A Complete Guide to Vitamin C for Your Skin
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In the context of skincare, vitamin C has long been touted as a powerhouse of goodness — and it’s not unwarranted! It’s definitely helped transform my complexion, and has become a staple in my daily skincare routine. From its role in collagen production to its potent antioxidant properties, vitamin C is more than just a trend. It’s a skincare superstar. And if you’re looking to learn more about it, you’ve come to the right place.
In this complete guide to vitamin C, I’ll go into:
So, whether you're looking to brighten up your skincare regimen or simply understand why this vitamin is so crucial, this guide has got you covered. Let’s get into it!
What is Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin, and essential nutrient that plays several important roles in the body, such as supporting the immune system and helping with skin repair. Just as it can act in many great ways within your body, it’s also excellent for your skin.
In skincare products, vitamin C is most commonly seen as ascorbic acid, and is often found in serums, creams, and moisturizers. It is well-known as a power-packed antioxidant that can work wonders for your skin (its various benefits can be found below). And while ascorbic acid seems to be the most potent and well-researched form of vitamin C, there are also other forms like ascorbyl palmitate, sodium ascorbate, and magnesium ascorbyl phosphate. Each has different stability and absorption qualities, which is why you may see different mixes of them within your skincare products.
What Does Vitamin C Do For Your Skin?
As mentioned above, vitamin C is a popular ingredient in skincare due to its powerful antioxidant properties and various skin benefits. Here's a breakdown of the many ways it can benefit your skin:
Brightens Skin Tone: Vitamin C can help to lighten hyperpigmentation by inhibiting melanin production, thereby reducing the appearance of melasma, giving your skin a more radiant and even tone. It also encourages the shedding of old, dead skin cells and the formation of new, healthy ones, resulting in a brighter, more refreshed appearance.
Reduces Hyperpigmentation: Vitamin C inhibits the enzyme tyrosinase, which plays a crucial role in the production of melanin, the pigment responsible for dark spots and hyperpigmentation. By inhibiting tyrosinase, vitamin C can help lighten existing dark spots and even out skin tone.
Anti-aging / Stimulates Collagen Production: Vitamin C is crucial for the synthesis of collagen, a protein that maintains skin firmness and elasticity. By supporting the production of collagen, it helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, contributing to a younger looking complexion.
Protects Against Free Radical Damage: As a powerful antioxidant, vitamin C neutralizes free radicals generated by UV exposure and pollution, protecting the skin from oxidative stress. By do so, it helps protect against skin damage and prevent the breakdown of collagen and elastin, further supporting smooth and glowing skin.
Improves Skin Texture: By promoting collagen and elastin production, vitamin C can help smooth out rough skin texture and improve overall skin appearance. It can also help improve skin texture by promoting cell turnover and reducing the appearance of dullness.
Enhances Hydration: Vitamin C can help strengthen the skin barrier’s function, helping it retain moisture. A well-hydrated and protected skin barrier is essential for maintaining a healthy, glowing complexion.
When and How To Use Vitamin C
For best results, vitamin C products should be used consistently as some of their effects take time to appear. As for the timing of vitamin C application, using it at certain times can maximize its effectiveness and integrate well into your skincare routine. Below are some guidelines:
Morning Routine
Ideal Use: Vitamin C is most commonly used in the morning. Its antioxidant properties help protect your skin from environmental damage caused by UV rays, pollution, and other daily stressors.
Application: Apply vitamin C after cleansing (and toner) and before moisturizing and sunscreen. Vitamin C can help enhance its effectiveness by neutralizing free radicals.
Night Routine
Alternative Use: While using vitamin C in the morning is ideal for its protective benefits, some people choose to use vitamin C in the evening. This can be especially useful if your morning routine is already crowded or if you have sensitive skin that might be irritated by daytime use.
Application: Similar to in the morning, vitamin C should be applied after cleansing and toning, and before your nighttime moisturizer. If you use retinoids or other active ingredients at night, you might want to alternate their use with vitamin C to avoid potential irritation.
General Tips
Be Consistent: For best results, incorporate vitamin C into your daily routine (if your skin allows for it, of course). Consistent use gradually helps to improve skin tone, texture, and brightness.
Be Cautious with Mixing: Though some people’s skin can tolerate mixing different ingredients with vitamin C, it’s good to be cautious when combining vitamin C with certain strong / active ingredients like retinoids or AHAs/BHAs as it could result in irritation. Using these at different times (morning vs. night) can help avoid skin reactions, or you can try patch testing your products together prior to fully incorporating them.
Remember, always consider your skin type and any specific concerns you may have when incorporating new products into your routine. If you’re unsure, you can consult a dermatologist/skin specialist to help tailor your skincare routine to your needs.
