredients you should stay away from to keep your skin healthy and balanced.
Lemon and Citrus Fruits
Lemon is often recommended for its brightening and astringent properties, which should be helpful for acne and dark spots. But that “hurts so good” sting you feel from lemon hitting an open acne spot is actually irritation and can cause more inflammation and redness. The brightening effect of citrus juice is from its high acidity levels (pH 2), which is far too high to be regularly applying on the skin. Have you heard of a chemical peel? That’s essentially what citrus juice is, so you must be careful with application or you risk getting a serious chemical burn. Excessive use of citrus juice on the skin can also lead to photosensitivity, or sensitivity to sun exposure. If you insist on using citrus juice in your routine, consider diluting the juice with water and avoid using it daily. And if you aren't using it already (like you should be!), sunscreen will be your new best friend.
Baking Soda
Baking soda is commonly recommended as an inexpensive alternative to scrubs. It’s said to be gentle on sensitive skin and can also be mixed with other ingredients to make a mask. The danger in baking soda is its pH of 8.5, making it highly alkaline, the opposite of acidic lemon juice. Now, what’s the harm in a scrub or mask that’s too alkaline? The natural pH of skin (4.5-5.5) leans more on the acidic side to fight harmful bacteria in the environment. But when we cleanse skin with an alkaline product, it changes the skin’s pH making it a breeding ground for bacteria (Korting HC, 1990). High pH levels can also lead to moisture loss, irritation, and skin aging.
It’s important to find a gentle facial cleanser with a pH that closely resembles your skin's natural balance. The delicate balance your skin needs to be healthy can be easily damaged but is much harder to heal, sometimes taking up to 2 weeks to go back to it's normal state! Now that you know to steer clear of DIY projects using lemons and baking soda, you can confidently say "No thanks, I'm trying to watch my pH figure" to any stranger giving you bad beauty advice.
