Vitamin C for your skin.

Vitamin C is one of the most widely used skin care ingredients.

Vitamin C is a normal skin constituent that is found at high levels in both the dermis and epidermis. Aging, however, causes a decline in vitamin C content in both the epidermis and dermis. Excessive exposures to UV light or pollutants (e.g., cigarette smoke and ozone) may also lower vitamin C content, primarily in the epidermis. (Podda M, Traber MG, Weber C, Yan LJ, Packer L. UV-irradiation depletes antioxidants and causes oxidative damage in a model of human skin. Free Radic Biol Med 1998)

When added to your daily skincare routine, products containing vitamin C can provide a range of benefits for your skin.

Vitamin C can benefit skin in two important ways:

1)      Vitamin C is essential for the synthesis of collagen, a key structural protein of the skin.

2)      Vitamin C is an antioxidant and can help reduce skin damage caused by free radicals. So, when vitamin C is properly delivered into skin cells, there is a good chance to reduce wrinkles and improve skin texture.

New research shows that ascorbic acid 2-phosphate, a derivative of vitamin C, not only neutralizes free radicals, but also reverses DNA damage. (University of Leicester. "Study Reveals New Role of Vitamin C in Skin Protection: Results Will Be of Great Relevance to the Cosmetics Industry." 2009)

Unfortunately, taking large amounts of vitamin C (or its derivatives) orally is of little benefit for reducing wrinkles because you cannot obtain high enough concentration of vitamin C in the skin to increase collagen production. So, topical administration of vitamin C is extremely important in skin care routine.  

Topical vitamin C may be useful against acne to reduce inflammatory lesions. It may also have mild skin lightening effects that are caused by reductions in melanin production and melanin oxidation.

When exposed to air, vitamin C solution undergoes oxidation and becomes not only ineffective but also potentially harmful, because oxidized vitamin C may increase the formation of free radicals. Vitamin C derivatives such as magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, ascorbyl palmitate are more stable and less irritating, but also boost collagen synthesis.

When you buy products with vitamin C, it is best to choose colorless or white formulation. That way you can spot the advanced stages of oxidation of the active ingredient by the emergence of a yellowish tint.