Use Hyaluronic Acid In The Evening
While you can use both ingredients any time you please, experts generally recommend sticking to vitamin C in the daytime. “Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant and its effects last for over 24 hours. You’ll only need to apply it once daily, usually in the morning,” notes Rodney, as the antioxidant can add an extra layer of protection in tandem with your sunscreen. Since HA’s main gig is hydration, it’s not really married to an ideal time .
That said, you can always use vitamin C in the morning and HA in the evening. “In the evening, youll have even more benefits, since you wont be layering it with vitamin C,” says Rodney.
Apply Your Vitamin C Serum Now
Now is the time you have been waiting for. To apply vitamin C serum on your skin, use the dropper in the bottle of the serum to squeeze out two to three drops of the vitamin C serum into your palm.
Use the fingers of your other hand to dip into the serum in your palm, then pat some serum on your forehead and cheeks or other parts of the body you would like to apply it on. Now proceed to massage the serum into your skin.
Tips For Using Vitamin C And Retinol
While using vitamin C and retinol was considered harmful in the past, now you know that its perfectly okay. Just ensure you follow these tips:
1. Start Slowly
As with any skincare ingredient or product, start slowly and observe how your skin reacts.
Thats because although very effective, vitamin C and retinol are intense ingredients and so you need to give your skin time to adjust before you go all in. Integrating them too quickly can cause dryness, flakiness, or inflammation.
You could begin using them once a week and if you dont notice any reaction, use them twice a week, then thrice a week until you reach the most suitable frequency for you.
2. Wear Sunscreen
Yes, vitamin C builds a barrier that protects the skin from UV rays, but this doesnt mean you shouldnt wear sunscreen.
And no matter how much you change specific ingredients in your routine to meet your skincare concerns, you should always include SPF.
Sunscreen application applies too to when you introduce retinol to your skincare. As mentioned earlier, retinol is a form of vitamin A. This vitamin thins the skins barrier, increasing its susceptibility to the suns UV rays, so its vital to wear SPF when using retinol.
3. Hydrate
Your skin needs regular hydration and moisture for it to be healthy. And the fact that retinol can have a considerable drying effect on the skin, causing flakiness and dryness, is more reason to hydrate often.
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Dont Use Vitamin C With Certain Other Ingredients
Vitamin C is generally pretty safe and well tolerated, but if you have sensitive skin, it might sting a little bitespecially if you use it in the same part of your routine as exfoliating scrubs or acids.
The one ingredient you should steer clear of when using vitamin C is benzoyl peroxide, which can oxidize the vitamin C and, therefore, make it less potent, Dr. Hogan says. You can still use your benzoyl peroxide products, just not in the same part of your routine as the vitamin C. Try using vitamin C in the morning and benzoyl peroxide in the evenings, or use them on different days.
Pour And Drink To Your Health
Go ahead and pour your smoothies into glass jars. This recipe will make enough to serve a family of 4 two cups of smoothie or 2 really generous servings. I make this vitamin C Bomb Smoothie once a day- usually in the afternoon- and serve it to my family.
Its not only healthy and preventive, but it gives us an energy boost so we can finish our school and work day. Its best to drink it just after blending, but I have been known to make it the evening before a busy day and store it in the fridge. I dont recommend storing it for more than 12 hours, though. The vitamins wont be as potent as when freshly blended.
Some really smart dude said, Let food be thy medicine, and- even though its a drink- this smoothie surely fits the bill. In this time of caution, give your family a boost of Vitamin C. Share this with your friends and be sure to pin the recipe for your smoothie.
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Potential Side Effects Of Using Vitamin C
Vitamin C is highly concentrated and potent enough to affect the skins pH levels. Vitamin C is best used in concentrations between 5% and 15% and should be applied once daily after cleansing in the morning or night.
Keep in mind that vitamin C is highly acidic, which may lead to skin irritation. To avoid any irritations, test a small area of your skin before applying it to your face. If you notice any redness or itchiness, then stop using the product immediately.
