If you’ve ever wondered why you should use a vitamin C serum, listen to of this advice, the rewards of the topical usage of vitamin C on the complexion are well-known and quite strong. Everyone should be applying vitamin C to the complexion as part of a daily routine. A nice topical regimen is very underrated; it can create a tremendous difference in the skin over time.
The Rewards From a Vitamin C Serum
Vitamin C is crucial for several cellular and skin functions, including collagen synthesis, maintaining skin strength and integrity, injury healing and free radical and UV defense. Vitamin C is a strong anti-oxidants that is naturally and normally seen in the skin in high concentrations. As an antioxidant, it neutralizes free radicals in the skin. Free radicals, that are formed from issues such as the sun, pollution, stress and drinking, damage the DNA of the cell, which can cause premature aging and skin cancer. Vitamin C also boosts collagen production and rewinds cell damage, which helps keep the complexion firmer and younger, and even helps minimize and avoid brown spots and pigmentation.
How to Select the Most Effective Vitamin C Serum
As crucial as vitamin C is to your complexion routine, not every vitamin C serums are created equal. According to experts, there are four key issues you need to consider while searching for a vitamin C serum:
Form of Vitamin C. Vitamin C is offered in different forms—L-ascorbic acid, tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, ascorbyl palmitate and sodium ascorbyl phosphate, among others—but not everyone of them are equal in terms of stability and absorption rate. As with all active ingredients in skin care and critical with vitamin C, it is necessary that it is well formulated and has good bioavailability and penetration. In other words, it is able to get to where it should go and do what it’s supposed to do. Most serums in the market contain vitamin C in the form of L-ascorbic acid, but experts prefer the type, called Ascorbic Acid Peptide, which they believe can be more stable.
Concentration. Concentration is basically the strength level of the acid. A concentration of at least 10% Ascorbic Acid Peptide is recommended; however, you will find some products on the market that offer less. The concentration is important, but the top vitamin C serums also add other anti-oxidants and enhancers like vitamin E and ferulic acid, which probably adds more value over just increasing the concentration alone.
Formulation. While vitamin C by itself has proven benefits, studies reveal that combining it with equally effective ingredients can boost its efficacy. There is a vast amount of evidence revealing that combining vitamin C with vitamin E creates a much stronger antioxidant with added benefits. Vitamin E itself performs as an anti-oxidant and additionally boosts the functionality of vitamin C. It also assists in maintaining the skin barrier.
Cost. A great formula can be costly to create to make certain good stability and bioavailability, both essential issues when making a vitamin C product. But, the cost of a vitamin c serum is not always a sign of quality. Costly doesn’t always mean better. Some of the most costly products on the market actually have an inferior formulation or do not have as much research to support the product
How to Use a Vitamin C Serum for Top Results
There are different theories out there regarding how and when to use a vitamin C serum. Various experts state that vitamin C should be applied at night in order to help skin heal itself while other functions are happening. Some state that it should be applied during the daytime in order to assist in fighting off free-radical damage as it aggregates during the day.
As to how often? You might not need to apply it every day. The receptors for vitamin C become saturated and it might not need to be applied every day. You might not get added results from daily usage.
Something else of importance to note is how you keep your bottles to ensure potency. Storing vitamin C bottles in a cool, dark place is best. You’ll observe that formulas that conatin L-ascorbic acid will come in a brown or amber bottle, which is critical to maintain shelf life. If your serum begins to turn brown, it’s probably time to buy a new one. It should probably be replaced at least every six months. But, if you are using it properly and being regular with your skincare routine, your bottle shouldn’t last long.
Are you ready to boost your anti-oxidant intake? Here is the top vitamin C serum that is actually worth every penny: