NOTE: This article contains some inaccurate information. We no longer recommend the use of baking soda on your face because the high pH can disrupt the skin’s acid mantle.
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, it’s use in natural skin care and 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 an acid neutralizer 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
Comments on this entry are closed.
This morning I brought a small dish of baking soda to the shower, keeping it away from the water, I mixed some in my face wash. It felt similar to a fine grain and did the job. I concentrated on my oily t-zone. It did the job and my face was not red. I felt like if I rubbed too hard it would be overdoing it. After that I put some Johnson’s Baby shampoo in the dish and used that on my scalp as I read it can be like a clarifying shampoo. My hair and scalp is super clean and free of any build up that I had noticed before. I will use this on occasion instead of extra money I have spent on specialty shampoos. Great article and I like your site! Spent about an hour on here last night.
Welcome Gini! We recommend that all our readers spend an hour or two each day on our site. (Three hours on the weekend.)
The article says, ” It is ph neutral and a fine powder, which means that it will be gentle on your skin.”
So what is it???
The original post is inaccurate and I just realized it was never updated – thanks for the heads up!
Why can’t something be done to neutralize the pH, such as adding baking soda to lemon juice or vinegar? Wouldn’t that result (after the science-fair-volcano foaming) in a pH neutral mixture?
Then you wouldn’t have powdered baking soda any more – you’d have a solution of salt water, essentially, which wouldn’t help with exfoliation.
I use bi carb for most things to save money and the environment,and I just tried it as an exfoliate finding out it is antfungual .And when I woke up in the morning my skin just looked so smooth I am wanting to share this with other people.
I have been mixing my own face cleanser for years out of baking soda, water, Dr. Bronner’s Baby-Mild castile soap, and a little tea tree oil. It is the only cleanser I have used that consistently keeps me from having any breakouts.
can we use citric acid and almonds and baking powder and form a paste that can be used for. face
That mixture may scratch your face. Plus, baking soda has a high pH.
Can I use it even if my acne are just mild? I want a smoother skin on my face tho, do i need to exfoliate or just clean my face off? My face usually turns red when the temp is hot and cold. (as well as when I laugh)
For the past month I’ve been actively working to make my skin as nice as possible. (I’ll be 40 in a few months.) I’ve tried several exfoliators but my nose and chin still didn’t look “clean”. I’ve been putting 1 pump of my face wash in my hand, sprinkle in some baking soda and water and rub until it’s a nice paste. After the first use I could see a nice difference! I do this at night so any redness can subside. I moisturize after I pat dry my face. In the morning I just use face wash on a rag and am extra gentle to keep redness as minimal as possible. Love it!