Skin Care- Acid Mantle Is The Main factor - Part 1

C.D. Mohatta
June 20, 2007

Skin care does not only mean keeping skin clean, using skin care products, applying cosmetics, avoiding sun and getting surgery done for skin blemishes. Acid mantle of the skin plays a major role in protection of skin and must be understood for better skin care. Let us find out more about what is acid mantle and what role it plays in skin care.

What is acid mantle?

Skin has a protective layer of acidic oils on it, called the acid mantle. This protective layer is found all over the skin. Acid mantle is a mixture of sweat and sebum. Disturbing this acidic mantle may cause many problems. That is why, we hear so much about pH balanced products. Acid mantle-
1. Hydrates the skin and protects it from drying.

2. Protects skin against harmful bacteria. Bacteria do not survive in the acidic mixture and therefore cannot cause infection in the skin.

How acid mantle is destroyed?

If you strip the skin of its acidic mantle by using strong alkaline soaps/cleansers, bacteria will find it easy to attack the skin. Moreover removing the acid mantle disturbs the distribution of dead cells on top of epidermis. This is called stratum corneum. The structure of cells in the dead skin cells layer gets disturbed and the bacteria find an easy passage through to the epidermis. Normally these dead cells protect the skin against such damages. The skin is a miracle. These dead cells if allowed to accumulate will make the skin look very bad, but if totally removed, the skin is left defenseless to an extent. We have to arrive at a fine balance in maintenance of the skin. In the next part we will discuss about how to protect acid mantle.

This article is only for informative purposes. This article is not intended to be a medical advise and it is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult your doctor for your medical concerns. Please follow any tip given in this article only after consulting your doctor. The author is not liable for any outcome or damage resulting from information obtained from this article.

by:www.americanchronicle.com