[ELI5]Why body washes are alkaline?

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If our skin is acidic why almost every body wash or shower gel is alkaline with pH around 9? In past it made sense because we were using lye but now we’re using plant based surfactants so why hygiene products are alkaline?

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AverageOnAGoodDay commented

Because being a soap requires it to be basic.

The pH of your skin doesn’t really matter to the soap as all it is doing is breaking down grease and oil and then getting rinsed off.