People who apply skin care products to their face or even have regular facials might still suffer from skin irritation or dryness, a dermatologist said, adding that the problem could be an acid-base imbalance of the skin.
Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital’s Cosmetic Center director Tang Hao-yueh (唐豪悅) said many people, particularly women, like to wear water-resistant cosmetics and sunscreen during the day and use many different types of skin cleansers to wash it off at night, but over-cleansing or applying the wrong products can easily cause an acid-base imbalance.
The sebum on the surface of the skin is normally mildly acidic, so when people over-cleanse their skin with alkaline cleansing products, it can increase sebum production and allow bacteria to grow more easily or cause acne, pimples or inflammation of the skin, she said.
Studies have shown that it takes one to three hours for the skin to restore its natural acid-base balance, Tang said, adding that most skin cleansing products are alkaline, so they might irritate the skin or make it too dry when they remove oil from its surface.
She suggested that people avoid over-cleansing their skin with alkaline products and avoid applying too much skin lightening products because they usually irritate the skin, especially when the skin is in poor condition or overly sensitive.
People should also avoid using exfoliating products too frequently, because they can damage the natural protective layer on the skin’s surface, she said.
Tung said people should try to apply cleansing and moisturizing products that are more close to the skin’s natural pH level, adding that if they are worried about the effects of a new cleansing product on their skin, they should wait a while after using the product to see if irritation, itchiness or dryness occur before applying other skincare products.
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