The Skin Expert Consensus: Vitamin C Benefits for Everyone

TL;DR: You need a vitamin C serum in your skincare routine. You’ve likely heard of the magical ingredient or maybe even toyed around with testing one, but did you know it’s one of the dermatologists’ most recommended ingredients to add to your skincare routine?

Vitamin C is one of the most universally effective and well-rounded active ingredients in skincare. No matter what type of issues you have with your skin—dullness, hyperpigmentation, redness, fine lines, lack of firmness—vitamin C will yield some impressive improvements to the appearance of your complexion once you commit to daily application.

What is Vitamin C?

Like the vitamin C you take to stave off sickness during cold and flu season, vitamin C in skincare is a powerful antioxidant against environmental free radicals that aim to wreak havoc on your face. Vitamin C brightens skin, fades dark spots left behind after breakouts, and establishes a more even skin tone.

How exactly does it do this? The visible effects of oxidative stress, a state that our skin goes into when there are not enough antioxidants to combat the damage caused by free radicals, can present itself as sallow skin tone, redness, and generally unwell-looking skin. Free radicals are created when our cells encounter damaging environmental agents, such as air pollution, vehicle emissions, cigarette smoke, dirt, and UVA/UVB rays.

Vitamin C Benefits for Skin

Extensive oxidative stress can weaken skin, accelerating ageing and hyperpigmentation caused by post-acne scarring or sun damage. Vitamin C is not just a potent topical antioxidant; it is one of the more versatile active ingredients, as it also stimulates the skin’s production of collagen and is naturally anti-inflammatory—good news for people who also suffer from acne, oiliness, or blackheads or those who want some anti-ageing properties.

Everyone benefits from vitamin C. There is a lot of “fluff” in skincare that you could do without. Still, suppose you’re focusing on youth preservation, calming redness and inflammation, fading dark spots, or just wanting that elusive “glow” that only Glossier models seem to possess naturally. In that case, you shouldn’t skip vitamin C.

How to Choose a Vitamin C Serum

Vitamin C is surprisingly complicated to formulate in a way that guarantees its effectiveness. The active ingredients needed to make a potent serum are susceptible to oxidation and light exposure, so the packaging of these products is just as important as the formula itself.

A few of the most popular forms of vitamin C in skincare are ascorbic acid (also L-ascorbic acid), magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, and ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate. Suppose you look at the ingredients list of a supposed vitamin C product, and none of those above are listed in the first couple of ingredients. In that case, the product is not potent enough to show results.

L-ascorbic acid is the most commonly used vitamin C derivative in skincare, but with a pH of 3.5, it is also the most acidic varietal. Most skin types can tolerate L-ascorbic acid, but if you are particularly sensitive, consider formulas with any other commonly used derivatives—know it will take longer to see the desired results.

Ideally, your vitamin C serum will be packaged in an air-tight container with a pump that is either an opaque or amber-hued bottle to avoid oxidation and light exposure. Many vitamin C serums come with pipet applicators, which unfortunately allow daily air exposure. While this is not ideal, it does not necessarily mean it will be a lousy product.

With every vitamin C serum, it is essential to understand that the product has an expiration date. Please take note of the characteristics of your serum when you first begin using it. Once your product changes colour, texture, or smell or becomes cloudy, you must discontinue use immediately, as it has oxidized and expired. Vitamin C serums typically have a shelf life of around six months to a year after opening.

How to Use Vitamin C Serum

Because the environmental aggressors that create free radicals are typically encountered during the day, vitamin C is usually incorporated into morning routines. You can use a vitamin C serum at night, but it will likely negatively interact with other active ingredients typically used at night, such as retinol or AHAs. You do not need to apply vitamin C serum twice a day.

After cleansing, toning, and hydrating with an essence or another serum, layer your vitamin C before finishing with moisturizer and SPF. You have to wear UVA/UVB protection every day, but SPF and vitamin C are two peas in a pod—both work to lessen the effects of oxidative stress on your skin. Your vitamin C serum doesn’t have to work as hard when combined with SPF, and vice versa.

The Best Vitamin C Serums