Baking soda on the face: why it isn’t a skin exfoliant

Baking soda appears in many videos as a facial scrub, a mask for blackheads, and mixed with lemon or water to “clean the pores.” It is inexpensive, found in every kitchen, and seems harmless. The problem is not baking soda itself: it is the pH.

The skin’s surface is acidic, while baking soda dissolved in water is alkaline. A baking soda solution has a pH of around 8, whereas the surface of the face is normally below 5. On the face, it does not clean more effectively: it shifts the pH in the wrong direction and weakens the very barrier that protects against dryness and redness.

Article written by Elisa Avalle, founder of LeLang Skin Care and dermocosmetics specialist. Cover image generated with the support of artificial intelligence.

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Why the skin’s pH matters so much

The most superficial layer of the epidermis is not an inert surface: it is working tissue, and it works well in an acidic environment. The enzymes that produce barrier lipids, such as ceramides and fatty acids, have their optimum at an acidic pH. The enzymes that separate corneocytes from one another, on the other hand, become more active when the pH rises. The result of prolonged alkaline pH is a barrier that repairs itself more slowly and flakes in a disorganized way: we discuss this in the skin’s pH.

Healthy skin has buffering capacity and brings its pH back toward acidic values, but not instantly. Repeating the action every day, or leaving the paste on as a mask, means keeping it outside its normal range for longer.

Baking soda as a scrub: two problems at once

When used as a paste, baking soda adds the mechanical action of the granules to the effect of its pH. The crystals have irregular shapes and sizes: when rubbed on the face, they work unevenly, more intensely wherever more pressure is applied. On thin or already sensitive skin, it is the worst combination, because the abrasion is added to a surface that has meanwhile become more permeable.

The feeling of exceptionally smooth skin immediately afterward is real, but it results from the harsh removal of surface cells and lipids, not from healthier skin. In the following days, dryness, tightness, and redness often appear: this is the picture we describe in the skin barrier.

What about blackheads?

A blackhead is a plug of sebum and cells that oxidizes at the opening of the follicle. Dissolving it requires a substance that can penetrate sebum, and baking soda in water does not do this: it acts on the surface. That is why its effect on blackheads is minimal, while its effect on the barrier is real. The ingredient designed to work inside the pore is salicylic acid, which is oil-soluble. The full process is explained in blackheads: why they form and how to get rid of them.

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Baking soda and lemon: the mixture to avoid

Mixing baking soda and lemon juice produces fizz, and the fizz seems like a sign of effectiveness. In reality, it is a reaction between an acid and a base that consumes both ingredients: what remains on the skin is a mixture with an unpredictable pH. Citrus juice applied to skin that is then exposed to the sun may also contain photosensitizing substances that leave spots.

What to use instead

If the goal is smoother, brighter skin, the way forward is exfoliation formulated for the face, with a controlled concentration and a pH compatible with the skin:

• Chemical exfoliants such as glycolic acid or mandelic acid, which loosen the bonds between corneocytes evenly.
• Enzymatic exfoliants, the gentlest option, also suitable for skin that reddens easily: the difference between scrubs and acids is explained in facial enzymatic peeling.
• Gentle cleansing every day, at a pH close to that of the skin: this is the foundation that makes any harsh remedy unnecessary.

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How often to exfoliate and how to tell whether you are overdoing it is explained in exfoliating the skin.

Where baking soda makes sense

It is not an ingredient to demonize. In bath salts and foot soaks, highly diluted in a large volume of water and used for a short time, it softens the water and provides a clean feeling, without the effects of a concentrated paste on the face. It also appears in some cosmetics as a pH adjuster or effervescent component, in quantities and conditions carefully studied by the formulator. What does not work is using pure, or nearly pure, kitchen baking soda on facial skin.

If your skin burns, becomes red, or flakes after using baking soda, stop using all exfoliants for a few days and use only a gentle cleanser and a soothing cream. If the redness does not go away or blisters appear, see a doctor.

Where to go from here

If you use baking soda because your skin seems dull or full of impurities, the question to ask is different: what cleanser and exfoliant are you using? At LeLang partner pharmacies and parapharmacies, you can receive in-person advice, or you can book a consultation with the founder.