Vitamin C Serum - The Skin miracle

C Serum - It's good for the body, and the skin

Vitamin C is one of the newest and effective active ingredients in skincare. Universal issues you may have with your skin, like lack of firmness, dullness, hyperpigmentation, redness, fine lines. C will shine wityh the ability to effect improvements to the appearance of your complexion once you are on a daily application and routine.

Vitamin C ( L-ascorbic acid) is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in foods, and available as a vitamin or dietary supplement. Humans, unlike most animals, are unable to synthesize vitamin C on their own, so it is an essential dietary component to take as a supplement for good helth, and in healing skincare.
Fruits and vegetables are the best sources of vitamin C. Citrus fruits, tomatoes, and potatoes are major contributors of vitamin C to our diet. Other Natural sources are green peppers, cantaloupe, kiwifruit, broccoli, strawberries and Brussels sprouts.

Vitamin C is integral in dilatation of blood vessels, and is required for the biosynthesis of collagen ( yes this is what we need) , which helps keep your blood vessels strong and intact. It also acts as a cofactor for enzymatic processes. More about this later.

Vitamin C is a "reducing agent," which means it donates electrons to other molecules, thereby reducing oxidation. Oxidation is bad.
Oxidation occurs in tandem with a process called reduction. Reduction is the process of gaining one or more electrons. In an oxidation-reduction, or redox, reaction, one atom or compound will steal electrons from another atom or compound. When rust occurs, oxygen steals electrons from iron. If you've ever had to deal with a rusty car or toss out browned fruit, then you have oxidation to blame

Just like the Vitamin C you take to kick off virus and bacteria, similarly Vitamin C in skincare serum acts as an antioxidant against the damaging free radicals that can wreak damage on your skin. So, it is used for brightening skin, fading dark spots , the aftermath of breakouts, and setting a more even skin tone.

There are many skin care ingredients that do amazing things for your face, but they usually target only one or two problems at once.

A good Vitamin C serum can really deal with more.

Anti-Aging Benefits

Serums with vitamin C stimulate collagen production, which slows as we age. By helping our skin's ability to make collagen, a Vitamin C serum helps us by softening existing fine lines and wrinkles—while preventing new ones from forming.

Fight Against Hyperpigmentation ( dark patches)

C serums can fight hyperpigmentation by toning down melanin production - brightens dark spots without lightening skin tone overall.

Help With Acne and Acne Scarring

Vitamin C is anti-inflammatory, and a vitamin C serum can both help clear up acne and reduce the reddish color associated with it.
It is advised to exfoliate before applying the serum for efficacy.

How it works - the Science

How exactly does it do this? The visible effects of oxidative stress, a state that our skin goes into when there are not enough antioxidants to combat the damage caused by free radicals, can present itself as sallow skin tone, redness, and generally unwell-looking skin. Free radicals are created when our cells encounter damaging agents in our environment such as air pollution, vehicle emissions, cigarette smoke, dirt, and harmful uv rays.
Oxidative stress can weaken your skin and accelerate aging as well as hyperpigmentation caused by acne scarring or uv damage.
Vitamin C is not just a potent topical antioxidant, it is one of the more versatile active ingredients as it also stimulates the skin’s production of collagen and is naturally anti-inflammatory — good news for people who also suffer from acne, oiliness, and zits.

A vitamin C serum may be able to reverse some of the damage your sunbathing days have wreaked on your skin and may even protect you from UV rays. It is not a sunscreen however.
Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that neutralizes free radicals, which are generated by our bodies when exposed to certain conditions, including pollution and UV rays. A balance between free radicals and antioxidants is important—if the free radicals inundate the body and prevent its ability to regulate them, oxidative stress can occur. Free radicals can negatively impact DNA, lipids, and proteins; cause a variety of diseases; damage our cells and disrupt the skin's ability to repair itself; and slow down collagen production.

