I always recommend vitamin C serum all my clients. I myself would never think about skipping it from my morning routine. I hope when you read the following article you’ll understand why. During my research, I learned a few new things myself.

Due to their antioxidant properties, vitamin C and its derivatives have long been used in cosmetic products to protect and reduce the signs of aging. Topical vitamin C has a wide range of clinical uses, ranging from antiaging and anti-pigmentary to photoprotective. It’s one of natures most powerful natural occurring antioxidant; it’s an essential part of skin health.

Its antiaging effect increases collagen synthesis, stabilizing collagen fibers, and decreasing collagen degradation.

Vitamin C is essential for collagen biosynthesis. It doesn’t matter what age you are, you should include a topical vitamin C serum into your routine, young skin as well as aging skin can receive the benefits of increased collagen production with a daily application of topical vitamin C.

Daily vitamin C application safe

Topical vitamin C is generally safe to use on a daily basis for long durations. It can safely and should be used with other anti-aging topicals such as sunscreens, retinols, peptides, AHA/BHA and other antioxidants for additional skin care benefits.

Vitamin C contributes to photoprotection

It limits the damage induced by ultraviolet (UV) light exposure. It should not be considered a “sunscreen” because it doesn’t absorb light in the UVA or UVB spectrum. When the skin is exposed to UV light, vitamin C utilizes an UV-protective effect by neutralizing the harmful effects of free radicals. It reduces the negative effects of both UVB and UVA rays, it’s essentially slowing down the aging process and the creation of fine lines and wrinkles.

When you apply a layer of a vitamin C serum and a broad spectrum sunscreen, you optimize your UV protection.

Vitamin C is beneficial for the treatment of hyperpigmentation.

It naturally decreases hyperpigmentation by interrupting the key steps of melanogenesis, the process by which the pigment melanin is produced. As well as inhibiting the action of the enzyme called tyrosinase. Tyrosinase catalyzes the production of melanin.

Vitamin C supplements VS. topical vitamin C for free radical

It is possible to receive the same protection from UV-induced free radical damage by simply taking a vitamin C supplement?

Unfortunately vitamin C supplements provide only limited antioxidant benefits to the skin. They don’t increase Minimal Erythemal Dose (MED, the threshold dose that may produce sunburn) and provide only a measure of photoprotection for UV light.

“Oral supplementation with vitamin C effectively increases vitamin C levels in the skin (9, 10). However, when plasma vitamin C levels are saturated, skin vitamin C concentrations no longer increase.” No evidence was obtained for an effect of the supplementary vitamin C on the mild oxidative stress seen in human skin following UVR exposure.” | Linus Pauling Institute | Oregon State University

There was one study demonstrated that people with high dietary intakes of vitamin C showed no or little topical effect.

Using a topical application of vitamin C has been proven to be a more effective way to receive the many antioxidant and photoprotection benefits.

Vitamin C Destroyers

Aging, causes a decline in vitamin C content in both the epidermis and dermis

Environmental pollutants, such as ozone can decrease vitamin C levels in the skin and lead to free-radical damage.

Excessive exposures to UV light lowers vitamin C content, primarily in the epidermis

Smoking can lead to increased wrinkling and decreased collagen synthesis, which corresponds to a decline in plasma vitamin C levels.

The stability of vitamin C in topical solutions may slowly degrade with exposures to air, heat, and/or light C, hence the dark packaging.

There are many forms of topical vitamin C used in today’s cosmetic formulations.

Some vitamin C derivatives you may see in cosmetic formulas as antioxidants are:

L-ascorbic

Ascorbic acid

Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate

Sodium Ascorbate

Ascorbyl palmitate

Ethyl ascorbic

Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (MAP)

Sodium ascorbyl phosphate

Magnesium Ascorbate

Calcium Ascorbate

Tetrahex­yldecyl ascorbate

Ascorbyl glucoside

Ascorbyl methylsilanol pectinate

Although the natural form of vitamin C, ascorbic acid, is the most effective for topical administration it is the least stable in solution. A topical application of ascorbic acid will cross the epidermis into the underlying dermal layers.

Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (MAP) a stable derivative reaches deep into basal layer of the skin. It showed other significant effects such as improving skin hydration, which is very important for the normal cutaneous metabolism and early aging.

However, stable synthetic derivatives, such as ascorbate phosphate, are considered having limited penetrability and function in skin. Another derivative, ascorbyl palmitate, also demonstrated limited absorption and one in study with cultured skin cells found that the administration of ascorbyl palmitate had some toxic effects.

What concentrations of vitamin C are effective?

Vitamin C up to 30% has been used in studies, but those higher concentrations demonstrated a lower absorption. Maximal effectiveness and absorption were accomplished using a 20% vitamin C solution.

Although an application of 10% topical vitamin. C showed a reduction of UVB-induced erythema by 52% and sunburn cell formation by 40-60%. Apply a topical application of vitamin C of 3 to 10% for at least 12 weeks has been shown to decrease wrinkling, reduce protein fiber damage, decrease apparent roughness of skin and increase production of collagen.

Conclusion

Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that can be used topically daily to treat and prevent photoaging associated with UV– induced sun damage.