Ep 338 – The Rogue Pharmacist: The Acid Mantle - ASCP Esty Talk

Summary

ASCP Esty Talk: Episode 338 – The Rogue Pharmacist: The Acid Mantle

Release Date: August 1, 2025
Host: Associated Skin Care Professionals (ASCP)
Guest: Benjamin Knight Fuchs, Skincare Formulator and Pharmacist

Introduction

In Episode 338 of ASCP Esty Talk, titled "The Rogue Pharmacist: The Acid Mantle," host Maggie Stasik engages in an in-depth conversation with skincare formulator and pharmacist Benjamin Knight Fuchs. The discussion delves into the critical role of the acid mantle in maintaining skin health, exploring both internal and external factors that influence this delicate balance.

Understanding the Acid Mantle

[01:27] Maggie Stasik: "As estheticians we all know the acid mantle plays a crucial role in skin health. But let's dig deeper. What's actually happening at the chemical level that makes the acid mantle so essential for barrier function?"

Benjamin Knight Fuchs provides a foundational understanding of the acid mantle, emphasizing its importance in skin barrier function. He explains that the acid mantle is a thin, acidic film on the skin's surface, typically ranging between a pH of 4 to 5. This acidity is vital for protecting the skin from pathogens and maintaining overall skin health.

Acid vs. Alkaline: The Science Behind pH

Fuchs breaks down the concepts of acidity and alkalinity, clarifying common misconceptions:

pH Scale: "pH scale real quickly goes from 0 to 14. Probably everybody knows that 7 is in the middle. 0 to 7 is the acid side. 7 to 14 is the alkaline, alkaline side." [01:45]

He elucidates that while the body's internal environment, particularly the blood, maintains a slightly alkaline pH (~7.38) to facilitate nutrient absorption, the skin operates best in a slightly acidic environment. This dichotomy is crucial for different bodily functions.

Impact of pH on Skin Health

Fuchs highlights the dual nature of pH effects on the body versus the skin:

Internal Body (Blood): "You want your blood to be alkaline... because you can suck nutrition in. So you want to have a vacuum." [03:15]
Skin Surface: "The skin, on the other hand, you want it to have a pushing effect. Why would you want a pushing effect? It's a barrier. It's protective. It's like a force field." [04:05]

He explains that an acidic skin environment promotes a protective barrier and supports the skin's microbiome, while an alkaline environment can weaken this barrier, making the skin susceptible to irritation and infection.

The Role of Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHAs)

A significant portion of the discussion revolves around the benefits of AHAs in skincare:

Stimulation and Growth: "Acids are stimulating. In fact, acids are produced by cells when cells are stressed out." [06:10]

Fuchs compares the application of AHAs to a workout for the skin, inducing mild stress that prompts the skin to repair and regenerate. This process leads to increased collagen production, reduced fine lines, and a thicker epidermis.

Exfoliation and Beyond: "When you exfoliate with acid, not only de-exfoliate, but you also put that jolt of energy into the skin." [07:20]

He emphasizes that AHAs not only remove dead skin cells but also invigorate the skin's cellular processes, offering comprehensive anti-aging benefits.

Internal vs. Topical Factors in Maintaining Skin pH

Fuchs underscores the importance of internal nutrition in maintaining the skin's acid mantle:

Dietary Fats and Nutrients: "Making sure you're getting enough of these fatty materials in the diet is one of the most important things you could do to maintain the acid mantle." [08:30]

He advises estheticians to educate clients on the significance of consuming essential fatty acids and protective nutrients like vitamins E and C, selenium, and zinc. These nutrients support the skin's barrier function and overall health from within.

Avoiding Alkaline Products: "Most topical products that we put on our skin are alkaline... So skincare companies don't want their products moving because that will encourage their breakdown." [09:10]

Fuchs points out the prevalence of alkaline products in the market, such as soaps and cleansers with high pH levels (e.g., Ivory soap at pH 10), which can disrupt the skin's natural acidity and compromise its barrier.

The Importance of the Skin's Microbiome

In the final segments, Fuchs touches upon the relationship between the skin's pH and its microbiome:

Microbiome Balance: "The correct bacterial profile in the skin depends on a low pH or a pH around 5, 4.55, 5.5-ish." [09:50]

Maintaining an acidic environment is crucial for fostering a healthy microbiome, which in turn protects against harmful pathogens and supports skin resilience.

Conclusion

Episode 338 of ASCP Esty Talk offers a comprehensive exploration of the acid mantle's role in skincare. Benjamin Knight Fuchs provides valuable insights into the chemistry of skin pH, the benefits of AHAs, and the importance of both internal nutrition and cautious product selection in maintaining optimal skin health. Estheticians are encouraged to adopt a holistic approach, balancing internal and external factors to enhance their clients' skin health effectively.

For more information or to connect with Benjamin Knight Fuchs, visit truthtreatmentspro.com.