The Discovery of C power

The Chemist Linus Pauling was right all along.
Pauling, a physical chemist and peace activist who won two Nobel Prize awards; one in chemistry in 1954, followed by a Nobel Peace Prize in 1962.
The New Scientist magazine ranked him as one of the 20 greatest scientists to ever live. The only person to win two unshared Nobel Prizes.
Linus Pauling's claim, that he knew a cure for heart disease, cancer and infections, was then greeted with ridicule (not today). His remarkable health claims of the power of vitamin C. Decades later, his studies and conclusions ideas are finally accepted truths. Pauling had loads of evidence from independent scientific and medical reports, covering half a century. The findings in these papers could not be dismissed as placebo effects.

A recent 60min special focused on a man that was cured of swine flu, only with intravenous vitamin C, after multiple rounds of antibiotics and pharmaceutical drugs failed. Vitamin C, got him out of his deathbed, literally.

Pauling, began by describing vitamin C’s role in the formation of collagen, the structural protein in connective tissue. Collagen is composed of protein strands linked together into a three-dimensional network through their lysine residues by the action of an enzyme that requires vitamin C to function.  A lack of vitamin C disrupts the links between collagen’s protein strands, resulting in scurvy.
Pauling declared that such damage to collagen is also the cause of heart disease. He explained that collagen strands in an artery break down in the absence of enough vitamin C and the liberated lysine residues then bind to the lipoproteins that transport cholesterol around the bloodstream. This leads to the buildup of plaque in arteries that can eventually rupture and trigger the formation of a blood clot that can cause a heart attack.
He explained these findings in his wonderfully constructed books "Vitamin C and the Common Cold" and "How to Live Longer and Feel Better”.

Now with the free flow of information, the medical establishment has had to admit that Pauling was right all along. The evidence proves he was right. Vitamin C is amazing.
Vitamin C serum has made its way onto every makeup and skincare site in the world. Why ?Because it works.

What you need a Vitamin C serum

Vitamin C should be one of the first ingredients listed on the label.
Vitamin C is unstable and will degrade over time, losing its efficacy. Interacting with heat, light, and air speeds up the process, which is why you should look for serums in glass, airtight bottles. Store it away from light in a bathroom or kitchen closet.

The Serum may come in different versions of vitamin C, including ascorbic acid, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate etc, so there are options. L-ascorbic acid is one popular form of vitamin C, and it's also less irritating.
It is big in reducing skin inflammation and irregular pigmentation and as mentioned, key for collagen production. Taken together, these aspects make your skin look brighter, smoother, and by definition, younger.
The sooner you begin taking care of your skin, the better. If you're in your 20's start now.

While C appears naturally in many of the foods, it's actually not easy to get the vitamin straight to your skin.
Thus, the C serums, use additional compounds. Be sure to read the label for ingredients. After all you are applying it directly on your face, so you'll want to be sure that everything is as natural and healthy as possible.

Next, consider how sensitive your skin is. If you tend to react strongly to all sorts of different compounds, you'll want to be sure that you choose a serum that is safe for you and your complexion. After all, there's no point in giving yourself a rash while trying to improve your skin. Similarly, you might want to consider whether or not you want a fragrance in your serum. If you'd rather keep things simple, look for an option that doesn't have any additives or chemicals that shouldn’t be there.

What you really need your serum to do ?

- Brighten your skin?

- Smooth skin out?

- Hide blemishes/spots?

A few of the most popular forms of Vitamin C in skincare are Ascorbic Acid (also L-Ascorbic Acid), Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, and Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate. If you are looking at the ingredients list of a new Vitamin C product, you should know these details.
L-Ascorbic Acid is the most commonly used Vitamin C derivative used in skincare, but also the most acidic type.
Most skin types can tolerate L-Ascorbic Acid well, but if you are quite sensitive, then consider formulas with any of the other commonly used derivatives it may take longer to see the desired results.

Bottle

The Vitamin C serum will be packaged in a small, glass bottle. A lot of Vitamin C serums come with pipet applicators for ease of use. Use and close it up quickly.
There is an expiration date on the product. The Vitamin oxidates and weakens, on exposure to air, over time.
Vitamin C serums typically have a shelf life of around 1-2 years before opened, use them daily and buy them fresh each time, don’t stockpile.

Cost
Some vitamin C serums can get very expensive, even for a small bottle , Seek the gems, the more affordable options on the market.

Michael@