Do you use beauty products containing vitamin C? If so, that’s great – I’d be more than happy to learn your top cosmetics. But if you don’t use any, you should think about upgrading your beauty arsenal with it – scroll down to see the list of my tried and tested vitamin C face serums.
I think I should start by explaining what makes vitamin C so crucial in skin care. If you already have such a product, then you know how amazing it is for the skin, making it brighter and smoother day by day. Thanks to the fact that vitamin C is nowadays one of the common cosmetic ingredients, we keep discovering the multitude of skin benefits it has in store for us. We understand that there is more in vitamin C than just its immune system boosting qualities.
Benefits of vitamin C for skin
Ascorbic acid (vitamin C) used in beauty rituals:
- brightens discoloration of various origin.
- works as an antioxidant, providing skin with youthful appearance.
- promotes even complexion.
- supplies skin with nutrients and improves radiance.
- aids in fighting off acne.
- improves suppleness and reduces fine lines.
Which form of vitamin C should you pick?
Naturally, there isn’t just one form of vitamin C that you can find in beauty products. What’s the difference between them? First of all, stability – how quickly it oxidizes, decomposes and loses its properties. Surprisingly, ascorbic acid, which is another name for pure vitamin C, fares pretty badly in this category. That’s why I suggest looking for its derivatives like for example ethylated ascorbic acid. It’s more commonly known as 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid.
While I was selecting vitamin C skincare products for this ranking, I paid special attention to the lists of ingredients. If you want a brightening product to give you clear effects, it must be formulated with the right form of vitamin C.
The best vitamin C face serums
It’s time for me to show you my personal ranking of the best brightening face serums. What do I recommend?
NANOIL VIT. C FACE SERUM – that’s the best vitamin C serum that helped me reveal new skin on my face. It has ethylated ascorbic acid which – as you already know – is the finest, because stabilized, form of vitamin C. This brightening nutrient is teamed with an extract taken from an Indian plant, called Punarnava. It’s famous for its antioxidant (anti-age) properties. The serum is water-based, hence weightless. Neither does it clog pores nor creates greasy film on the skin (which is common for many skincare products). Instead, it gives a pleasant feeling of relief and freshness. I find it good at soothing irritations, brightening discolorations, improving skin’s elasticity and rejuvenating. This is why I think it’s worth using Nanoil Vit. C Face Serum every day.
Learn more: www.nanoil.us
SESDERMA C-VIT LIPOSOMAL SERUM – to me, this is one of the most popular face serums enriched with vitamin C that I’ve used, and I think it’s not that bad. It’s formulated with the same stabilized ascorbic acid as Nanoil, but in this serum it’s incorporated into liposomes. Why? This is supposed to keep the vitamin safe, thus making the serum more effective. Apart from that, the serum has mulberry leaf extract that targets pigmentation spots and leaves skin smoother, as well as ginkgo biloba extract and moisturizing hyaluronic acid. Even though the texture is a bit denser, it suits my skin. The biggest downside I noticed is that Sesderma C-Vit Liposomal Serum costs too much as for such a small (30 ml) size.
LA ROCHE-POSAY PURE VITAMIN C SERUM – this is another cool brightening face serum with vitamin C. It’s been launched by La Roche-Posay brand, making it another product that suits my skin quite well. I’m sure you already know this brand. In this serum you can find pure vitamin C, salicylic acid and peptides combined together for stronger, calmer and renewed skin. It’s a pity though that Pure Vitamin C Serum isn’t formulated with a stable form of ascorbic acid. Still, I think I should recommend it to those of you who don’t mind applying it twice a day. When used for a longer period of time, you can expect the serum to give you a smoother, brighter and glowing complexion.
OBAGI PROFESSIONAL C SERUM – I’m not sure if you know this product because it’s not that popular. Despite being pretty expensive, it’s a really good product. So, if you have a bigger budget, I’d like to encourage you to give Professional C Serum a try. It’s water-based and efficient, and on top of that 20% of this serum is pure vitamin C. Indeed, this is a very high concentration, but you don’t have to worry about irritation. This serum is formulated with unstable ascorbic acid, so it decomposes when exposed to oxygen. This means that your skin receives less vitamin C than what is hidden in the bottle. Obagi vitamin C face serum promotes collagen synthesis, and therefore it reduces fine lines and wrinkles, and leaves skin visibly brighter.
PURITO PURE VITAMIN C SERUM – finally, a product that I left for those who don’t find the above serums good enough. Reminder: I ranked these products starting from the best ones, so the fact that Purito serum is the last one means that – in my opinion – it’s the worst out of those 5 products. Indeed, the price is tempting, its size (60 ml) is another advantage. On top of that, Pure Vitamin C Serum contains moisturizing hyaluronic acid combined with ascorbic acid, i.e. vitamin C (it’s unstable, again). The nourishing effect is boosted by apple and ginseng extracts. It’s a pity that I had to wait such a long time to see the promised results.
The correct way of using vitamin C face serum
Whichever vitamin C face serum you pick, you need to know the correct way of using it in order to get most of its properties. Luckily, it’s not hard.
The easiest way is to read the label, packaging or leaflet that the serum comes with. Once you follow the instructions religiously, you should achieve the desired result. Remember not to use more than 1-2 portions per application. You won’t speed up the effects if you put on too much product. What you should always make sure of is that your skin is perfectly clean and towel-dried before applying a vitamin C face serum of your choice. Otherwise your product may have a hard time trying to penetrate epidermis. And most importantly, don’t use your brightening face serum after a face cream. Why? Because the cream creates an occlusive coating on the skin’s surface, thus preventing nutrients and moisturizers from escaping the skin. This means that it also doesn’t allow the same substances to get inside your skin.
When it comes to the time of the day when you should apply a face serum, then, well – it depends. I prefer to apply my product at bedtime because I know that I give it enough time to do its magic when I sleep.
