Best Vitamin C Serums
for Wrinkles and Sun spotsWhat to look for?
Type of Vitamin C:
Vitamin C (ascorbic acid) comes in various forms but like every other oxidants it is very unstable. Here we have products consisting of three types of Vitamin C:
- L-Ascorbic Acid: The purest of the original form of VitC and hence the most effective. However it is unstable and oxidizes easily. Also, it is effective when used at pH value of around 3.5. This level is simply too acidic to be used on skin.
- Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate(SAP): A new derivative of VitC acid, this is stable and effective at a comfortable pH value of 7. Less effective than the purest form but that’s a trade off you have to make.
- Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate(MAP): Like SAP it is stable and effective at pH 7. It is gentle on skin and almost equally effective as AA for collagen formation. The good thing is it converts into AA after penetrating into the skin.
So best would be LAA (if stabilized)>MAP>SAP
What percentage of Vitamin C is most effective?
There is nothing proved here beyond doubt, but we are going by what most people claim. Generally, you can find serums and creams with percentages ranging from 5-25 %. However most companies claim the right concentration be around 10-20%. A study pegged the effective concentration of AA to 20%. Our Suggestion: 20% should be enough but it is more of a hit and trial thing.
Other Ingredients
Most anti aging serums will contain other ingredients. The main purpose of these are:
- Active Ingredients: Like Vitamin C these ingredients act as anti oxidants (ferulic acid, vitamin E) or help in their own way.
- Moisturizing & Emollient agents: If used in pure form vitamin c serum will leave your face dried out. So most serums will have a moisturizer (e.g. Hyaluronic acid derivatives) to not leave your skin too dried out. Emollients (glycerin derivatives) are added to give a rich feel and lock that moisture in. Still it is suggested to apply a moisturizer after the serum dries out.
- Stabilizing Agents & Preservatives: It is difficult to maintain optimum pH value, so most serums will have some ingredients to help maintain that. The preservatives are almost the similar things but they help maintain the consistency of the serum over a period of time. This is where it gets tricky, because most effective preservatives are alcohols(e.g. Phenoxyethanol) and these as you know can cause problems. Same is the case with Parabens. We taken care to not include any products which contain hazardous ingredients as parabens and have mentioned ingredients which can be termed as risky.
- Natural Ingredients: These are essentially natural extracts and oils. Their effectiveness can be questioned but we have made sure to not include any ingredients which may be harmful. You can check if such ingredients have worked for you before in some other products or may be just give it a try.
Shelf life & Packaging
The main factor here is, lesser the chance of serum coming in contact with air more the chances of it having a better shelf life. Also, as you only need to apply a few drops in one time so most serum bottles come with a dropper. Some of them go one step further and use a pump or still better, an airless pump. Airless pump>Pump>Dropper
Fragrance
How the product smells has nothing to do with its efficacy but is an important factor in deciding if you love it or not. A few factors to remember:
- More the acidic serums will have that acidic smell
- The natural ingredients impart their own smell to the product
- Artificial fragrance is sometimes added to overcome the existing smell or give a good fragrance to an otherwise neutral serum
- Products with Artificial fragrance should be avoided if you have sensitive skin
Useful Tips
How to Use: If you see the directions for use on the label, it will mostly say that apply 2-3 drops on your face. But what they don’t mention is that the serum doesn’t have such a long shelf life. So I’ll suggest that go ahead and apply it on back of your hands, forearms or below neck. The main thing is if the serum suits your skin you just don’t have to hold back on applying it just on face. After all its not going to last an year. Increase Shelf Life: Keep the bottle in a cool place away from sunlight. Preferably in your refrigerator. If you have been using serums for quite some time and the bottle comes with a cap you can split the serum into two bottles and then use one and keep the other one tightly sealed.
- Vitamin C serums are acidic, so it may cause a tingling sensation.
- Always apply a good moisturizer after the serum has dried out.
- Patch test: Absolutely make sure to test it on a small area before you apply it all over your face.
- If you have sensitive skin, then take advice from your physician.
Azure Natural Vitamin c is a right solution for the skincare. I started using this serum in my early 30’s and still have the youthful radiant skin. This serum is authentic and have zero side effects on the skin. Every women should try this product.
Great Post Lisah, I really found this information useful and I have also ordered a Vitamin C serum after going through the list of product you have created. I am glad that I came across this informative post It was very easy to compare the various products and Choose one.
The perfect elixir for aging, sun damaged skin. This vitamin c serum is a concentrated delivery system for the highest form active, bio-available vitamin c. The vitamin c in our formulation is stay C 50, a stabilized (phosphorylated) sodium salt of L-ascorbic acid. The esteri cation of ascorbing acid protects vitamin c from destruction by oxidation. The result is a stable, highly effective vitamin c – combined with the superior moisturizing power of botanically derived hyaluronic acid and natural jojoba oil, the tightening and moisture retention power of witch hazel, along with the collagen production boosting properties of the amino Ccid Arginine. This serum works wonders to repair the effects of sun damage, lighten sun and age spots, smooth and brighten for a more beautiful skin.
Check it out on our official website
https://www.dignitree.com/collections/dignitree/products/vitamin-c-serum
You will love this serum!
Great post, I have been using vitamin C serums for some time now and I can say that they really help a lot. But you need to be careful while using them as they might not be suitable for you. Use of moisturizer is also great cause it helps deal with the dryness which you might experience.