Back by popular demand: here’s our newest member, Forebrain, with another reference-laden post. Enjoy!
Julie’s cleansing question: I’ve read a lot about using baking soda to clean and exfoliate your face. Do you have any evidence this works either instead of a cleanser or for an acne treatment? Is there any down side? This is obviously much cheaper than all the fancy treatments out there if it works.
Forebrain’s favorable response:
I’m so glad you asked this question Julie, I’ve been hearing many great things about all the uses for baking soda as well, especially with respect to its exfoliant and cleaning properties! The quick answer is that baking does in fact work as a great exfoliant and may be useful in treating acne. Read on for more details and how you should use it.
Chemical and Physical Exfoliants
Although many of you already know quite a bit about exfoliating, let’s quickly go over the process and some differences between the chemical and physical methods.
The point of exfoliation is to slough off the cells from the top layer of skin and reveal the younger, healthier cells underneath. Some exfoliants contain mild acids such as Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA for short), which help renew the skin layer by burning off some of the skin. The effectiveness of these chemical exfoliants depends on the acid concentration, with too low being not effective enough, and too high being damaging to the skin. Physical exfoliants (like brushes or scrubs) on the other hand remove the skin cells from the top layer by physically scraping them off. With physical exfoliants, the level of irritation and potential damage to skin becomes an issue when coarser methods like hard bristled brushes are used.
Baking soda (aka sodium bicarbonate) falls under the category of physical exfoliants, and what makes it especially effective is that it is a fine, yet hard powder, making it highly effective at removing the dead skin cells without causing excessive irritation. Chemically speaking, baking soda is acid neutral, and acts a mild buffer which means that it has the ability to neutralize other substances it comes in contact with that are acidic (like vinegar) or basic (like soap). Many people also believe that baking soda has cleaning properties; however, scientific evidence has shown that this is due to baking soda’s physically abrasive nature, and it is not an effective anti-microbial agent.
Exfoliating with baking soda
To reap the benefits of exfoliating with baking soda, add a teaspoon of the powder to your facial cleanser, mix well, and massage into skin like you would with a commercial exfoliant. Do this 2-3 times a week or as per your regular exfoliation routine. If you notice that your skin is red or irritated afterwards, try putting in less baking soda and use the treatment at night so that your skin has a chance to get back to normal while you sleep. Remember to always moisturize afterwards!
Baking soda as an acne treatment
While there are numerous testimonials in which people claim that baking soda cleared up their acne when nothing else helped, please remember to take these statements with a grain of salt. We don’t know what else that person had changed in their skin regimen; it’s possible that besides using baking soda they also started drinking more water, switched their cleanser or moisturizer, or maybe even changed the number of times they cleanse their skin per day. Seasonal changes and stress levels also have a very strong impact on how much and how noticeable your acne may be. However, there is some evidence that baking soda may be beneficial in treating acne since just the exfoliating properties of baking soda alone lead to an increased skin cell turnover rate making your acne look less noticeable. Plus, baking soda’s neutralizing properties maybe reduce redness of the skin also reducing the appearance of acne. If you want to try using baking soda as an acne treatment, my recommendation is to use one teaspoon of it in your cleanser at night to exfoliate your skin, as well as make a thicker paste of just baking soda and water and apply it to the acne as a mask for 5-10 minutes or overnight (beware, when it dries the mixture will crumble so you might up wake up to a messy pillow).
The Beauty Brains bottom line
In summary, all signs point to baking soda being an excellent and cheap physical exfoliant. It is ph neutral and a fine powder, which means that it will be gentle on your skin. Baking soda may also be useful in treating acne when made into a paste and applied to the affected areas although there is not as much scientific evidence to back that up. Please comment if you try out any baking soda treatments to let us know what they were and if they worked for you. And always remember to moisturize!
Fun fact: Did you know that baking soda was the primary cleaning agent in the restoration of the Statue of Liberty? Leave a comment and share your favorite statue and facial exfoliating tips wih the rest of the Beauty Brains community.
References:
Parnes, C.A. 1997. Efficacy of sodium hypochlorite bleach and “alternative” products in preventing transfer of bacteria to and from inanimate surfaces. Journal of Environmental Health, 59, 14-20.
http://www.alive.com/3744a1a2.php?subject_bread_cramb=76
http://www.acne.org/baking-soda-reviews/209/page1.html
http://www.meredy.com/nursetips/skinhealthtips.html
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teddyp Says:
Yay for forebrain! Another great article
And yes, as before I love the references.
