But in some cases, products can also interfere with the skin’s pH levels. Friedman says that a lot of traditional soaps are “very basic” and contain charged particles that break apart fats in the skin. While these attributes can help these soaps clean away dirt and grime, they can shift the skin’s acid balance in ways that dry it out and cause damage.

“The body has very powerful mechanisms to adjust pH regardless of what you eat or drink"

Some studies, including a 2015 paper in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, have found that supplementing older adults’ diets with alkaline salts of potassium seems to “neutralize” dietary acid load in ways that may safeguard bones and muscles from age-related breakdown. But these effects were observed primarily among those who had a big dietary acid disparity to begin with — that is, people who tended to eat a lot of meat and grains and not enough fruits or vegetables.