VITAMIN C
The Holy Grail of Skin Care

Benefits
Evens out skin tones
Antioxidant – against pollution and other free radicals
Significantly improves skin hydration
Refresh, visibly firm and renew skin
Improves skin brightness and fights against aging
Increases collagen & elastin production
Inhibits melanin production reducing pigmentation
Just as Vitamin C is an essential part of your diet, it is also an important step in your skin care routine. The human body does not produce its own Vitamin C but relies on obtaining it through nutritional and topical applications. Vitamin C benefits for skin include stimulating collagen production and neutralising free radicals. Daily use of a balanced and stabilised Vitamin C facial serum will ensure that your skin soaks up all of the perks of this powerful ingredient.
Skin Care with Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic Acid) helps to improve the brightness and tone of your skin. It’s an antioxidant that fights against signs of aging, helping to repair the cells and avoid free radical damage. The free radicals often lead to pigmentation issues, sagging, wrinkles and other signs of aging (not to mention skin cancer).
The most common way to get vitamin C in a skin care routine is in a serum. But you don’t have to limit yourself! If you’d rather not add an extra step to your regimen, know that you can also get vitamin C in cleansers, moisturisers, exfoliants, and even sunscreens.
Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is one of those nutrients that the body can’t create or store, but is essential for proper bodily functions. You need to get it into your diet through your food, or topically through your skin care products. It is a nutrient and antioxidant. Regular and consistent use of topical Vitamin C serums is proven to deliver exceptional results. This powerful antioxidant delivers an array of benefits that compliment your regular skin care regimen. These benefits include synthesis of collagen, helping to repair signs of aging, sun damage, reducing pigmentation and fighting the appearance of discolouration and age spots.
Vitamin C can be synthetically derived or is found naturally occurring in citrus fruits. It is scientifically proven to repair and build skin tissue. This water-soluble molecule can neutralise free radicals, help prevent the damage free radicals cause and fight against oxidative stress. It also contains a property that inhibits your skin’s melanin production, which is what causes skin discolouration like dark spots and hyperpigmentation. With continued topical use, it can help prevent dark spots from forming in the first place. It’s a superior brightening agent that works to fade brown spots without altering normal skin pigmentation.
We always recommend applying your Vitamin C serum in the morning, after your skin cleanse and before your moisturiser and SPF sunscreen. Can be re-applied in the evening, after cleansing and before moisturising, if desired. All forms of vitamin C mix well and layer with other skin care ingredients, including exfoliating acids and other vitamins and antioxidants, such as retinol and niacinamide
Pure C
There are many forms of Vitamin C for skin, and while they all have antioxidant benefits, some types work better in skin care formulas than others. The difference between pure vitamin C and vitamin C derivatives is how effective they are when used in topical application. L-Ascorbic Acid is the purest form and the most effectively absorbed form of Vitamin C. In clinical studies, derivatives of ascorbic acids (including magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, ascorbyl-6-palmitate, and dehydroascorbic acid) were not shown as effective when applied topically, as they do not provide the full benefits of the pure form of Vitamin C.
L-Ascorbic Acid – has the most skin-related research of any form of Vitamin C. The most effective formulas have a pH of less than 4 (between 2.6 and 3.2 is ideal). Those with sensitive skins, or those finding Vitamin C irritating, should look for products with a higher pH level (above 4) – while they will probably be less effective (a lower pH generally indicates a lower concentration in the serum) they will also be less irritating. And, as with many products, not all serums are created equal. Components like the type and concentration, the ingredient list, and even the kind of bottle or dispenser make or break your serum’s benefits — and your skin.
To identify which form, pH level or concentration is best for your skin type or skin condition, speak with our skin specialist.
Other Names for Vitamin C
The following are forms of C as they may appear on skin care ingredient lists – Ascorbic Acid (L-Ascorbic Acid); Ascorbyl Palmitate; Sodium Ascorbate; Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate; Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (MAP); Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (THDA) (also denoted Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate); Ascorbyl Glucoside; Ascorbyl Glucosamine; Ascorbyl Methylsilanol Pectinate.
When added to your daily routine, C provides a range of benefits, from evening out your skin tone, shielding skin from the visible impacts of pollution, significantly improving hydration, and keeping your skin looking younger, longer!
Packaging
Vitamin C is extremely sensitive. Routine exposure to air, light, and heat can degrade your serum. If you want to get the best possible results from your vitamin C serum or moisturiser it needs to be in an opaque, air-restrictive bottle or pump container to help ensure the ingredients remain stable. A cream that comes in a jar, unfortunately, won’t remain effective for long. Look for colour changes in your serum – many serums are yellowish in colour – if the serum begins to develop a brownish hue then is has suffered oxidisation and it’s time to toss it out. Similarly, serums that are clear when you purchase them and then begin to develop a yellow hue – oxidisation and reduced effectiveness.
A Guide to Selecting the Best Skin Care Products
Your skin is the bodies largest organ. Its major functions are protection, regulation and sensation. If our skin is not functioning to its full ability, these functions may become compromised.
It’s easy to get lost in the sea of skin care options these days. Not only are there doctors, dermatologists, skin care professionals and aestheticians telling you this or that, you also have YouTubers, bloggers and beauty enthusiasts flooding you with thoughts and ideas too. It’s no wonder there are so many skin issues and concerns these days. When you don’t know where to start or what information is reliable, how is your skin really going to respond? More importantly, the use of incorrect skin care products can actually exasperate your condition or cause additional skin problems.
The use of professional active ingredient skin care is recommended. The “Professional” skin care products we recommended on this site can only be purchased through certified stockists and practitioners who are required to provide their professional advice on the application of these products, (as opposed to those you can purchase over the counter (OTC) in department stores and supermarkets). These recommended professional products contain;-
- higher levels of active ingredients to boost your skin’s health and correct skin problems
(OTC product lines have less active ingredients to minimise the chance of irritation to protect the buyer) - are backed by clinical studies
(not exaggerated unsubstantiated claims) - are made in small batches and distributed to trained or licensed skin care therapists, spas and salons to be supplied with professional advice on their use
(OTC products are made for the masses and sold in department stores and supermarkets) - contain small molecule technology for dermal and epidermal penetration
(OTC products that lack active ingredients, have large molecules which are not able to penetrate the skin. When a product can’t properly penetrate the skin, it will only “superficially” treat and temporarily provide relief to skin concerns. This gives the illusion that the products are working without actually treating the skin. Professional lines use molecular technology that penetrates the skin producing clinical results) - are packaged in airless pump packs to eliminate spoilage of ingredients when exposed to the air
- have pH balanced and adjusted ingredients – skin functions at its prime when the natural pH is between a 4.5 and 5.5.
(Often OTC products don’t take pH into consideration and will leave the skin in an alkaline state. When the skin is alkaline, bacteria and free radicals (such as pollution) can invade the skin) - do not contain unnecessary fillers and preservatives
Professional skin care often has a reputation of being “too expensive” but that is more often than not actually far from the truth. A good professional line will price their products according to the concentration of active ingredients versus fillers and are actually overall more budget-friendly. It is a common mistake to overuse products which leads to the perception that professional skin care is more expensive. Our Skin Specialist will advise you on the appropriate amount and when to use the products according to your skin condition and type. When used properly, professional skin care products will last longer and work better giving you the ultimate bang for your buck. OTC products will have a lower upfront cost but over time can be similar in price or more expensive than professional skin care and won’t actually repair the skin condition being treated.