Each person has unique skincare needs, but almost anyone can benefit from incorporating vitamin C into their skincare routines. According to Dr. Amreen Sitabkhan of U.S. Dermatology Partners in Carrollton and Dallas, Texas, “It’s hard to go wrong when incorporating vitamin C into your skincare routine. It offers numerous benefits to skin health from helping wounds heal more quickly to increasing collagen production and protecting against sun damage. Vitamin C is a go-to skin health ingredient that keeps skin looking and feeling its best. Like any skincare ingredient, it’s important to choose the right products to integrate vitamin C into your skincare routine without irritating skin.” In this blog, Dr. Sitabkhan walks through the many benefits of vitamin C for skin health and recommends some products to incorporate into daily skincare routines.
What Is Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is a water-soluble vitamin most often absorbed through the consumption of citrus fruits. Also called ascorbic acid, vitamin C is a necessary nutrient that serves as a building block for blood vessels, cartilage, bone, and muscles. Vitamin C is also an antioxidant. Antioxidants protect cells from free radicals that cause oxidation. Common forms of oxidation include metals rusting and fruits and vegetables rotting. As you may have guessed based on those two examples, oxidation is not good for our bodies either. Over the years, our skin is repeatedly exposed to free radicals that lead to oxidative stress. Prolonged oxidative stress on the skin speeds up aging. For this reason, we need to utilize antioxidants, like vitamin C, regularly.
Wound Healing
Vitamin C can be an essential element to help wounds heal quickly and completely. It also helps prevent scarring as wounds heal. Taking vitamin C supplements and using topical serums together or separately promotes wound healing. Vitamin C supplements and topical products are often recommended for people who are recovering from injuries, burns, or surgeries. Additionally, many post-treatment skincare products contain vitamin C, which can both speed up the healing process and improve the results of dermatologic procedures.
Boosts Collagen
As we age, one of the many ways our bodies change is a decrease in collagen production. Collagen is a protein that gives skin its healthy, youthful elasticity. As collagen production diminishes, skin begins to look saggy and wrinkled. According to Dr. Sitabkhan, “Topical collagen products aren’t typically effective in improving collagen levels in skin because they can’t reach the deeper layers of skin where collagen is needed. You can take oral collagen supplements in an attempt to boost collagen levels, but the best way to increase collagen in the skin is to utilize topical skincare products that promote natural collagen production. Vitamin C is one of the many skincare ingredients that can be used to encourage the body’s natural production of collagen. With regular use, vitamin C can significantly increase the levels of collagen in the skin, leading to a more youthful appearance and higher levels of skin elasticity.”
Reduces Signs of Aging
When it comes to fighting the signs of skin aging, Dr. Sitabkhan says, “Sun damage is responsible for many of the most common warning signs of skin aging, including fine lines, wrinkles, and dark sports. Antioxidants protect against sun damage, so they are essential for anti-aging skincare routines. Vitamin C is one of the hardest-working antioxidants available. It protects the skin from the sun’s damaging rays, and it can also help to repair existing sun damage for more youthful-looking skin. If you want to turn back the clock, you should include at least one vitamin C product in your daily skincare routine.”
Skincare Products with Vitamin C
According to Dr. Sitabkhan, “It may be clear that vitamin C is great for skin, but that doesn’t mean you know exactly what topical vitamin C skincare products to use. The best option is to talk to your dermatologist about the ideal treatment to meet your unique skincare needs.” Below, you’ll find recommendations for some of the most popular skincare products.
Vitamin C Serum
While vitamin C can be found in many different types of skincare products, it’s most often found in serums. Daytime vitamin C serums are designed to protect skin from sun damage. Nighttime vitamin C can be utilized to repair sun damage and improve skin texture and tone. Some great dermatologist-recommended vitamin C products include:
- Skinbetter Science Alto Defense Serum – offers advanced defense against free radical damage and reduces skin redness and discoloration while giving skin a healthier glow.
- Isdinceutics Melatonik – this serum oil hydrates, restores, and soothes skin during sleep. It also contains melatonin to improve the quality of your sleep.
- Sente Bio Complete Serum – a nighttime serum with vitamin C, retinoids, HSA, and other unique ingredients to deliver exceptional results.
Vitamin C Moisturizer
There are a lot of good reasons to recommend Vitamin C serums, but one potential drawback is that they can irritate the skin. For those who have chronic skin conditions or sensitive skin, the benefits of vitamin C serums may not outweigh the disadvantages. Fortunately, there’s another option to score the advantages of vitamin C without irritating the skin. Vitamin C moisturizers offer a gentle, soothing way to apply vitamin C to the skin without irritation. ALASTIN Skincare HA (Hyaluronic Acid) Immerse Serum is a deep moisturizing product that contains a gentle formulation of ascorbic acid and palmitic acid, which creates a fat-soluble form of vitamin C. Traditional forms of vitamin C are water-soluble, so they are much more likely to wash or sweat away. Fat-soluble vitamin C will stay on the skin longer, allowing it to be absorbed more completely over time for a more effective but less irritating solution.
Contact a Dermatologist
If you’re interested in learning more about the benefits of vitamin C for your skin, how to incorporate it into your skincare routine, or you want to learn more about skin health in general, the U.S. Dermatology Partners team would love to hear from you. Scheduling an appointment with one of our local practices is quick and easy. Simply take a few minutes to complete our online scheduling request. Once we hear from you, we’ll be in touch to finalize the details of your upcoming visit.
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