Marchionini’s Acid Mantle Concept and the Effect on the Skin Resident Flora of Washing with Skin Cleansing Agents of Different pH

Abstract

In 1928, A. Marchionini and his teacher H. Schade [22] published a paper in Klinische Wochenschrift entitled Der Säuremantel der Haut (nach Gaskettenmessungen) (The acid mantle of the skin as determined by gas chain measurements), which contains the following statement: “We designed a ‘gas chain bell electrode’ adapted to the special case of the skin, a description of which is given in the more detailed paper (Arch. Dermatol. Syph. [23] H.C.K.); and were thus able to use the gas chain method for epicutaneous measurements. We would like briefly to report our results. Any preliminary cleansing, such as washing of the skin with soap, or simply rinsing with water or alcohol, must needs alter the surface reaction pattern. In order to prevent this alteration, we — unlike all previous investigators — decided to omit any ‘preparatory cleansing,’ and to perform our measurements on skin that had been kept clean rather than specially cleansed. To us, the response of washed skin was a problem in its own right. … When used on the skin of living subjects, the method produced about the same high acidities (as in cadaveric skin, H.C.K.), with pH values ranging throughout from 5.0 to 3.0. Out of 40 measurements, only 2 were slightly above 5.0 ... (Fig. 1 shows a plot of the original data from Schade and Marchionini’s paper, H.C.K.) Our studies have led us to the following conclusions as to the role of sweat gland secretion in the strongly acidic reaction of the skin surface: Sweat covers the skin with a very dilute solution of acids. However, as the sweat evaporates, a residue with a high acid concentration is left behind; and it is largely this fluid which impregnates the keratinizing epithelium and produces the typical high acidity of the skin surface.