VITAMIN C

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.