About pH and skin
The skin is the largest organ of the human body and largely self-sufficient. When the skin is left undisturbed, it regulates itself to a healthy state and pH. ABENA’s products have a skin-friendly pH range between 5.3 and 6.4 and will return to that state within seconds when the urine is absorbed in the core of the product.
Urine is alkaline. If it hits the skin, the skin’s pH will be higher, and more alkaline. ABENAs products are designed to perform and prevent urine from coming into contact with the skin. The core is designed to buffer the urine’s alkaline pH, protecting the skin with a stable, slightly acidic, skin friendly pH. This prevents skin irritation and bacterial growth, which may lead to dermatitis.
How do we maintain a healthy pH?
ABENA’s philosophy is to minimize or remove chemicals in products whenever possible. Therefore, we will never add chemicals to our products to change the pH if the body can regulate this by itself.
In doing this we believe that we serve our customers with the safest, healthiest, most sustainable and cleanest hygiene products. For your skin and for the environment.
The fibers we use in ABENA products (fluff) are clean, regular natural cellulose fibers. Regulatory authorities, Asthma-Allergy Nordic and the Nordic Swan Ecolabel support the use of standard cellulose fibers.
Because of our incontinence philosophy and approach to sustainability, we do not add unnecessary chemicals, such as curly fibers, to our products. Not only because of the added chemicals, but also because it adds an extra unnecessary step to the production process.
Curly fibers are often used to regulate pH in incontinence products. They are a variant of the cellulose fibers used in fluff material. Curly fibers differ from regular cellulose fibers by receiving a chemical and mechanical treatment that causes them to become curly and interlinked. A chemical treatment allows curly fibers to react when they come into contact with urine, with the aim of maintaining a stable pH value in the core of the incontinence or baby product after use.
Info box:
What is pH?
The abbreviation stands for “potential hydrogen” and is the concentration of protons “H+“ in a solution. The acidity scale in water ranges from the most acidic 1 to an alkaline 14.
What is the pH value of the skin?
Peer-reviewed studies on the pH of healthy skin report that healthy skin has a pH value between 4 and 5.9 pH value. This pH value depends on the body position measured, the health and age of the person. Also the application of soap and creme can change the pH value of the skin for a period of time, until the skin returns to its natural condition after a few hours.
What is the pH of ABENA products?
Most parts of ABENA’s baby diapers and incontinence products have textile pH values of between 5.3 and 6.4. When the skin is left undisturbed, it regulates itself to a healthy state and pH. ABENA’s products have a skin-friendly pH range and will return to that state within seconds, when the urine is absorbed in the core of the product.
Incontinence products and skin health go hand in hand
ABENA's incontinence products are designed to minimize leakages and reduce the risk of skin problems while minimizing or removing unnecessary chemicals.
Here is how the unique product design lets the skin regulate itself to a natural and healthy pH - without adding unnecessary chemicals, and without compromising on leakage protection or product quality:
The absorbent Core is designed to buffer the alkaline urine, so it avoids direct contact against the skin. The absorbent core gives protection and helps maintain a natural skin balance. This means any microbacterial growth, which depends on non-acidic environment and may even emit ammonia (which is alkaline) will be discontinued. - The unique Top Dry system provides a rapid absorption that keeps the surface dry - even after multiple voids. Too much humidity on the skin increases the skin’s sensitivity and the risk of damaging it.
- Our products are fully Breathable, allowing the skin to breath by keeping the skin’s temperature and humidity down. This keeps the skin in balance by maintaining a natural skin barrier. If the skin gets overhydrated, it will swell and disrupt the structure, thereby becoming more prone to injuries and infections.
- Our high performance Wetness indicator with Graduation Scale makes it easy to know when the incontinence product is fully utilized and needs to be changed, without the need for a manual check. Opening and closing a product that is in use should be avoided, since it lets in oxygen, thereby changing the environment inside the pad, giving bacteria oxygen to multiply.
- Our 360 degrees leakage protection – a combination of different barriers (lying, standing, cross) offer ultimate leakage protection. Avoiding leakages is important since there is nothing to absorb the urine away from the user's skin outside the product