Notable Quotes:

"Chemistry only works because of electricity." – Benjamin Knight Fuchs [02:10]
"Acid communicates a message to the body. Hey, we got to get stronger here because we got a lot of stress." – Benjamin Knight Fuchs [05:45]
"Putting acid on the skin is like taking it to the gym." – Benjamin Knight Fuchs [07:50]

This episode serves as an enlightening resource for estheticians aiming to deepen their understanding of skin biology and optimize their skincare protocols for healthier, more resilient skin.

Transcript

Benjamin Knight Fuchs (0:00)

Calling all forward thinking estheticians, it's time to redefine the art of skincare and embrace a revolutionary approach that begins with your clients. Skin Cell Health. I'm pharmacist Benjamin Knife Fuchs welcoming you to Truth Treatment Systems where beauty begins. At the cell, we believe you're not just a beauty professional, you are a healthcare professional. You want to make a positive difference and you want to make a good living and we will help you do both. We're here to support your out of the box thinking and empower you to question traditional products, outdated formulations and old school ingredients. Imagine a world where solutions to the skin's enigmatic conditions lie just beyond the horizon. At Truth, we're not just a skincare brand. We're a movement that encourages you to explore better solutions and find that aha moment that changes the game. You are an artist and a healer of the skin and we're here to provide the canvas and the tools for you to create tailored protocols leaving generic ones in the past. Sign up now at truthtreatmentspro.com and receive two complimentary mineral rich electrolyte sheet masks. That's truthtreatmentspro.com where healthy skin is beautiful skin.

Maggie Stasik (1:12)

Hello and welcome to ASCP and the Rove Pharmacist with Benjamin Knight Fuchs. In each episode we'll explore how internal and external factors can impact the skin. Maggie I'm Maggie Stasik, ASTP's program director and joining me is Ben Fuchs, skincare formulator and pharmacist. Hi Ben.

Benjamin Knight Fuchs (1:26)

Hello Maggie.

Maggie Stasik (1:27)

As estheticians we all know the acid mantle plays a crucial role in skin health. But let's dig deeper. What's actually happening at the chemical level that makes the acid mantle so essential for barrier function?

Benjamin Knight Fuchs (1:40)

