If your skin has an uneven complexion, a rough texture, acne scars, a dull appearance or fine lines, vitamin C is the solution! Vitamin C is the best-researched cosmetic ingredient that really improves skin. Vitamin C is essential for the formation of collagen and thus the strengthening of the skin. Skin therapist Isla explains everything about this powerful ingredient in this blog.
Vitamin C is actually an umbrella term, because there are many different types. Vitamin C is also known as ascorbic acid. Unfortunately, ascorbic acid does not work well enough on its own because it is water-soluble and therefore quickly loses its effectiveness. Fortunately, ascorbic acid can be stabilized with various substances so that it maintains its effectiveness. Below are the other names that fall under vitamin C and you'll see more often on ingredient lists:
-Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate
-Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate
-Ascorbyl palmitate
-Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate
Vitamin C is an antioxidant. Antioxidants are vitamins and minerals that ensure that free radicals cannot cause damage to our body. Free radicals are aggressive molecules that are created in our body during oxidation processes. Oxidization involves oxygen and oxidation is a normal process in our body. Another word for oxidation is rusting, so skin imperfections such as pigmentation are actually rust spots. Vitamin C counteracts this harmful effect of oxygen and slows down the oxidation process.
Because vitamin C has antioxidant properties, it helps in the skin's natural regeneration process, allowing our body to repair damaged skin cells. This can be a solution if you have red and brown pigment spots left after an acne outbreak (Post Inflammatory Hyperpigmentations). Vitamin C is helpful in preventing scarring.
In addition to treating existing skin imperfections, vitamin C can also have another preventive effect. For example, it can help prevent premature skin aging and limit damage caused by exposure to UV rays.
What is important to know is that vitamin C only works in high concentrations (at least 4%). To know whether a product contains sufficient vitamin C, you can look at the list of ingredients on the back of the package. The higher in the list the vitamin C is listed, the higher the percentage.
In addition, you should pay close attention to the packaging of the product; Vitamin C is not resistant to light and oxygen. That is why it is best to buy vitamin C in a sealed bottle with a pump system or in a bottle of dark-treated glass. So I'd rather not have a jar with a lid. As a result, it loses its effectiveness and can actually have the opposite effect.
In addition, it has been shown that vitamin C, in combination with other antioxidants, such as vitamin A, or E, can do its job even better!
At Van Lennep Kliniek, we offer various serums containing vitamin C. So has Environ the Mela-Even Cream (Intense C-Boost) and ZO Skin Health the 10% Vitamin C Self-Activating.
My favorites are the antioxidant serums from SkinCeutics. Fun fact: in SkinCeuticals' names, the C stands for vitamin C. For example, the CE ferulic, Phloretin CF and the Silymarin CF.
