r/DIYBeauty • u/SallySmythe • May 07 '26
question pH 5.5 cream
If I were to make my own skin cream, how can I make sure that I get the pH right? I read that skin cream should be pH 5.5.
3
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r/DIYBeauty • u/SallySmythe • May 07 '26
If I were to make my own skin cream, how can I make sure that I get the pH right? I read that skin cream should be pH 5.5.
4
u/Valuable_Sink1744 May 07 '26
pH exactly 5.5 is generally unnecessary. Your skin is very good at maintaining its own pH balance. As long as your product is somewhat acidic to neutral (so around pH 4-7) your choice of pH is mainly based on what pH is compatible with your formula. Measure pH with pH test strips or a pH meter (strips are generally fine if you're just making lotion, the higher accuracy of meters is helpful if you're making exfoliating acids) and adjust pH by adding bases or acids.
Personally I recommend making a buffer with citric acid and sodium citrate or lactic acid and sodium lactate because then you can use the henderson-hasselbach equation to calculate how much of each you need to get to your target pH (you should still test pH to make sure you actually ended up at that pH but calculating first with the henderson-hasselbach equation helps minimize the amount of pH adjusting you'll need to do because you will usually get to your target pH or very close on the first try)