Ann Says:
I have enjoyed using baking soda for years as an exfolliant. However, i don’t exfolliate as frequently as you suggested, more like when my skin looks or feels like it needs it. Baking soda is not only inexpensive, the big plus is that you can add it to your favorite cleanser, which is important to some of us with skin that is fairly reactive or incompatible to certain ingredients. Also for me, is “just the right size”, meaning that I have used stuff that would be far too abrasive, and similarly, stuff that was ineffective due to the “tinyness” of the particle (or overabundance of emolliants) in the product. You can regulate the amount of baking soda, as well as adding more water for a milder effect.
I love this blog, thanks so much!
Courtney Says:
I’ve been using baking soda as an exfoliant for a while now, but not just on my face. It works great on your legs before shaving, too, and it softens your skin.
I’ve also found that a paste of baking soda can help dry up a pimple. It’s not a miracle or anything, but it has worked for me.
Karen Says:
This was really interesting. I liked the article and people’s tips so far. Keep ‘em coming!
Yvette Says:
Thanks for the awesome information. I tried this earlier today and it worked great. I have rosacea and have to be very cautious about exfoliating but the baking soda did not irritate my skin at all. Chalk up another wonderful suggestion from the Brains!
Hazel Says:
I use baking soda and add a little water for a pasty texture. Since i started using this, my skin has felt smoother than ever before. Blackheads are buffing away every time i use it and skin is soft and smooth. Very simple. Very cheap.
Joshua Powell Says:
Baking soda makes for a great exfoliant, but like with every other physical exfoliant, be gentle!
I also add some to my toothpaste from time-to-time to help whiten my teeth, as well as mixing some with a little warm water to use as a hand softening soak!
Marie Says:
I love using baking soda as an exfoliant. I also use it on my lips with water to get rid of dry skin. Just be careful not to open your mouth while using it - doesn’t taste so good!
Kari Says:
Although I’ve read and enjoyed this blog for awhile I’ve never posted before. I’m not really the posting type. But I quite enjoyed this article and wanted to encourage more like it! In part the topic was just more relevant to me than some slightly less personally applicable articles (e.g. I do not foresee having access to breast milk nor a child to use it on any time soon) but what I really appreciated more was that this time you posted evidence in SUPPORT of a product.
I admire your site’s efforts to encourage a measure of reservation when approaching an industry that so often stoops to hand-waving and snake oil, with no basis in hard evidence. However, I have noticed a tendency on this site of scientific rigor generally coming down on the side against the products in question. Granted there are likely a hundred times more products that AREN’T worth buying than products that ARE. But once we’ve gotten that (albeit worthwhile) message, a blog that continues only to decry the multitude of bad products does not serve much ongoing purpose for those of us who are searching for the good ones.
I do appreciate your calling out of products that don’t live up to their promises, but even more valuable at this point is pointing me to a product that DOES. Which is why I commend you for passing on the encouraging information regarding the use of baking soda as an exfoliant, and am happily on my way to the kitchen to test it for myself.
tracy Says:
i have been looking for a site like this for a long time.i have a a problem with hypopigmentation on my face .tried so many creams .nothing works. but i have read on the net that baking soda works so i gave it a try. it has given results . my face pigmentation is getting lighter. but i have included tartaric acid. citric acid. sugar . milk powder.honey . to my face wash . i am getting results . but what concerns me is are there any side effects using this combination.? this is the only combination of natural ingredients i i have tried that has helped with my problem.
thebeautybrains Says:
As long as you don’t use a concentration of the acids that stings your skin (that varies by person) using the combination you say should be fine. Not sure that it will work but for most people, it shouldn’t cause a problem.
jane Says:
i have exogenous ochronosis is there any natural ingredients i can use to help alleviate the problem.
i have acne Says:
i have random breakouts… sometimes a pimple would pop out and then it would get really big and red… when the pimple gets a white head i use baking soda and water paste and i dab a little on the pimple and leave for about an hour….. it really dries up all the white stuff….. it works!
Also i use it as an exfoliant … twice a week maybe three…. it works!… just remember to moisturize !!!!
Shirley Says:
I was actually surprised to find this website. I have used sea salt(ok, but didn’t like the saltiness), borax(liked the results, but learned that it could be toxic). Then I remembered that baking soda was mildly abrasive and also a natural product. I looked for information for use as a skin exfoliant and found your site. I’m so glad I did because the information you provided has helped me decide to use it. I will let you know how it worked for me. Thanks for your help.