Baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) is a common kitchen staple that many people also try to use in homemade skincare routines. Its popularity comes from claims that it can exfoliate skin, unclog pores, and even help with acne or brightening. But before you mix it into a face mask, it’s important to understand how it affects your skin and how to use it safely.
🌿 What Is Baking Soda?
Baking soda is a white crystalline powder also called sodium bicarbonate. It’s slightly alkaline — meaning it has a higher pH than normal skin — and is found in many household products, from baking to cleaning.
Your facial skin naturally has a slightly acidic pH, around 4.5–5.5, which forms a protective barrier against bacteria and environmental stressors. When an alkaline substance like baking soda is applied, it can temporarily raise the skin’s pH, which might disrupt this protective layer.
✨ Possible Benefits of Baking Soda for Skin
Some people use baking soda in DIY skincare for reasons like:
1. Exfoliation:
The fine granular texture can help remove dead skin cells and surface oils, which may make the skin look smoother temporarily.
2. Oil Removal:
Baking soda might absorb excess oil from the face, which is why some people try it on oily or acne-prone skin.
3. Budget-Friendly:
It’s affordable and easy to get compared with many store-bought skincare products.
⚠️ Risks & Downsides to Watch Out For
Despite the benefits above, dermatologists usually caution against using baking soda regularly on your face:
💧 Disrupts pH Balance:
Because baking soda is alkaline, it can strip important natural oils and upset your skin’s acid mantle, leading to irritation and dryness.
🔥 Can Cause Irritation:
Some skin types — especially sensitive or dry skin — may react with redness, burning, or increased breakouts.
📉 Not Proven for Acne or Brightening:
There’s limited scientific evidence that baking soda actually helps with acne or dark spots. Any temporary improvement is more likely cosmetic than therapeutic.
🧴 How to Use Baking Soda Safely (If You Try It)
If you still want to experiment with baking soda, follow these careful steps:
✔ Patch Test First:
Mix a small amount of baking soda with water (about 1:3 ratio) and apply behind your ear or along the jawline. Wait 24 hours to see if irritation occurs.
✔ Use Infrequently:
Avoid applying it daily. Keeping usage to once every 1–2 weeks limits potential damage to your skin’s barrier.
✔ Mix With Gentle Ingredients:
Instead of plain baking soda, combine it with soothing liquids like aloe vera gel or rose water to reduce harshness.
✔ Follow With Moisturizer:
Rinse completely and always apply a good moisturizer afterward to replenish hydration.
🧠 Final Verdict
Baking soda can provide light exfoliation and temporarily remove excess oil, but it comes with significant risks if used improperly on the face. It’s not ideal for daily cleansing, and many dermatologists recommend milder, scientifically supported skincare ingredients instead of DIY baking soda treatments.
If you decide to try it, do so sparingly and carefully — and consider safer alternatives first.
- Turmeric Cauliflower and Chickpea (Healthy Sheet Pan Dinner)
Try Our Turmeric Cauliflower and Chickpeas for an Easy Sheet Pan Dinner This Turmeric Cauliflower and Chickpea sheet pan dinner is a simple, versatile, nutritious way to get more fiber-rich veggies on the table with almost no effort. The veggies roast until golden and lightly crisp, giving you a naturally flavorful meal that fits beautifully into a Mediterranean-style eating pattern. … Read more - Quick and Easy Kung Pao Tofu – The Plant Based School
Hey all 😊 Enjoy a tasty and terrific tofu meal with this kung pao tofu! We love that this recipe is easy and ready in about 30 minutes. The sticky and sweet kung pao sauce is from the Szechuan cuisine and pairs well with tofu. Forget about Asian takeaway; this is a tasty vegetarian dinner favorite that you and your family will love. Nico … Read more - Greek Yogurt Marry Me Chickpeas
Why you’ll love this Greek yogurt marry me chickpeas! If you’re looking for a cozy, protein-rich dinner that feels a little special but is still easy to make, Louise and I think you’ll love these Greek yogurt marry me chickpeas. The sauce turns creamy and rich, without heavy cream, thanks to simple ingredients you likely already have … Read more - Corn Salad (No-Mayo)
