Little-Known Skin Care Qualities of Baking Soda

I’ve had sensitive skin since I was a kid. During allergy season I’d come in from playing outside and take a shower before doing anything else. Now that I’m older and a mom, I don’t have time to take showers or indulge in long beauty routines, so I opt for shortcuts whenever I can. Especially with such sensitive skin, I’m often on the lookout for convenient ways to keep my skin healthy. Convenience is key for me. I’m a mom and a full-time scientist so, while I love looking my best, most days I don’t have time for it.
Baking soda has a really high pH. I know this because I read up on it when I got curious about the chemistry behind why cakes rise without yeast. And who doesn’t remember vinegar and baking soda mixtures from childhood adventures? One thing I never knew before just recently, however, is how baking soda can be used as a regular skin cleaning agent. I’ve heard people recommend daily use but with my sensitive skin, I find a baking soda facial scrub once a week in the shower works best for me.
Soap is just fat chains that are exposed to lye, which, since it’s sodium hydroxide, has a very basic pH. Baking soda is also basic, but not as strong as lye. When baking soda or other basic ingredients mix with natural skin oils, a weak, gentle soap is made. Dead cells on skin are largely made up of oil in the form of sebum, and fatty chains that make up cell membranes, like bi-lipid layers. The point is, when we put something with a basic pH on skin, it converts a lot of the natural residues to weak, gentle, sensitive-skin-safe soap. Our own skin oil becomes a skin cleaner. How cool is that?
I know that some people say baking soda can be used in facial scrubs every day, but my sensitive skin couldn’t take that. I tried it for a while and found that my skin was getting too raw after just a couple of days. What works best for me is mixing the smallest possible amount of water with a little baking soda in the palm of my hand while I’m in the shower. The natural fine grit of baking soda acts as an exfoliating agent and I can feel my skin tingling. Using it in the shower gives the added benefit of allowing it to deep clean open pores and I can rinse it quickly away, which is important for me because if I leave it on my face too long, it stings.
That’s the other great thing about using it in the shower — complete rinsing. When I tried this standing at the bathroom sink, I didn’t rinse it completely away because baking soda that hasn’t had a chance to react doesn’t feel like soap. It’s hard to tell it’s there at all. But for me, even a small amount that’s left on my skin will cause irritating dryness all day. That, and when it’s wet it’s hard to see but when it’s dry it’s apparent as a fine, white powder. Who knew something as ubiquitous and cheap as baking soda could be such an effective, refreshing skin care ingredient?