Vitamin C, when used topically in a serum, is extensively acclaimed as among the finest elements for brightening pores and skin, boosting collagen manufacturing, and defending pores and skin towards environmental injury. It’s so widespread that even on the 2024 Medical Spa Present that I attended, vitamin C was an enormous subject of dialog. Nonetheless, not everyone seems to be as constructive about it as it’s possible you’ll suppose. Whether or not you’re an esthetician, dermatologist, or only a skincare fanatic, you’ve seemingly heard of 1 main downfall in terms of this ingredient: the vitamin C acid burn.
So, what is that this? Sure vitamin C formulation, when utilized to the pores and skin every day, may cause a burning and stinging sensation, together with redness, pores and skin that’s sizzling to the contact or a common feeling of irritation. This happens as a result of a topical vitamin C is eliciting a nervous neural response in your pores and skin. As your pores and skin senses publicity, it tries to warn you towards one thing it doesn’t need– on this case, a low pH product. Nonetheless, I don’t imagine this aspect impact ought to discourage you towards vitamin C totally– let me clarify.
Advantages of Vitamin C In Your Skincare Routine
The addition of a topical vitamin C serum into your skincare routine could be extraordinarily helpful in your barrier and enhance general pores and skin well being. Listed here are essentially the most notable the reason why.
- Brightens Pores and skin Tone
- Seemingly essentially the most revered profit, vitamin C lessens pigment manufacturing in pores and skin, making it look brighter.
- Boosts Collagen Manufacturing
- Not solely does this ingredient assist defend the collagen you have already got by inhibiting enzymes that typically break it down, however it additionally aids in more healthy collagen manufacturing.
- Protects Towards Environmental Injury
- Vitamin C’s highly effective antioxidant properties neutralize free radicals and defend the pores and skin from injury brought on by UV radiation, air pollution, and different environmental stressors.
- Enhances Pores and skin Hydration
- This ingredient has additionally been proven to have moisturizing properties, serving to improve hydration ranges and plump pores and skin.
Understanding Vitamin C Sensitivity
Let’s unravel why this painful burning and stinging sensation generally happens– and what you are able to do about it!
Why Does Vitamin C Burn or Sting?
The burning sensation is mostly brought on by three issues:
- A extremely low pH. Low pH ranges of two.5-3.5 can probably irritate the pores and skin. They will improve the acidity of a serum, resulting in a compromised barrier and a better potential for stinging, particularly for delicate pores and skin.
- A excessive amount of ascorbic acid. This ingredient must have a minimal of 8% to have any efficacy in pores and skin. At round 22%, the pores and skin stops having the ability to soak up it. So most of those vitamin C serums that sting have a low pH and excessive amount of ascorbic acid. This acid is a really small molecule, so it will possibly simply get into the pores and skin and disrupt its pure pH stability.
- A compromised barrier or current use of actives. Individuals who use lively elements (retinol, retinoids, exfoliating acids, and so on.) and other people with compromised obstacles usually tend to really feel a stinging sensation. It’s because whenever you use exfoliating acids or retinoids, you expertise a number of pores and skin turnover, which means that the pores and skin on prime is extra uncooked and uncovered. If you have already got a lowered barrier and proceed to make use of vitamin C, you gained’t have sufficient lipids in your pores and skin to assist defend it from a product with a low pH. That is going to trigger a extra unfavourable expertise, and in flip, can really result in extra irritation.
Don’t Give Up – There’s a Answer!
Simply because it’s possible you’ll be coping with a vitamin C acid burn, doesn’t imply you need to forego the ingredient totally. There are nonetheless methods to obtain all the advantages of vitamin C– with out the acid burn! Let’s focus on.
- What to keep away from
- Low-pH Merchandise: These can result in long-term irritation within the pores and skin, inflicting accelerated indicators of getting old and elevated pigmentation (as soon as your physique receives a sign that there’s irritation, elevated pigment manufacturing could happen). Search for formulation with a ph vary of 5.0-5.8. A good model ought to let you know the pH if it’s not publicly listed.
- A No-Ache-No-Achieve Philosophy: In contrast to retinol, ache (ie stinging) isn’t an indication of vitamin C efficacy however may very well be an indication of irritation.
- Vitamin C Sandwiching: Whereas a retinol sandwich is an effective way to obtain all the potent advantages of a retinoid with none of the dryness, flaking, or irritation, the identical can’t be stated for this ingredient. When sandwiching a vitamin C serum between two layers of moisturizer, it really simply impedes the flexibility of the ascorbic acid, relatively than minimizing the potential unwanted side effects of vitamin C.
- What to do
- Search for Options: There are many vitamin C kinds utilized in skincare, and which one you select positively issues. If you’re experiencing a vitamin C acid burn, it’s time to search for a extra secure system. Maintain studying to find out which one is best for you!
Discovering Stability
Searching for out a secure vitamin C is one of the simplest ways to keep away from a vitamin C acid burn, however what precisely does this entail?
What Does A “Steady Vitamin C” Imply?
While you hear {that a} type of vitamin C is “secure,” this refers back to the capacity of the product to keep up its effectiveness over time and publicity to air, mild, and temperature. A secure vitamin C will sometimes preserve its efficiency longer, be much less liable to oxidization, and can seemingly include supporting elements that improve efficacy.
Ever seen your white or beige serum start to show yellow or mild brown? This implies the product has turn into unstable and begun to oxidize, which means you might be not receiving the whole thing of its supposed advantages.
