We Summarize in 11 Items: Why Vitamin C is the Guarantee of Your Skin?

You don't just have to include vitamin C in your diet to boost your immunity. Its beneficial effects for topical use have also been scientifically proven. Vitamin C (aka ascorbic acid) can be found in various cosmetic products, from cleansers to masks, but its most effective use is in vitamin C serums and creams with concentrations ranging from 10-20%.

Key Benefits of Vitamin C for the Skin

• Skin brightening — Evens out skin tone and adds radiance to the under-eye area
• As an antioxidant for skin health — Repairs and protects against damage caused by UV rays
• Reduces the appearance of wrinkles — Supports collagen synthesis

Vitamin C as a Skin Brightener

1- When skin is overexposed to the sun, the amount of vitamin C in your skin decreases, and melanin is produced in irregularly increased amounts. Since melanin is responsible for your skin's color, excess melanin will lead to hyperpigmentation, resulting in dark spots and an uneven skin tone on your body. Possible discolorations include dark spots under the eyes, age spots, or localized darkened areas.

2- Vitamin C plays a role in regulating melanin production. When vitamin C levels in the skin are normal, your skin produces balanced levels of melanin, and skin tone becomes even. Topical vitamin C use can restore natural melanin production levels by replenishing the vitamin C depleted by sun exposure. Since the cells responsible for melanin production (melanocytes) are located in the outer layers of the skin (epidermis), topically applied vitamin C can easily reach these cells and suppress hyperpigmentation.

Vitamin C as an Antioxidant

3- Sun exposure stresses your skin, damages DNA, and leads to premature skin aging. Thanks to its antioxidant function, vitamin C is effective in blocking the damage caused to your skin cells by infrared and blue light.

4- Antioxidants like vitamin C donate electrons to unpaired particles known as free radicals that are searching for electrons; this prevents free radicals from stealing electrons from your cells and minimizes their potential to damage your skin cells.

5- Due to its reactive nature, vitamin C can easily degrade when exposed to light, heat, and air. To keep your vitamin C serum as potent as possible, use it promptly and store it in a tightly sealed container in a dark and cool place. If stored improperly, it can react with sunlight and oxidize, losing its effectiveness. You should not continue to use discolored vitamin C serums.

Vitamin C for Wrinkles

6- Wrinkled skin is skin with damaged collagen structure. Vitamin C helps your skin heal damage. As a vital part of wound healing, vitamin C is effective in reducing wrinkles. The way vitamin C helps reduce wrinkles is by specifically reducing damage to the proteins that make up the outer layer (epidermis) and lower layer (dermis) of the skin.

7- Vitamin C aids skin healing by supporting collagen mRNA. It also helps increase collagen production by stimulating fibroblasts—cells in the body dedicated to producing collagen. Research shows that vitamin C, even at concentrations as low as 3%, will increase collagen production and reduce wrinkles.

8- At the same time, vitamin C reduces irregular skin texture resulting from light damage by inhibiting the overexpression of elastin that typically comes with excessive sun exposure.

Secondary Benefits of Vitamin C

While vitamin C is highly effective for its primary uses, it is a powerful enough ingredient to provide a variety of secondary benefits:

• Helps in acne treatment
• Wound healing
• Reduces the risk of skin cancer

9- Although typical acne solutions do not contain vitamin C, there are studies showing that vitamin C used in conjunction with retinol can help prevent the overproduction of sebum, which can cause acne.

10- There are also studies showing that topically applied vitamin C to a wound can reduce scar tissue formation. If your acne and wound scars remain on your skin for a long time, vitamin C will make a significant contribution.

11- Topical use of vitamin C also reduces the process of photocarcinogenesis (the process by which skin cancer begins to form).

How to Best Use Vitamin C Serum

While vitamin C serum is powerful, it needs to be applied correctly to maximize its benefits.

• Apply at least once a day
• Use moisturizer over the serum
• Use sunscreen with vitamin C
• Adjust the vitamin C percentage according to your skin type
• If you have sensitivities like rosacea, opt for alternative antioxidants

To get the best results, you should be careful with applying your serum. In studies where it was used to reduce the appearance of wrinkles, it took 12 weeks to see results.

Moisturizer helps seal in the serum, ensuring your skin absorbs the maximum amount of active ingredients, while also preventing oxidation by air and balancing the drying effect of vitamin C reflected on the surface.

Sunscreen and vitamin C work well together. Vitamin C enhances the skin-protective abilities of UVB filters, which is why many people combine the two in their morning skincare routines.

Vitamin C can be drying, but you can manage this by choosing a lower-concentration solution. If you have dry or sensitive skin, use a maximum 10% solution. If you are looking for maximum efficacy and your skin is accustomed to acids, opt for a higher concentration around 20%.

Scientific References

1. Barbosa NS, Kalaaji AN. (2014). CAM use in dermatology: Is there a potential role for honey, green tea, and vitamin C? Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2014;20(1):11-5. PMID: 24439638
2. Correia G, Magina S. (2023). Efficacy of topical vitamin C in melasma and photoaging: A systematic review. J Cosmet Dermatol. 2023;22(7):1938-1945. PMID: 37128827
3. Pullar JM, Carr AC, Vissers MCM. (2017). The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. Nutrients. 2017;9(8):866. PMID: 28805671