Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is often touted for its general health benefits. But did you know it was also great for your skin? Adding vitamin C products to your daily beauty routine can potentially improve your skin. Let's find out together.
What are the benefits of vitamin C?
Vitamin C is recognized for its many benefits when consumed in the diet or tablet form. As vitamin C is water-soluble, any excess is eliminated in urine. It is, therefore, a safe vitamin, and overdoses are unlikely. Reported benefits include:
- A stimulating effect on the immune system
- Increased iron bioavailability and absorption
- Antioxidant properties
How to recognize cosmetic products containing vitamin C?
Many cosmetic products clearly indicate their contents on their packaging, but this is far from the case for all products. In fact, it's often necessary to consult the list of ingredients to find out what creams, cleansers, or lotions contain. What’s more: it's not always easy to find the information you are looking for, as the names used can be complex. For vitamin C, you can look for the following terms in the list of cosmetic ingredients:
- Ascorbic acid
- L-ascorbic acid
- Ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate
- Sodium ascorbyl phosphate
- Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate
- Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate
What are the benefits of vitamin C for your skin?
Vitamin C is known to have antioxidant properties. It protects cells against the damaging action of free radicals. This protection promotes cell survival and may have an effect on skin aging.
In addition, vitamin C plays a crucial role in synthesizing collagen, an essential protein that helps maintain skin firmness and elasticity. Collagen is often present in the ingredient list of many cosmetic products. Vitamin C promotes a smoother, more toned skin texture by stimulating the production of collagen.
Finally, vitamin C is also said to have a favourable impact on pigmentation spots and even skin tone. By regulating the production of melanin, the pigment responsible for skin colouration, vitamin C helps reduce the appearance of dark spots, leaving skin brighter and more radiant.
What to consider when using beauty products containing vitamin C
Although vitamin C may prevent sun damage, you must wear sunscreen. A sunscreen applied after a product containing vitamin C will provide double protection for your skin. It's a winning combination.
As vitamin C is acidic, skin irritation is likely, particularly for sensitive skin. It is recommended to carry out a test before applying it to a large area of your skin. In some cases, reducing the concentration of vitamin C in the beauty product may be necessary to improve tolerance. We suggest not combining it with other acidic products, such as salicylic acid, as it is acidic.
It's important to note that vitamin C and retinol don't mix well together. Although these products are often found in cosmetics, it's best not to combine them. Their concomitant use could cause skin irritation or even desquamation (peeling skin). If you want to use products containing these ingredients in your routine, make sure you space them out over time. For example, you can apply your vitamin C cream in the morning and your retinol cream during your evening beauty routine.
Vitamin C should not be applied to a wound or healing wound to avoid the risk of irritation.
In conclusion, incorporating vitamin C into your beauty routine can benefit your skin, from protection against environmental damage to improved texture and radiance. Applying beauty products containing this essential vitamin is like giving your skin a glass of orange juice in the morning.
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