Make sure you guys have pH strips that work. I bought some pH strips at amazon because the price was good. However, sometimes you get what you pay for.  They are the Healthy Wiser brand but I'm hoping they counterfeit because they didn't work.

Everything comes out between 4 and 6. Everything! Even pure triethanolamine (TEA)! Just terrible.

There are no "Pros". Only 'Cons':

I tested the tap water: 6.5.

I tested bottled water: 5.

And so I was satisfied... until I wanted to use them to increase the pH of my water before making a skincare product. I kept adding TEA and the results were almost the same every time. The pH wasn't increasing at all, or so I thought.

I knew something wasn't right. So I dipped a strip in pure TEA and... nothing. Still right between 5 and 6. Thank goodness I had a backup from Makingcosmetics.com.

The box clearly lists an expiration date that's years away, so I know they weren't expired. They were a waste of money.

All of this to say it's very important to have an accurate way to check the pH if you want your mixes to come out right.