If you’d like more information on where a vitamin C serum fits into your skincare routine, check out: How to Layer Skincare Products for Best Results
Frequently Asked Questions
Though “vitamin C” is commonly thrown around in the skincare world, it can be confusing truly knowing the details about it. Below are some common questions and answers regarding vitamin C:
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Vitamin C serums are best used in the morning so that it can help protect your skin from environmental damage during the day. Typically, they are applied to clean skin, after toner and before moisturizer and sunscreen.
They can be applied similarly to other serums - put a few drops either on your hands or onto your face, and gently pat in the serum, making sure to cover your whole face.
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Vitamin C can generally be used with other ingredients like hyaluronic acid and sunscreen. However, it could cause irritation when combined with ingredients like retinol or other strong acids.
This is not the case for everyone, so it's important to test it out on your skin and monitor your skin's response before mixing too many strong actives at once.
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It’s important to follow the instructions provided with your specific product.
However, vitamin C can typically be used daily and is usually used in the morning. It may also be used both in the morning and night, depending on your skincare needs, but it has more marked effects with morning use.
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Vitamin C isn't really known to increase sun sensitivity, but it’s always a good idea to use sunscreen daily, as it helps protect your skin from sun damage and enhances the benefits of vitamin C.
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Vitamin C products should be stored in a cool, dark place because light and heat can degrade the product. Some products even come in opaque or air-tight packaging to help preserve their stability.
Sometimes if your vitamin C product is not stored properly, you'll be able to tell because it may start to change color or smell.
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Vitamin C could cause a bit of irritation, redness, or dryness, for example when you're first starting use or are using high concentrations. As such, it's a good idea to ease into using it or upping the concentration you use.
If any of these skin reactions do occur, you can try reducing or stopping usage until your skin stabilizes.
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Concentrations between 10% and 20% are generally recognized as effective. Higher concentrations can be more potent but may also be more irritating for sensitive skin.
To build out your own brightening skincare routine, check out: A Complete Brightening Skincare Routine (for $50 and under!)
The Best Vitamin C Serums
You can probably tell by now that vitamin C can be a game-changer for your skin. If you’re looking for some products to try out that are super effective, while still suitable for sensitive skin, below are 4 of the best vitamin C serums that I’ve used.
All have noticeably brightening effects, while subtly fading dark spots. They are gentle enough for daily use; and they’re affordable! I’ve had such a good experience with these four that I just keep rebuying them.
This serum is an all-star for fading dark spots. On top of vitamin C to help brighten skin and decrease hyperpigmentation, it also contains niacinamide for additional brightening and evening out the skin tone, and tranexamic acid, which is well-known to help fade any discoloration.
It also contains vitis coignetiae that has skin conditioning, moisturing, and whitening properties, along with other skin protecting qualities. Add Centella Asiatica leaf extract to the mix, which calms the skin, and you’ve got a power-house of a product that leaves your skin glowing.
(FWIW, this is the product that I’m currently using both morning and night because I noticed that I was getting a lot of freckles / dark spots on my face from the sun. I do see that this product has helped make them less pronounced.)
This one is probably my favorite vitamin C product (full disclosure - I’ve gone through 5+ of these). It’s so good at brightening the complextion, especially given its concentrated ascorbic acid (vitamin C) and vitamin E. It also contains another form of vitamin C and alpinia seed extract, which further brighten the skin.
It has a very faint citrus-y smell, which is pleasant, and the texture is that of a light oil that absorbs well into the skin. Another big plus of this product is that you only need 2-3 small drops to spread across your whole face, so the tube lasts a long time, but has very potent and easily noticeable effects.
This is a potent serum filled with all good things. On top of strong brightening effects with its high % of vitamin C, it also contains hyaluronic acid to actively moisturize the skin, and other antioxidants that provide all-around anti-aging effects.
Vitamin E (alpha tocopheryl) and ferulic acid both help prevent cell damage from free radicals, supplementing the effects of the vitamin C. And on top of that, the ferulic acid helps even skin tone, reduce redness, and stave off wrinkles.
In terms of consistency, this serum is similar to other standard serums (only slightly more viscous that water). It absorbs into the skin without any stickiness.
This serum is super moisturizing and contains 10% 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, which is a stable form of vitamin C, that resists light and heat. By doing so, it offers extremely effective antioxidant properties to keep your skin bright and healthy.
The vitamin C used in this serum also helps fade dark spots without causing any skin reactions. The serum contains a high concentration of Centella Asiatica - a great ingredient for soothing your skin - which further helps prevent any redness or irritation that might be caused by vitamin C.
It has a soft gel-cream texture that absorbs so nicely into the skin and leaves it feeling clean, glowy, and moisturized.