It’s essential to notice that all skincare elements ultimately expire, even essentially the most secure of vitamin C serums. Ensure you use it earlier than you lose it!
Why Do Vitamin C Formulations Matter?
Choosing the proper vitamin C therapy could appear a bit difficult, however since vitamin C doesn’t all the time work the identical, it’s essential to know their variations. Vitamin C formulations matter as a result of they’ll drastically impression the steadiness, effectiveness, and general efficiency of the vitamin C product. Components comparable to lively versus inactive types of vitamin C, pH worth, further elements, and even texture, scent, and general really feel can drastically have an effect on how your pores and skin responds to a particular product.
What Makes Vitamin C&E Remedy Totally different?
What’s nice about Vitamin C&E Remedy is that it doesn’t use excessive portions of ascorbic acid and it has a extra skin-friendly pH. Utilizing each lipid and water-soluble types of vitamin C, this serum supplies potent antioxidant exercise deep inside the epidermal layers.
Using tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (THD), this skin-brightening cream ensures a slower launch time than water-soluble molecules, which means an extended window of lively vitamin C and a decrease potential for irritation. If you happen to’re trying to profit from all the advantages of vitamin C with not one of the burn, this long-time best-seller is the one for you.
Ideas for Selecting Steady Vitamin C Merchandise
As intimidating as it could be, strive to not be discouraged by the huge array of vitamin C merchandise in the marketplace. Listed here are just a few suggestions for avoiding the ache and discovering the right serum for you.
Ingredient Verify
Relating to widespread types of vitamin C in skincare, there are 4 that come to thoughts: L-ascorbic Acid, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Ascorbyl Methylsilanol Pectinate, and Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate. Right here’s how they differ.
- L-ascorbic acid: Regardless of being a tried and true ingredient, this isn’t your finest guess in terms of antioxidant safety. The one lively type of vitamin C, L-ascorbic acid is extremely unstable and, because it’s an antioxidant, it desires to react with virtually every little thing in its atmosphere. This implies this ingredient has a excessive likelihood of oxidizing earlier than it will get an opportunity to make it into your pores and skin.
- Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate: A fantastic choice for pores and skin sorts that battle from breakouts, this has been confirmed to assist enhance pimples, however can nonetheless be fairly reactive.
- Ascorbyl Methylsilanol Pectinate: A posh mix of many compounds relatively than only a easy vitamin C by-product, this type has been proven to strengthen the membrane of pores and skin cells and have improved supply into pores and skin.
- Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate: That is considered one of my private favorites (and the star ingredient in Vitamin C&E Remedy) as it’s the solely oil-soluble type of vitamin C that I’ve talked about to date. Due to this, it gained’t react till it comes into contact with the oils in your pores and skin, making it essentially the most secure type of these 4. Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate can also be identified to penetrate pores and skin 20x greater than ascorbic acid!
Packaging Issues
As I discussed, vitamin C serums could be extremely unstable, reacting to virtually every little thing from mild and warmth to oxygen, water, and metals. This is the reason product packaging could make all of the distinction.
This ingredient must be packed in opaque or tinted bottles that defend the product from mild publicity, as mild, particularly UV mild, may cause it to degrade and turn into much less efficient. Ideally, the product must also have an airless pump to attenuate air publicity, conserving the serum recent longer. Each of those may also scale back the chance of contamination, guaranteeing it will possibly ship its desired results to the pores and skin.
Vitamin C Utility Strategies for Comfy Use
Need to begin your journey towards the most effective vitamin C for you however nervous in regards to the penalties? Right here’s one of the simplest ways to get began!
Patch Testing
Whereas looking for the appropriate vitamin C product for you, it could take a little bit of trial and error– however you don’t should destroy your pores and skin barrier within the meantime. Each time anybody is making an attempt out a brand new product, the very first thing I do is suggest a patch take a look at. Apply vitamin C to your neck (the place pores and skin is essentially the most delicate) to assist decide what kinds of merchandise or elements will trigger a unfavourable or allergic response in your face. This may assist slender down which skincare product or ingredient to check out sooner or later.
In conclusion, whereas vitamin C is a extremely praised skincare ingredient identified for its capacity to brighten pores and skin, increase collagen manufacturing, and defend towards environmental injury, some folks could expertise the dreaded vitamin C acid burn. This burning or stinging sensation could be attributed to components comparable to low pH ranges, excessive concentrations of ascorbic acid, or a compromised pores and skin barrier. Nonetheless, I don’t suppose this could deter you from reaping the advantages of vitamin C. By understanding the causes of sensitivity and selecting secure formulations, you’ll be able to incorporate vitamin C into your skincare routines successfully and comfortably. With the appropriate strategy, vitamin C is usually a priceless addition to any skincare routine, selling more healthy, extra radiant-looking pores and skin.
I hope you discovered this publish informative! And as all the time, #obeyrenee
Movie star Esthetician & Skincare Knowledgeable
As an esthetician educated in beauty chemistry, Renée Rouleau has spent 30 years researching pores and skin, educating her viewers, and constructing an award-winning line of merchandise. Her hands-on expertise as an esthetician and trusted skincare skilled has created a real-world answer — merchandise which can be formulated for 9 several types of pores and skin so your face will get precisely what it must feel and look its finest. Trusted by celebrities, editors, bloggers, and skincare obsessives across the globe, her huge real-world information and fixed analysis are why Marie Claire calls her “essentially the most passionate pores and skin practitioner we all know.”