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Getting enough vitamin C in your diet is a crucial part of your overall health. However, dietary vitamin C doesn’t benefit the skin much — which is where topical vitamin C comes in.

Topical vitamin C carries many benefits for the skin, from protecting against aging to brightening the skin over time. A vitamin C serum can become an important part of your daily skin care routine.

“Personally, I recommend vitamin C to almost all of my patients,” says Ashley Deglau, lead aesthetician, UPMC Cosmetic Surgery and Skin Health Center. “That’s one of my staples in a skin care regimen.”

Learn more about vitamin C and what it does for your skin.

What Is Vitamin C?

Also known as ascorbic acid, vitamin C is a water-soluble molecule with antioxidant properties.

There are many different forms of vitamin C. L-ascorbic acid is one of the most common forms and the most biologically active.

Though you can have vitamin C as an ingredient in various skin products, it most commonly appears in serums.

How Does Vitamin C Benefit Your Skin?

When used appropriately, vitamin C can penetrate the skin, prevent damage, stimulate collagen production, and reduce inflammation.

Here are some of the benefits of vitamin C serum:

Protecting against free radicals

As an antioxidant, vitamin C can neutralize free radicals, which are unstable molecules that damage cells. Free radicals can lead to a condition called oxidative stress, a risk factor for cancer and other diseases. They can also speed up the signs of aging.

Though free radicals can form from chemical processes in our body, they can also come from environmental sources like:

• Air pollution.
• Cigarette smoke.
• Ultraviolet (UV) rays.

Vitamin C can help protect your skin from free radicals. It can even complement sunscreen, helping to reduce sunburn and other sun damage.

“Vitamin C is not sunblock, but it does protect your skin from free radicals. It neutralizes these free radicals, helping prevent premature aging and skin breakdown,” Ashley says. “It also supports collagen production, which keeps the skin firm and smooth.”

Stimulation of collagen production

Vitamin C helps to promote the production of collagen, the most abundant protein in our body. Collagen plays a key role in the health of our skin. It keeps the skin flexible and elastic and also helps wounds heal.

The natural aging process and ultraviolet light exposure from the sun and tanning beds can lead to decreases in collagen. This leads to signs of aging like wrinkles and fine lines, sagging skin, and thinner skin. Vitamin C can help stimulate collagen production, reducing these effects.

Reducing hyperpigmentation

Hyperpigmentation is a condition in which certain areas of the skin appear darker than others. It can result from overproduction of the pigment melanin, which gives our skin its color.

Vitamin C inhibits the enzyme tyrosinase from converting the amino acid tyrosine into melanin, reducing hyperpigmentation.

Helping with inflammatory skin conditions

Some studies have reported that vitamin C can help reduce some of the effects of inflammatory skin conditions like acne, rosacea, and psoriasis. However, more research is necessary.

“I’ve seen a great deal of improvement with my rosacea patients adding this in daily,” Ashley says. “They are less inflamed, in my experience.”

How Do I Use Vitamin C Serum?

You should follow the use instructions on your specific product. However, you can use many vitamin C serums both in the morning and at night.

“You’ll want to apply a vitamin C serum after cleansing the skin,” she says. “Be sure to apply skin care products thinnest to thickest. So, you’ll start out with your serums, moisturizer if you apply one, then sunblock.”

Vitamin C can become unstable if exposed to heat, light, or air — so, it’s important to store vitamin C serum in a cool, dark place with the cap screwed on tightly.

Are There Any Side Effects of Vitamin C?

Side effects from vitamin C skin care products are rare. People with more sensitive skin may experience:

• Dryness
• Irritation
• Itchiness
• Redness

Ashley says, “Typically, I recommend application of vitamin C serum both in the morning and at night, but if the patient is experiencing irritation, I will have them apply in the morning only.”

What Is the Best Vitamin C Serum for Me?

You don’t need a prescription for a vitamin C serum. However, Ashley cautions that many over-the-counter products contain added ingredients that could cause irritation or breakouts. For that reason, she generally recommends a medical-grade product.

L-ascorbic acid is only stable with a pH below 3.5. The addition of vitamin E and ferulic acid to l-ascorbic acid products can provide greater stability.

Other things to keep in mind when getting a vitamin C product include:

• A 10% to 20% concentration — Ashley says, ideally, the product should have a vitamin C concentration between 10% and 20%. People with sensitive to normal skin should aim for a concentration on the lower end of that range. People with oilier skin should aim for a concentration closer to 20%.
• Opaque container — Vitamin C is unstable when exposed to sunlight and heat. It’s important to purchase a product packaged in a container that light can’t shine through.

Before starting a new skin care regimen, you may wish to consult a licensed dermatologist. They can help recommend the best products for your skin needs and skin type.

With the many ways that vitamin C can help skin, Ashley says it’s one of her most recommended products.

“I definitely think that everybody should be using vitamin C,” she says.