Vitamin C serums may cause skin irritation. A person who experiences this might want to lower the amount of serum they use to once per day or once every few days.
Vitamin C serum also causes skin sensitivity to sunlight. Using sunscreen as part of a daily skincare routine when using Vitamin C serum is essential.
Vitamin C serums can be expensive and less cost-effective than creams or lotions containing Vitamin.
How Often To Use Vitamin C
For best results, apply vitamin C topically 1-2 times a daymorning and night. Be sure to apply a moisturizer with a broad-spectrum SPF after vitamin C application for daytime. Follow the directions on your products packaging, as instructions may vary from product to product. If you find your skin is sensitive to daily application, try starting with applying a low concentration a few times a week or every other day, then build up use as tolerated.
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Vitamin C For Hair: Benefits And How To Use
Vitamin C is used across the globe as an immunity-boosting supplement to prevent illness. Also referred to as ascorbic acid, which is the form of vitamin C found naturally in food, this ingredient can be found in everything from makeup to toothpaste. In the beauty world, it is an essential part of skincare routines for its ability to help create a more radiant, even skin tone.
As a powerful antioxidant and natural collagen booster, vitamin C seems like it would be beneficial to the hair and scalp as well as the face. The skin of the scalp is often neglected, and it may seem natural to want to improve your scalp skin health with the same products that have proven beneficial for your face. So we turned to dermatologists Brendan Camp, MD, and Marisa Garshick, MD, for their expert opinions on vitamin c for hair.
Meet the Expert
- Brendan Camp, MD, FAAD, is a double board-certified dermatologist at MDCS Dermatology in New York City.
- , MD, FAAD, is a board-certified dermatologist at MDCS: Medical Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery Centers, and a clinical assistant professor of dermatology at Cornell University.
Does vitamin C have as many benefits for the hair as it does for the skin? Keep reading to find out.
Vitamin C for Hair
Type of ingredient: Antioxidant
Main benefits: Neutralizes free radical damage, aids in collagen production, and boosts shine
Dont use with: Products that alter the pH of skin or hair, such as AHA, BHAs, or alkaline ingredients
How To Use Vitamin C Serum And Resveratrol
Vitamin C and resveratrol work synergistically to create healthier-looking skin and a strong antioxidant defense, and their power should be celebrated by teaming them up. If you apply a vitamin C serum and a resveratrol-infused moisturizer, the serum should be layered first. If both are in serums, you should layer vitamin C first, then follow with the resveratrol serum as what’s fat-soluble goes after water-soluble molecules. Vitamin C serum and resveratrol can be used in the morning as both are boosting each other antioxidant power so that you stay defended against free radicals throughout the day.
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Does Vitamin C Cause Skin Reactions
Product formulation and packaging are paramount to a serums stability. And to retain effectiveness longer, l-ascorbic acid, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, and ascorbyl palmitate, which are vitamin C derivatives, are used.
The l-ascorbic is formulated at a low pH , and this low acidity may cause you to experience tingling.
Its why you should always conduct a patch test before full application, as its the only way to know how your skin will react.
If you experience a reaction, lower the frequency of use, spacing it out until your skin acclimates and youre comfortable using it. And if you have very sensitive skin, then avoid any products with l-ascorbic acid.
Generally, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate is gentler, and products with it are less likely to cause a reaction.
What Goes First: Vitamin C Or Hyaluronic Acid How To Layer Your Serums
Of all the buzzy skin care ingredients out there, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid may be two of the most decorated players. Both can benefit all skin types, which makes them sound investments for any beauty routine. Plus, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid make a great pair: The former evens out skin tone and gives your complexion a serious glow, while the latter is a famous hydrator. When it comes to skin care power couples, vitamin C and hyaluronic acid are one fabulous duo.
