How to choose the best Vitamin C serum?

How to choose the best vitamin C serum?

Vitamin C is one of best ingredients to add to your skincare routine. Your skin will never be the same after you start using it. Vitamin C serum is one of the best ways to start implementing Vitamin C to your daily skin care routine, because serums contain high concentration of the main ingredient.

Nowadays, there are so many serum options on the market that it might seem like a hard job to choose the best one. Therefore, continue reading this article to get some useful tips on how to choose the right one that works best for your skin.

What does Vitamin C do to your skin?

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants are substances that can stabilize free radicals. Sometimes free radicals are good for us, because they have anti-bacterial properties. However, when we have too much of them, free radicals destroy DNA, damage protein and the cell structure. Free radicals may become the reason for the appearance of premature signs of aging, the signs of sun damage and skin discoloration.

Vitamin C stimulates the production of elastin and collagen and helps to slow the breakdown of collagen. It also has an important role in the formation of keratinocytes, cells that repair damaged skin.

Vitamin C interrupts the over-production of melanin(brown pigment) in your skin, it also helps with skin discoloration.

What is a facial serum?

Serum is a skincare product that contains high concentrations of active ingredients. It has a gel-based or liquid texture and is made up of small molecules, that makes it able to penetrate the deepest layers of skin.

Serums may have different purposes: anti-aging, oil controller, anti-acne, skin brightening, etc. In this article, we are going to discuss the vitamin C serum, and how to choose the best vitamin C serum.

What is Vitamin C Serum?

Vitamin C Serum is a serum that contains high concentrations of vitamin C. The purest form of vitamin C is ascorbic acid, L-ascorbic acid, or ascorbate. Serums with that form tend to be more potent than the ones that contain vitamin C derivatives. Sometimes vitamin C serums may contain other ingredients to make it more stable and boost their functions.

In fact, the benefits of the topical application of vitamin C on the skin are well-studied and quite strong. Vitamin C serum penetrates the skin’s deepest layers, to neutralize the damage of free radicals. Moreover, it helps soften existing wrinkles and fine lines, as well as preventing new ones from forming, by boosting your skin to produce more collagen. It also helps to brighten your skin, fight dark spots and hyperpigmentation, by controlling melanin(brown pigment) production in your skin.

What does Vitamin C Serum do for your skin?

helps the skin heal quicker.
prevents sun damage.
fights skin discoloration and hyperpigmentation.
prevents fine lines and wrinkles, and also reduces the ones you already have.
evens the skin tone and fades the brown spots.
boost cell turnover and regeneration.
brightens your complexion and gives you a gorgeous glow.

How to choose the best vitamin C serum?

Now, after discussing the wonderful benefits of vitamin C for your skin, it is time to choose the right one to get.

Vitamin C is quite unstable in its pure form, so you have to learn some tips to choose the best one.

Vitamin C is prone to oxidize, when that happens it turns into a brownish color and loses its efficacy. Buy a vitamin C serum that is almost colorless, or has light creamy color. Avoid buying ones that have an orange or brown color, because you will never realize when it oxidizes.
To make vitamin C less likely to oxidize buy a serum that contains other antioxidants to make it more stable. Lookup for a vitamin C serum that comes with vitaminE, ferulic acid, and resveratrol, they are going to boost all the benefits of vitamin C.
Vitamin C comes in different types of concentration, from less than 1% to more than 20%. If you are starting to use it choose a low concentration (5% or less) to check how your skin responds to it. After it is adapted you can try with a higher concentration.
You can also try with vitamin C derivates. The pure form of vitamin C is ascorbic acid, other forms are knowns as derivates and although they may not be as potent as the pure vitamin C, they are more gentle in the skin and less prone to oxidize. Some of the most famous vitamin C derivates are ascorbyl glucoside, ascorbyl palmitate, and magnesium ascorbyl phosphate.
The price of a product is not always an indication of quality. However, keep in mind that a good formulation and proper stability and bioavailability testing can be costly. Therefore, buying the cheapest product that has vitamin C in it may not be the best idea. Check out the customer reviews, and consult with a skin care experts and dermatologist if required.

How do you start using vitamin C serum?

You can start using it in the mornings, right after your cleanse your skin, but before the moisturizer. Apply a small amount of the Vitamin C serum in your hands and gently into the skin of your face and neck with your fingertips.

Please keep in mind that you should always wear sunscreen after using vitamin C serum during daytime.

Applying vitamin C serum at night, before going to bed is a great idea as well. The serum will help skin repair itself while other sleep-restorative functions are taking place.

Ideally, use it twice a day, in the morning and at night, right after you cleanse and tone your skin. This way vitamin C serum will protect your skin during day time and fight off free radical damage, while at night, it will help your skin restore and heal.

Vitamin C serum is sensitive to direct heat and sun exposure, so when you purchase this product, make sure to always store it in a dark and cool place. Hence, your vitamin c serum will be more effective and last you longer.

How long does it take to see results?

Results will vary with each individual. In most cases, it takes 3-4 weeks to se the desirable results. However, for some individuals it may take up to 6 weeks to see the improvements in skin appearance.

What is the best age to start using vitamin C serum?

According to experts the best age to start using vitamin C serum is 18. However, everyone’s skin needs are individual. Therefore, you can start using this product if you want to prevent sun damage, have a brighter complexion, and reduce fine lines.

Good news is that vitamin C is relatively safe for even the most sensitive skin, and does not cause irritation and break outs. However, it is advisable to patch test any new product you use for the first time.

You might feel very light tingling and burning, when you use the serum very first time, while your skin is adapting. However, if the symptoms continue, or if you notice allergic reactions like swelling or hives, stop using the product and go to a doctor.

Side effects may include redness, itching and irritation. You are mostly going to experience these side effects on the first day of the application.

Can vitamin C serum help lighten the skin?

One of the main uses of vitamin C in skin care is skin brightening. Vitamin C prevents the skin pigmentation by sun exposure and the inflammatory hyperpigmentation.

Vitamin C inhibits the amount of melanin(brown pigment) that our melanocytes(the cells in charge of skin’s pigmentation) produce and interacts with tyrosinase, an enzyme that is responsible for the conversion of tyrosine to melanin. Those mechanisms result in a reduction of brown pigmentation. Your skin will be lighter, brighter and with an even skin tone.

Moreover, Vitamin C helps in skin cell renewal, leaving your skin look fresher, brighter and cleaner.

Vitamin C also aids in the skin whitening process by making skin cells more susceptible to the effects of glutathione. Whereas, glutathione is widely famous for skin brightening and detoxification.

Conclusion.

Vitamin C boosts collagen production and reverses cell damage, which helps keep the skin firmer, brighter and younger. It also helps fade and prevent brown spots and hyperpigmentation.

In order to choose the best product, always check the label and try to opt to natural organic ingredients. Lookup for a serum that comes with vitamin E, ferulic acid, and resveratrol, they are going to boost all the benefits of vitamin C. Vitamin C Ester provides supercharged brightening and smoothing benefits with less irritation than traditional vitamin C. It can be used for all types of skin.

Never buy the serum that has brown or orange color. Try to buy a serum that contains other antioxidants to make it more stable and effective.

After a month of using Vitamin C serum consistently, your skin is going to be brighter and look healthier. Choose the best vitamin C serum and start to enjoy all of its benefits.