The acid mantle. All estheticians know about the acid mantle. You probably get like days of talking about the acid mantle and for good reason. You know, acid is kind of an interesting substance. Have you ever heard of the concept of alkalinize or die? How you want your inside of your body to be alkaline and have alkaline foods and alkaline diet and cancer loves acid, et cetera. So what's going on here? You got the acid mantle on the one hand and then you've got this whole idea of being alkaline. What exactly is alkaline and acid? Well, it turns out that alkaline and acid, which are measured by ph, high ph is alkaline, low ph is acid. Ph scale real quickly goes from 0 to 14. Probably everybody knows that 7 is in the middle. 0 to 7 is the acid side. 7 to 14 is the alkaline, alkaline side. As you go towards 0, you get more acid. And as you go towards 14, you get more alkaline. Some people say basic. The really interesting thing about ph and acid alkaline is they're electrical phenomena. We tend to focus on chemistry in our world, especially in skincare. We're always focusing on chemistry, but really, chemistry only works because of electricity. And so when we talk about acid and alkaline, well, the tendency is to think, okay, acid chemicals, alkaline chemicals. Really, what's happening, like you say, at the molecular level or the atomic level, really is electrical activity. When something is acid, it's pushing out electrical energy. When something is alkaline, it's sucking in electrical energy. Now being a little bit superficial here, because I don't want to get too much into quantum chemistry. And this really, this is quantum that we're talking about. The pushing out of electrical energy is an acidic phenomena. The sucking in of alkaline energy, of electrical energy is alkaline phenomena. So we want our blood to be alkaline. In fact, the blood has to be kept at a very tight alkaline level, pH 7.38 or so, like 7.35 to 7.38. Because in the blood you want to have a sucking effect. Why do you think you want a sucking effect in the blood? So you can suck nutrition in. So you want to have a vacuum. You want to have the nutrients, you want the blood to be able to suck up the nutrients, so the blood has to stay alkaline. In fact, if the blood becomes acidic, you don't feel good. And if you go to the local hospital and. Or the cancer, local cancer ward and test people's blood ph, you'll find that their blood is acidic. Sometimes it can be in the sixes or even lower sometimes. So the inside of the body, when we say the inside of the body, I mean the blood. You want it to be alkaline, you want it to have a sucking effect. The skin, on the other hand, you want it to have a pushing effect. Why would you want a pushing effect? It's a barrier. It's protective. It's like a force field. So nature has equipped the skin with mechanisms to maintain acidity. The collective description or definition of the mechanism of the mechanisms that keep the skin acid is called the acid mantle. And the skin, while the inside of the body is around the blood is around 7.38. The skin is right around, you know, 4 to 5 ish. Okay, that's not tremendously acid.01. That's acid. Stomach acid is, is. That's really acidic. One time I used to work in, you know, when I worked in skincare lab, I was working with sulfuric acid. That's super acidic sulfuric acid. That's got like a ph of 0.1 or something. And I remember I spilled some sulfuric acid on my shorts and I didn't think too much of it because it was on my shorts. And then I went out, I went to Elitch's, the amusement park. And I remember standing in line and I looked at my shorts and my shorts were dissolving from the acid because acid is very, very caustic at low, low pHs. And this is why people, when they do acid peels will get into irritation or get into inflammation because it's going to acidic. So the skin has to be slightly acidic to have a slight force field. That acid mantle is what maintains the slight acidity of the skin. And it's largely composed of fatty acids and phospholipids, which are also acidic and also get turned into fatty acids. So that means making sure you're getting enough of these fatty materials in the diet is one of the most important things you could do to maintain the acid mantle, the acidity of the acid mantle. There's also acids that you can put on the skin that will kind of skew the skin towards the acid level. And this is one of the reasons why I love alpha alpha hydroxy acid so much. You know, acids are stimulating. In fact, acids are produced by cells when cells are stressed out. This is why you may have heard sometimes how cancer is associated with acid. It's because acid is a sign that the cells are stressed out. But what's really cool about the body in general and cells is, is that when cells are stressed out under healthy conditions, or when the body is stressed out under healthy conditions, it responds by growing. And it turns out that while acids create a stress on the body or they're a sign of stress on the body, under healthy conditions they induce growth. And this is why if you're lifting weights, you tear up your muscles, you'll get bigger. But if you really want to get big, you feel the burn. What's the burn? It's acid. And acid communicates a message to the body. Hey, we got to get stronger here because we got a lot of stress. Well, the same thing can happen on the skin. And it turns out when you put acid on the Skin? Yeah, you'll, you'll tend to skew the PH of the skin a little bit towards acid, but the skin will readjust and go back to pH of 5 or 4.5 or 5. But in the short run, bursts of acid will turn on growth. And this is one of the reasons why, this is one of the reasons why I say why alpha hydroxy acids are so valuable. And, and it's why I consider alpha hydroxy acids to be the most important exfoliating aid. Because not only are you exfoliating with alpha hydroxy acids, you can exfoliate with a loofah pad and a washcloth and microdermabrasion and dermaplaning. There's lots of different ways to exfoliate. But when you exfoliate with acid, not only de exfoliate, but you also put that jolt of energy into the skin. And this accounts for the increase in collagen production and the reduction in fine lines and wrinkles and the thickening of the, of the epidermis and all the wonderful health benefits that you get from alpha hydroxy acids. On the other hand, while acids are stimulating for the skin and acids are protective, that force field effect, the opposite is also true. Alkaline slows things down. Sick skin is alkaline skin. Older skin is alkaline skin. Drier skin is alkaline skin. And as we age, guess what, our skin becomes more alkaline. And to compound the problem, many, if not most topical products that we put on our skin are alkaline. Why do you think that would be? Well, acid is moving. When things are acidic, they're moving. So skincare companies don't want their products moving because that will encourage their breakdown. So skincare companies like their products to be alkaline, so they're more stable and they have a longer shelf life. And this is why most lotions and creams tend to have a higher pH. The most egregious culprits for alkaline products are soaps and cleansers. In fact, Ivory soap, which has a reputation for being gentle, has a ph of around 10, which is super alkaline. So that's the real problem when you're talking about acid. Alkaline is the products that we put on our skin and the alkalinity of the skin that progresses as we age. So you can think of putting acid on the skin, whether it's an alpha hydroxy acid or an acid cleanser or an acid acidic cleanser, acidic lotion or cream or topical product as taking your skin to the gym as stimulating for the skin as anti aging for the skin. The reverse is also true for alkalinity. The best way, however, to make sure that your skin stays acidic is internally. And that's always the case when it comes to the skin. As much as I love talking about topical skincare products, and formulating skincare products is going to be internal fats, internal fatty acids, and keeping the barrier strong and healthy. And if you want to pick one thing to do to keep your skin healthy and to avoid skin diseases is keep that barrier healthy and making sure that you're ingesting the right amount of fats, the correct amount of fats, fatty nutrients that protect those fats. As we talked about before, fats can break down quickly. So there's things like vitamin E and vitamin C and selenium and zinc that have protective benefits. And then stimulating the skin topically with acids and staying as far away as you can from alkalinity or alkaline products on the surface of the skin. One more thing that I want to say is the microbiome. You know, we talk about the microbiome on the skin. The microbiome on the skin. The correct bacterial profile in the skin depends on a low pH or a pH around 5, 4.55, 5.5-ish. So the acid mantle and keeping the skin acidic is also important for the skin's local microbiome.