There are a few products that I think pretty much anyone can benefit from and vitamin C is one of those ingredients. Dull skin, uneven skin texture, acne scars, and even fine lines – pretty much any concern can be treated with Vitamin C.

What is Vitamin C Skincare?

Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that works to fight free radicals. Antioxidants like Vitamin C in your skincare help to offset daily aggressors like UV damage and exposure to air pollution. Antioxidants prevent or reduce damage to our skin cells by neutralizing and protecting our skin against free radicals. 

It’s important to note that while Vitamin C protects against UV damage it does not take the place of using an SPF (as some “beauty gurus” have claimed on YouTube). I highly recommend using an SPF on top of your Vitamin C serum on a daily basis.

While searching for great Vitamin C products to add to your skincare routine, I highly recommend using a Vitamin C serum. Serums are more powerful and effective than using a vitamin c cleanser or moisturizer. When shopping for serums, look for ascorbic acid (also known as L-ascorbic acid), which is the most stable and effective form of vitamin C in skin care. Other forms of vitamin C you may come across in skin-care products include tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, and methylsilanol ascorbate.

What are the Benefits of Using a Vitamin C Serum?

In addition to being a powerful antioxidant, Vitamin C can also help increase collagen production, even skin tone and reduce hyperpigmentation. Here are just a few of the benefits of using a Vitamin C Serum

• Vitamin C can help fade pigmentation and smooth the skin’s surface to reduce dullness, giving skin a more youthful glow.
• Vitamin C can even treat inflammatory skin conditions and help minimize redness.
• It helps to fade hyperpigmentation such as sun spots and age spots. It has even been shown to prevent hyperpigmentation thereby giving your skin a more even toned complexion. 
• Collagen is a naturally occurring protein that depletes over time. Lower levels of collagen can lead to fine lines and wrinkles.Vitamin C actually promotes the production of collage giving your skin a more youthful and plumped appearance.

What to Look for in Your Vitamin C Serum

Vitamin C can appear on the ingredient label as several different names, but the one you want is L-ascorbic acid, which is the most effective. Make sure this ingredient is close to the top of the label, ideally as one of the first five ingredients. 

As far as concentration, look for a concentration level between 10 and 20 percent. You definitely want a concentration that’s higher than 8 percent, but anything over 20 percent could lead to sensitivity and irritation. 

Exposure to air, light, and heat can degrade your serum. Look for a product that comes in a dark glass bottle featuring a medicine dropper delivery, rather than an air pump.

When to Use Vitamin C in Your Skincare Routine

While Vitamin C is a powerhouse ingredient, it doesn’t always play well with some other products. You never want to use Vitamin C at the same time you are using benzoyl peroxide, retinol, and other acids. Also, if you are oily and sensitive, be careful of using Vitamin C. You may want to use a smaller percentage and work your way up.

I recommend using Vitamin C in the morning. Typically for my AM skincare routine, I cleanse, tone, use eye cream, my vitamin c serum, moisturize and finish with an sunscreen. 

Then at night, I will use my more active products like retinol, ahas and bhas. 

I will be doing an upcoming Vitamin C Beauty Battle to compare my favorite Clean Beauty Vitamin C serums. Stay tune to see which one is the winner in the upcoming series. Let me know your favorite vitamin C serums in the comments below. Shine bright like a diamond!