We mainly reach for vitamin C when you feel a cold coming on or for some other health related reasons, but many if us might not know that it can also deliver a smooth, glowing complexion to our skins. In these recent years, Vitamin C has become an important item or ingredient in the Skin Care World.

Vitamin C is a science-backed, dermatologist-favorite skin care ingredient that has the ability to slow down the early skin aging, prevent sun damage to skin and greatly improves the wrinkles, dark spots, and acne.

In this article, I will dive into everything you need to know about Vitamin C, the proper ways to use it for skin benefits and how it can be a game changer for skin.

Firstly, what is Vitamin C?

Vitamin C’s technical name is “L-Ascorbic Acid”, is an essential nutrient that is needed for the growth & repairing of tissues in all parts of the body, including the skin, but our body cannot produce or create Vitamin C on its own. This antioxidant is mainly found in fruits and vegetables and for skin care, it commonly produced synthetically in products such as moisturizers, toners, and serums.

Where can one find Vitamin C?

Vitamin C can be naturally found in fruits and vegetables such as: lemon, oranges, citrus fruits and juices, peppers, strawberries, broccoli etc. Nowadays, many food manufacturers add vitamin C to their products such as: drinks, cereals, chocolates etc. It is also available as ‘Standalone Vitamin’, in multivitamin and other combined nutritional supplements.

Vitamin C is now present in many skin care products such as: creams, lotions and serums.

Proper usage of Vitamin C for Skin Care

Nutritional Vitamin C

Fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C, such as oranges and berries, offers many health-related benefits. And even though you can gain a lot of vitamin C by eating lots of fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C, these won’t be enough for you to achieve a noticeable improvement in your skin.

The reason for this is the amount of vitamin C that one gains from eating fruits and vegetables is enough to reach the lower levels of skin, but sadly it won’t reach to the skin’s top layers.

Topical Vitamin C

Topical Vitamin C is that kind of Vitamin C which absorbed directly into the main or top layers of the skin. And by that, it starts to immediately work on smoothing the skin, reducing fine lines and dark spots and protecting against other free radicals.

Nowadays, Vitamin C is found in many facial moisturizers and serums. Serums are quicker and more centered than moisturizers and it easily gets absorbed into the skin compared to moisturizers, which is why many Skincare Specialists recommend serums with vitamin C over moisturizers.

But sometime, less can be better. Serums containing low amounts (under 1%) of vitamin C can still provide antioxidant protection and benefits to skin.

Who should and should not use Vitamin C for skin care?

If your skin is dry, oily, or a combination type, Vitamin C is really beneficial for skin health and helps it to look and feel healthier and make it stay younger for longer time.

People that have ‘Sensitive Skin’ should be very cautious while using products with vitamin C for skin care. If they want to use such products, first they should take a small amount of it on their arm before applying it to their face. At most, they should use it every other day.

Benefits Vitamin C for Skin

Provides Protection against Sun Damage

The antioxidants that is present in vitamin C can help to defend the skin against the damage that is caused by UV light. But this doesn’t mean you can use a vitamin C serum instead of sunscreen because vitamin C serums can’t replace SPF since it cannot absorb UVA or UVB rays like sunscreen creams. However, some research suggests that if UV light get into your skin vitamin C can help to mitigate the harms.

Lightens Skin’s Dark Spots

Vitamin C-based skin care products has the ability to lighten up the patches that are darker than the rest of your skin which is called ‘Hyperpigmentation’. A study showed that, using Vitamin C to the skin for 16 weeks heavily removes the darkness of these spots.

Smoothens Wrinkles

In many anti-aging skin care products, Vitamin C is the most notable ingredient. Many studies shows that it can reduce the appearance of wrinkles after using it for at least 12 weeks. A healthy diet with high amount of Vitamin C can help as well. Some research suggests that people that eat more fruits and vegetables that are rich in vitamin C have less wrinkles on their skin.

Boosts the level of Collagen

Collagen is a protein which is naturally present in skin and helps the skin to stay away from getting saggy. But as one starts to age, their body slows down the production of collagen. Applying Vitamin C to the skin encourages new collagen to grow and to be produced. It also helps to maintain the collagen that is already present on the skin and protects the precious protein from damage.

Improves Skin’s Healing Ability

With Vitamin C, it helps to heal wounds in quicker fashion. As we discussed in the last point, vitamin C helps the body to produce more collagen which will also contribute to resolve or heal wounds or injuries.

Here’s some of well-known Brands Skin Care Products:

Writer: Tanvir