Why This Salad Belongs on Your Summer Table Louise and I wait patiently for corn season to hit its peak. As soon as the markets are overflowing with freshly picked cobs, this corn salad becomes a staple on our table. It’s fresh, easy, and made without mayo—just sweet corn, black beans, avocado, and a punchy … Read more - Pearl Couscous Salad – The Plant Based School
A Healthy Mediterranean Couscous This Mediterranean couscous recipe is excellent for meal prep, potlucks, barbecues, packed lunches, and everyday meals. Since Louise and I love easy salad recipes (and our readers love them too), this couscous is inspired by two of our most popular dishes: chickpea salad and Moroccan couscous. Like our farro salad, rice salad, and orzo salad, it’s packed with fresh … Read more - The Bitter Red Fruit Men Over 40 Need for Urinary Fire
The red fruit that changes the pressure in your bladder Cranberries hit the urinary tract like a lockpick. They don’t just sit there looking innocent in a bowl — they flood the system with compounds that make it harder for unwanted bacteria to grab onto the bladder wall and set up camp. That matters more … Read more - Mineral Sleep Drink Before Bed Triggers Relief for Bones, Sugar, Anxiety, and Constipation
That pinch of sea salt in warm water is not a folk remedy for bored people. It hits the body like a missing key sliding into a locked door, and the first places it shows up are the ones the post promised: bone pain, unstable blood sugar, nighttime anxiety, low mood, and a gut that … Read more - A Drink That Forces Stem Cells Into a Fiercer Repair Mode
That green, thick, bitter-looking drink is being sold as a cell-reboot in a glass. The claim is loud: stem cells, regeneration, and a body that starts behaving like it remembers how to repair itself. And the part people keep staring at is the same one that matters most: what happens when your cells stop acting … Read more - What Soybean Does to Shrinking Muscles
The thing sitting in that glass can hit a body like a repair crew: soybean. It doesn’t just bring raw biological fuel; it floods tired, starving muscle fibers with the building blocks they’ve been missing, and that matters when strength has started slipping through your hands. That slow fade is brutal. You notice it when … Read more - Pineapple Triggers a 3-Day Flush in Your Intestines, Liver, and Kidneys
That spiky yellow fruit on the counter is not just sweet. Pineapple hits your intestines, liver, and kidneys with bromelain, a protein-cutting enzyme that starts breaking down the thick, stubborn load sitting inside your digestive tract. That’s why people with bloating, sluggish digestion, and that heavy, stuffed feeling after meals keep circling back to it. … Read more - Eat This One Dark Seed to Help Legs Feel Strong Again
Black cumin seed is the kind of food people walk past without a second glance, yet it hits the body like a wrench to a frozen bolt. The post promisedstronger legs, and that is exactly where this tiny seed starts making trouble for weakness, heaviness, and that drained, rubbery feeling that shows up when your … Read more - Honey, Garlic, and Ginger Trigger a Fierce Internal Reset
Honey, garlic, and ginger do not behave like a cute kitchen blend. They hit sluggish circulation, stubborn digestion, and that raw, worn-down throat like a three-part alarm bell, forcing the body to stop drifting and start moving. That matters when your mornings feel thick, your stomach sits like a brick after dinner, and your energy … Read more - 3 Teas That Wake Up Weak Legs and Protect Aging Bones
Green tea, ginger tea, and mugwort tea do something most people never connect to leg strength: they attack the slow slide into brittle bones, aching joints, and muscle loss. That’s why an older body can feel like it’s losing its grip on the floor one stair at a time. One morning the knees creak when … Read more - Could These 4 Green Juice Recipes Support Your Kidney Health?
You wake up feeling heavier than usual, with ankles that look a little swollen and a lower back that aches more than it should after a normal night’s sleep. You tell yourself it’s nothing serious — maybe you stood too long yesterday or didn’t drink enough water — but the quiet worry lingers as you … Read more - What Menopause Does to Aging—and the 10 Foods That Push Back
After menopause, aging doesn’t just “continue.” It accelerates. Skin thins, joints feel louder, bones lose their quiet strength, and the face in the mirror starts looking like it’s been run through a dryer set on high. The foods in that post are aimed straight at the damage: blueberries, strawberries, avocado, almonds, soy, salmon, walnuts, dark … Read more