Although, both of these ingredients do their best work under certain conditions: You want to apply a vitamin C serum on clean, dry skin so it can penetrate the skin cells, but you want to apply hyaluronic acid on a damp face so it can pull water into the skin.
Considering these are two very different prerequisites for A+ application , you may be wondering how to layer them both in the same routine. You’re not alone: Here’s what derms recommend.
Also Check: What Is The Best Vitamin C Serum For Face
First Let’s Talk About Each Ingredient Individually
Before we get to the potential issues that can arise when combining the two, it’s important to understand what these ingredients are and what they can do for your skin on their own.
Niacinamide is a form of vitamin B3 that is, “a wonder ingredient with a multitude of benefits,” says Chicago dermatologist Emily Arch, MD. “Among its many attributes, it helps skin produce ceramides to improve barrier function and hydration, increases collagen production to help with the appearance of fine lines and pores, inhibits excess sebum production, and may help lighten discoloration,” she adds. As if that weren’t enough, it’s also been shown to have anti-inflammatory effects , and is a powerful antioxidant, according to board-certified dermatologist Charlotte Birnbaum, MD of Spring Street Dermatology in New York City. In other words, no matter what your complexion concern may be, niacinamide can probably help.
Vitamin C isn’t far behind when it comes to boasting a lengthy list of benefits. Arch calls it her, “favorite skincare ingredient, hands down,” lauding it for its potent antioxidant properties and ability to neutralize free radicals before they can cause damage. And like niacinamide, it also has anti-aging effects. Vitamin C is crucial for collagen production, improving the look of fine lines and wrinkles, and decreases the production of pigment to help lighten dark spots, explains Birnbaum.
Use Ha In Your Moisturizer
Hyaluronic acid is formulated into a number of topicals, serums, moisturizers, and masks included. So if you don’t like layering your serums, you could always opt for a face cream that contains HAlike this Cloud Dew Gel Cream Moisturizer from Summer Fridays.
And who says you have to stick to topicals, anyway? You can find the ingredient in a host of beauty supplements, usually as a complementary active to other ingredients like collagen.* That’s because oral forms of HA have also been shown to support skin hydration and appearance: In fact, research has shown that people who took 120 milligrams of hyaluronic acid a day for 12 weeks helped maintain healthy skin aging compared with those who took a placebo.*
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Why Is Topical Vitamin C Important For Skin Health
- Payal Patel, MD, Contributor
Topical vitamin C is a science-backed, dermatologist-favorite ingredient that may help slow early skin aging, prevent sun damage, and improve the appearance of wrinkles, dark spots, and acne. Vitamin C is an antioxidant, meaning it fights harmful free radicals that come in contact with your skin from external sources like air pollution, or from inside the body as a result of normal processes like your metabolism. Free radicals can damage the skin, and applying topical vitamin C can combat free radicals and may improve the skins overall appearance.
Here’s Why You Should Use Them Both
Okay, so we know combining the two isn’t going to be problematic, but will it be beneficial? Again, the short answer is yes. “Given the multitude of benefits of both of these ingredients, and the complimentary nature of these benefits, they’re a powerful combination,” says Arch. Even though they both target various signs of aging, they have slightly different mechanisms of action, so you’re addressing the issue from various angles. Take skin brightening, for example. Combining the two could be helpful because they’re working in different ways to achieve this effect, notes Romanowksi. Vitamin C works by inhibiting an enzyme known as tyrosinase, necessary for the production of pigment, while niacinamide is thought to prevent the transfer of pigment within cells.
Niacinamide, on the other hand, is much less delicate and finicky than vitamin C, says Arch. You can find it in plenty of serums, moisturizers, masks, and more, at a variety of price points. But when it comes to which ingredient should go on your skin first, it doesn’t really matter. Your best bet is to decide based on the formula of the particular products you’re using, applying them from thinnest to thickest, advises Arch. In other words, a serum would always go before a moisturizer, and an oil should always be applied last.
