This post is about my favorite ingredient of all time, vitamin C, an antioxidant with so much power that actually works. First let’s get to know more about this incredibly powerful ingredient on what it does to our skin.
Vitamin C or L-ascorbic acid (AA) has been widely used in formulation of personal care products. Vitamin C is a water soluble substance so it acts more in a hydrophilic environment of the skin structure. It is known to stimulate collagen synthesis by directly activating collagen gene regulation, provide protection against photo damage from the UV radiation, and to suppress pigmentation and improve hydration of the skin.
The concentration of AA in skincare products ranges from 5-20%. AA’s benefit and its skin permeation has been confirmed by researchers.
What’s not to love about vitamin C?
Vitamin C is very unstable; it is light and oxygen sensitive. Vitamin C in solution can undergo oxidation easily and produces many degradation products. Which is why we see our favorite vitamin C serum turns from faint yellow to orange and even to brown color over time. This makes it very challenging to formulate with. That’s why the cosmetic industry is coming up with many techniques to solve the problem.
Vitamin C product categories
There are many types of vitamin C categories on the market. Three main types are listed below:
–Classic water-based formula
AA is coupled with vitamin E and ferulic acid, and the pH is kept under 3.5 to increase the stability of the formula and slowdown the degradation process as long as possible. The synergy of vitamin C+ vitamin E + Ferulic acid provides superb photoprotection.
Product example: C E FERULIC® with 15% L-ASCORBIC ACID
There is a technique called gold particle technology in which vitamin C and its derivatives are conjugated to tiny gold particle, and some other antioxidant like glutathione (add more antioxidant activity). The bond is more stable which makes AA not break down and stable until it is delivered to skin. Although it’s a gold particle bonded with vitamin C, it’s still listed as ascorbic acid on label.
Product example: Vitamin C Complex serum by Naturium
-Anhydrous formula
AA is encapsulated in microcapsule or liposome and suspended in the formula (silicone oil suspension).
The encapsulation technique involves building a cage (sphere) out of polymers and trapping AA (or its derivatives) in that cage and suspending it in the formula. The goal is that AA will stay in the copolymer spheres until the product is applied to the skin.
Product example: C25 Super Booster by Paula’s choice
A picture of liposome is shown below.
(Source: Diploma of Cosmetic Science learning materials)
–Powder
It is exactly as it sounds, it can be mixed with toner or serum when using.
Product example: 100% L-Ascorbic acid powder 20 g, The Ordinary
My thought on vitamin C product types: For me, I personally go with the classic water-based type. Although I know it’s not very stable, I would try to use it constantly within the period of 3 months.
In gerenal, it is about what works for your skin. If you want the best in skin care, I highly recommend starting with concentration from 5-10% ascorbic acid range, and searching out products that contain stabilized L-ascorbic acid like sodium ascorbyl phosphate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, ascorbyl glucoside and others. I’ll make a post about vitamin C derivatives and choosing what is right for your skin here.
Hope you find this helpful.
Reference
[1] Phillips, C.L.; Tajima, S.; Pinnell, S.R. Ascorbic acid and transforming growth factor-beta l increase collagen bio synthesis via different mechanisms: coordinate regulation of pro alpha 1 (I) and pro alpha l (III) collagens. Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 1992, 295, 397–403.
[2] Nusgens, B.V.; Humbert, P.; Rougier, A. Topically applied vitamin C enhances the mRNA level of collagen I and IE, their processing enzymes and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1 in the human dermis. J. Invest. Dermatol. 2001, 116, 853–859
[3] Pinnell, S.R. Cutaneous photodamage, oxidative stress, and topical antioxidant protection. J. Am. Acad. Dermatol. 2003, 48 (1), 1–19.
