Vitamin C
so nice, you apply it twice
Vitamin C is one of the most powerful antioxidants you can use in skincare. It protects against free radicals (pollution, UV rays, blue lights, etc), brightens the skin, helps the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and helps the efficacy of SPF. It should be applied immediately after toner (if it’s a serum) in the morning and at night.
While Vitamin C can cause increased sensitivity to the sun, it also makes a great duo with SPF by protecting our skin against free radical damage. So, if you’re using them together, sensitivity to the sun shouldn’t be an issue because you’ll be protected by the SPF.
A few things I realized when first starting a medical grade Vitamin C serum:
Due to the L-ascorbic acid, it can cause your skin to burn/tingle and become a little irritated when you first start using it.
You may notice your face looks tanner with it on - this is because Vitamin C serum is a yellowish tint (pssst: wash your hands after applying).
Because it does have a tint to it, blackheads can become more noticeable. No, they are not new… You are just now noticing them.
AHAs and BHAs help remove blackheads.
Once you have had your Vitamin C for a while, it will turn a darker orange color which means it is oxidizing and is less effective. The shelf life is about 3-4 months after opening.
Your neck is always more delicate than your face. My neck could not tolerate Vitamin C serum at first. I am now gradually easing into applying it on my neck and I use Vitamin C Lotion on the alternating days.
Fun tip: apply Vitamin C to the back of your hands. This also goes for SPF and even retinoids! You don’t realize how much sun damage you get on your hands until it’s too late.
I apply my Vitamin C after my toner (while my face is still damp) and then let it dry for a full 5 minutes. Although waiting that long isn’t necessary, I have found that it helps absorb better. My makeup used to cause the Vitamin C to clump up if I didn’t wait long enough for it to dry.
On the back of my bottle, it says to use 5-7 drops. If you find your skin is more oily after using the product, make sure your face is damp prior to application and use less drops.
Vitamin C serum comes in strengths between 10%-20%. 10% is good for dry, irritated or sensitive skin, 15% is good for normal/combo skin and 20% is best for oily/acne-prone skin. 15% is usually a safe bet if you don’t know where to start. You can always increase strength after you have finished a bottle of a lower strength. If you’re on the correct Vitamin C, it should increase hydration in the skin and decrease breakouts (if that is an issue for you).
There are a lot more studies out there based on L-ascorbic acid (Vitamin C serum) rather than THD Ascorbate (Vitamin C lotion) showing its effectiveness and the ability of our skin to be able to absorb it better. So, if your skin can tolerate L-ascorbic acid (doesn’t cause it to breakout), choose Vitamin C serum. If you have a sensitivity, Vitamin C lotion is better than no Vitamin C at all.
Not all Vitamin C is created equally. I personally prefer medical grade for my products with active ingredients. I use Obagi Professional-C Serum but start with what is in your budget.
Here are some things to look for when choosing which Vitamin C to purchase:
A dark/tinted, airtight bottle keeps the Vitamin C protected from heat and light and therefore it lasts longer.
There you have it… so nice, you apply it twice (daily). The benefits are endless and like I said, it’s SPF’s BFF so that means you have to use it, right?
