Instrumental evaluation – Skin pHmeter

Prof Danka Tamburic

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London College of Fashion, UK
The origin of skin pH
- The surface of skin is acidic (4.0-6.5)
- Main reasons:
to enable the activity of skin enzymes
to allow the adherence of resident bacteria and to be
hostile against pathogenic species
- Sources of water-soluble materials on the skin surface:
lactic acid (from eccrine sweat; from epidermal metabolism)
free fatty acids (FFAs) & cholesterol sulphate (from sebum)
urocanic acid
pyrrolidone carboxylic acid (PCA)

-There is a steep pH gradient between viable epidermis and

stratum corneum (SC)

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A reminder of skin and epidermal structure

Skin cross-section

Candi et al. Nat Rev Mol Cell Biol. 26(4):328-40(2005)

A reminder of the epidermal structure

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Dr Michael Wilson, SCS Annual conference, London, July 2018
Skin pH distribution

Dr Michael Wilson, SCS Annual

conference, London, July 2018

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Mathematical meaning of pH

Mathematically, the pH is defined as the negative logarithm of the

molar concentration of Hydrogen ion (H+) in an aqueous solution

pH = -log [H+]

Water is a very weak acid, which naturally releases a very small number
of H+ and OH- ions.

[H+] of pure water is 10-7, hence its pH = -log [10-7] = 7

pH 7 – NEUTRAL pH; less than 7 – acidic; more than 7 – alkaline

Remember: the scale is logarithmic, so the difference between each full

number is 10 times.
e.g. pH 5 solution has 100 times more H+ ions than pH 7

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Skin pH measurement

- Measured with flat semi-permeable glass electrode, using skin

pH meter
-Depends on the presence of water-soluble components on the
skin surface (from sweat and sebum)
-May indicate impaired barrier function
Important for:
• Development of soaps, cleansers and detergents
• Diagnosis and monitoring of skin diseases linked to an
increased pH value
• Early detection of skin problems in occupational health

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Skin pH measurement

• The glass electrode consists of an

internal electrode (based on silver
and filled with the Ag/AgCl buffer)
and a reference electrode (filled with
KCl solution)
• They produce a potential difference
during the test, which is expressed
as pH
• Internal electrode is in contact with
the test material via sensitive semi-
permeable membrane
• The membrane must be wet in order
to measure pH (remember the
definition of pH)
• It is prone to damage and requires
careful handling!
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The skin pH testing procedure
- Electrode has to be rinsed with distilled water and lightly dried,
but its tip should stay wet
- Keep electrode perpendicular to the skin surface
- Take three repeats of each measurement, at adjacent sites
-Rinse electrode between measurements, but not between
repeats

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Skin pH measurement

-Occasionally put electrode in the buffer solution and wait

until the reading is stable
-When not used, keep it in the saturated KCl solution, when
used in distilled water
-The red rubber cap must be lifted before starting the
measurements to equalise the pressure, then put back to
avoid the leakage of KCl.
-The calibration is carried out with the MPA
software

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Example of the skin pH study
• To evaluate the effect of different soaps and hand-wash liquids
• To follow the changes over time
• 60 panellists; 8 products (6 soaps + 2 liquids)
• 3 products did not change the skin pH significantly; 5 products did
• Conclusion: after 1 hour still increased pH for 4 products

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Summary of learning points
▪ There are many instruments, by different manufacturers, that
can be used to test the changes in skin properties
▪ Physical principles on which those instruments work must be
well understood
▪ Instruments are mostly easy to use, but also easy to mis-use!
▪ To avoid mis-use, the probes must be used as instructed,
previously calibrated, on properly treated skin, under required
environmental conditions
▪ Most importantly, the study should be set up acoording to
standard product evaluation principles!

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Project report structure

▪ Includes consolidated information on:

• Introduction (short background and rationale)
• Aim and objectives
• Experimental part
Materials (used in the study)
Methods (including the testing method and the instrument
used, study design with study protocol, and statistical
methods)
• Results and discussion
• Conclusions
• References
▪ Results should be reported, even when they are not those
expected
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Data presentation

1) Tabulation (tables)
Table number and informative title
Clear column headings; logical flow
Data collection tables v.s. data summary tables

2) Graphs (figures)
Visually informative; can simplify data
Wide choice of formats (depends on the data and the
audience)
Figure number and informative title
Axes must have titles and units
Do not duplicate (the same data in a table and a graph
format)

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Self-check of tables and graphs

- Is there a number and the title?

Examples:
Table 3. pH values measured on the left hand
Figure 5. Skin hydration values of the two test
products
- Is it understandable on its own, without referring to the
text?
Are column titles clear on the table?
Is legend clear on the graph?
Are both axes named, with units in brackets?

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Reading exercise
• As an exercise in referencing and critical reading, look for
relevant references in instrumental methods.

Possible sources: manufactures’ websites, Kosmet database,

PubMed, LCF library (including books, Int J Cosm Sci,
J Cosm Dermatol, Cosmetics & Toiletries Magazine)

• Find at least three research papers that contain skin pH

studies
• Look for a review paper on skin pH
• Read all of them carefully, making annotations, and try to
use them when writing your report
• Remember, references are most useful in Discussion, but
are also used in Introduction and Experimental part.