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What Other Skincare Products Enhance Light Therapy Results
Though light therapy is known to provide fast-acting results, you can certainly use other skincare products in conjunction with light therapy treatments. Many skincare professionals have found that combining light therapy with targeted skincare products, like those containing peptides, hyaluronic acid, green tea, and white tea, can help increase the effectiveness of the products up to 12 times.
Just remember that the order of application matters and that its best to apply serums after light therapy treatment.
Next Vitamin C Basics
Vitamin C, on the other hand, is categorized as an antioxidant. That means that it works to neutralize a dangerous type of molecule known as a free radical. Free radicals are molecules that lack an electron in their outer shell, making them feel unbalanced.
In an attempt to balance themselves out, they bounce around the body trying to steal them from other molecules . That process then makes those molecules unstable, leading to many different issues including the signs of visible premature aging.
To stop that from happening, vitamin C is more than happy to lend some of its electrons to those free radicals. That keeps them from continuing to wreak havoc in the body, slowing down the oxidative stress that the process causes.
In addition, vitamin C is also an essential component of the synthesis of collagen. Its thought that the natural production of collagen in the skin slows down about one percent a year after we turn 30.
Counteracting that degradation is one of the main targets of anti-aging skin care products. The more collagen that we have in our skin, the more firm and youthful it appears.
Typical benefits of vitamin C include:
- Helping to reduce the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles
- Protecting the skin from sun damage
- Boosting collagen production
- Helps reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation
- Plumps and firms the skin
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Can You Use Hyaluronic Acid And Vitamin C Together
Not all powerful skincare ingredients can be mixed, but hyaluronic acid and vitamin C are two that become even stronger when paired with one another. These ingredients can provide both immediate and lasting results when used together in anti-aging formulations. One study on a serum made with L-ascorbic acid and hyaluronic acid found that the formula visibly reduced wrinkles, improved skin brightness, and left participants with more hydrated skin.I These impressive benefits are why we combine hyaluronic acid and vitamin C in our Powerful-Strength Line-Reducing collection.
The bestselling Powerful-Strength Vitamin C Serum is formulated with two different types of vitamin CL-ascorbic acid and ascorbyl glucoside. The result is a multi-benefit vitamin C serum that instantly smooths skins texture and visibly reduces fine lines and wrinkles while improving the appearance of skins radiance and texture. It also contains fragmented hyaluronic acida shorter-length hyaluronic acid that is better able to penetrate surface layers of the skin. This allows for more moisture to be drawn into the epidermis, plumping the appearance of fine lines and smoothing out the look and feel of rough texture.
How Does Vitamin C Benefit The Skin
Where do we even begin! Vitamin C is a powerhouse, packed with so many skin-loving benefits that it is hard to choose just a few to add here. Here are some of the many benefits of vitamin c for the skin
i.Vitamin C fights free radicals
Sunlight, stress, pollution, UV rays, and other environmental aggressors create free radicals in the skin that damage the dermis , moisture barrier, cell functioning, and the skins texture and colour. Vitamin C is an antioxidant that attacks and neutralizes these free radicals and protects the skin against environmental aggressors.
ii.Vitamin C is an anti-ageing hero
Vitamin C plays a crucial role in the collagen synthesis of your body. Collagen is a protein that provides structure to your body, including your skin. When your bodys collagen production slows down, your skin starts losing its firmness and elasticity and starts to sag. Fine lines and wrinkles also crop up on your face making you look old and tired. Vitamin C is a natural collagen booster that in turn improves your skins elasticity, texture, and quality making it look tight and young.
iii.Vitamin C quenches dehydrated skin
Vitamin C and its derivatives exhibit hydrating properties and are shown to decrease transepidermal water loss i.e. it strengthens your skin barrier, helps your skin lock in the moisture, and prevents moisture loss from your skins surface. Hydrated skin is healthy skin that looks plump and feels soft and smooth.
iv.Vitamin C brightens your complexion
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