What's PH Got To Do With It?

[LibraryLady]

This happened several decades ago when I was a young woman living on the Upper- East Side of Manhattan. I still remember it because it was so strange.

I think most of us know what PH means. It's a measure of acidity (low PH) or alkaline content (high PH) in products. In the 1970s there was a flap about the danger of high or low PH (acid) in hair care products. I don't quite remember what the perceived problem was but, in the age of deep parental concern about the lethal properties of Pop-Rocks, things could get a bit crazy about shampoo too.

I was in line behind the person in question at a local Pharmacy when I heard the following question. The Lady presenting the question was a lovely young woman. She asked the poor put-upon person behind the register,

"This stuff doesn't have any PH in it, does it?"

[PepperElf]

um. technically everything has "some ph in it" heh.

but i think you'd blow her mind up if you told her that...
or told her that her water and milk had 7 in it on the 1-14 scale...

[Red Hand of Ulster]

um. technically everything has "some ph in it" heh.

but i think you'd blow her mind up if you told her that...
or told her that her water and milk had 7 in it on the 1-14 scale...

Or your own blood! 7.35-7.45

[LibraryLady]

um. technically everything has "some ph in it" heh.

but i think you'd blow her mind up if you told her that...
or told her that her water and milk had 7 in it on the 1-14 scale...

I did tell her that everything has some degree of PH and that a PH of 7 is neutral.

If she wanted a shampoo with a PH of zero she'd be washing her hair with very strong acids that would not only take off all her hair but also her scalp and parts of her skull.

I usually tend to be a quiet person. Sometimes you have to speak out.

[Bandit]

Battery Acid anyone?

pH of about zero, and since zero is commonly considered to be nothing, it would work.

And after the skin on the scalp grew back, I don't think the pH balance of a shampoo would be an issue.

B