Skincare Secret Ingredients: Vitamin C

Skincare Secret Ingredients --What Works, What’s A Waste

Volume One: Vitamin C

The ABC’s of skincare are virtually impossible to keep up with, and trust me, I do my best. Each year, the laundry list of so-called wonder ingredients ranges from the exotic (Blue Orchid Extract) and extravagant (Gold) to the confusing (Coffeeberry?) to the flat-out weird (Human Growth Factor, anyone?). Even if you were inclined enough – and cash fluid enough – to try every new buzzed-about beauty cream, could your skin handle all of it? More importantly, would you notice a difference in your skin?

In my altruistic, self-sacrificing pledge to demystify all things beauty, I will attempt to translate the lingo of skincare ingredients, one by one.

First in the series is Vitamin C, that sunshine-in-a-bottle, natural healer and skin brightener that has found its way into nearly every type of face fixer, from cleansers to masks to serums and creams.

What It Is: Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) is a topical agent and super-antioxidant whose effectiveness in treating aging skin is actually backed by much scientific research.

What It Does:  Known to diminish wrinkles and fine lines, it has recently become much more ubiquitous as a skin “brightener” that promises more radiant, even skin tone. While aging and sun exposure naturally decrease our skin’s collagen production and increase hyper-pigmentation in the form of sunspots, melasma or uneven tone, Vitamin C’s antioxidant powers stimulate the quantity and quality of collagen synthesis and reduce melanin production.

Why I Love It:  Because my two biggest skin woes are wrinkles and sunspots, I personally adore Vitamin C and believe in its skin-perfecting potential. I find that it leaves my skin firmer, as well.

…And Why Some Don’t: Vitamin C is an instable ingredient, which lessens its practicality from a usage standpoint. When exposed to air, it oxidizes, rendering it not only ineffective but potentially harmful as it increases free radical formation. In fact, a typical Vitamin C cream can lose up to 85% of its effectiveness just an hour after opening the jar (Ouch!).

Why It’s Pricey:  Some savvy skincare companies stabilize the Vitamin C, which oxidize less quickly, but at a cost.  The products with the highest concentration of stabilized Vitamin C will, naturally, be more expensive than lesser versions.

Find It In:

Dr. Sebagh Vitamin C Powder Cream, $155; www.blissworld.com. Dr. Sebagh’s patented, revolutionary way of conquering the stability problem – mix his powder, which is the most potent, freshest and most absorbable form, with his cream (or your own favorite) so your skin gets the strongest Vitamin C dose possible without risk of oxidation.

Perricone Pigment Corrective, $95; www.bluemercury.com. Dims sun spots with the power of Vitamin C, plus improves skin tone and elasticity.

Cellex-C Eye Contour Gel, $65; www.drugstore.com. Firms the eye are while lessening wrinkles and crow’s feet, with a patented Vitamin C formula for the eye area.

Aveda Embrightenment Brightening Intensive Massage Masque,  $45; www.aveda.com. Use as a weekly treatment to fade spots and even out skin tone.

The Verdict: Vitamin C lives up to its hype.