10 Reasons Why Our Vitamin C Facial Serum Is THE BEST!
Our Vitamin C Facial Serum is 10 years old! We figured, therefore, that what better time to celebrate this fan favorite than by highlighting 10 of its finest attributes.
Vitamin C is a big deal at TruSkin HQ. In fact, it’s the reason we’re here in the first place. For way back in 2013 we started out with our first ever skincare product: Vitamin C Facial Serum. And we don’t mind admitting, we knew we were onto something, right off the bat. Why the ballsy confidence? Well, we had both the knowledge and the technology required to produce quality, plant-powered skincare that harnessed the power of this incredible antioxidant while being free of unnecessary additives, synthetic fragrances and harsh preservatives. And cleaner, more conscious skincare was something that, even then, was already gaining momentum in the beauty industry.
Admittedly, it’s easy to say in hindsight how confident we were with this small but mighty serum, but in truth, little did we know just what a triumph Vitamin C Facial Serum would turn out to be. Or how its success would enable us to expand our skincare range to cover everything from gentle cleansing and toning through to professional-grade exfoliation and clinically-proven suncare.
But no matter how many new products we launch and how advanced we become, Vitamin C Facial Serum will always be a firm family favorite. After all, it’s still, by far, our best-selling product and currently has over 140,000 awesome reviews on Amazon. Sounds like a lot, right? Yeah, that’s because it is!
So, in honor of Vitamin C Facial Serum’s 10th anniversary, here’s a celebration of everything that’s great about this incredible brightening and protecting skin treatment…
1. As the name suggest, Vitamin C Facial Serum is based on the antioxidant properties of vitamin C. Antioxidants are extremely important for your skin because they help neutralize environmental and lifestyle damage that’s inevitable on a daily basis thanks to things like pollution, UV radiation, stress and a cruddy diet.
As antioxidants go, vitamin C is arguably one of the most trusted and effective. It truly works like a dog to fight free radicals (they’re the bad boys that screw up your collagen) and help keep your skin healthy and youthful-looking. It was a shoo-in for our first foray into skincare. And boy, what a winner it turned out to be!
2. The thing about vitamin C is that it comes in many forms, some of which can be mildly irritating on the skin – especially if you err on the sensitive side. This is why we decided to skip l-ascorbic acid which is the pure, topical version, in favor of sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP).
SAP is a salt form of vitamin C and has to be converted back to ascorbic acid in order for your skin to enjoy its benefits. Why is this such a good thing? Well, l-ascorbic acid can be too potent for some skin types, often causing dryness, redness and mild stinging when applied directly to the skin. Switching up to SAP, however, and allowing your skin to convert it back into ascorbic acid after application, significantly reduces your chances of irritation.
3. Pure vitamin C can be very unstable, swiftly breaking down when exposed to light and air. This means it can lose its potency way quicker that you’d really want it to. It’s also why many vitamin C face serums are often combined with ferulic acid – because ferulic acid helps preserve the vitamin. But it also smells. Like, really bad. And we’re so not into that.
Thankfully, the salt in SAP gives it a much more stable pH helping to preserve it so that it remains effective right until the last drop. No weird hot dog smells here, thanks very much.
4. Vitamin C has many benefits for your skin. The biggest one is its success in fighting off free radicals which helps keep your collagen in good shape. Collagen, as you know, is everything when it comes to healthy skin because it provides it with strength, support and resilience, helping you to ward off the visible signs of premature aging like fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots and sagging skin.
5. Collagen isn’t the only benefactor here, however. Vitamin C has also been proven to help keep your skin radiant and glowing. And it does so by inhibiting melanin production.
Melanin is the pigment that gives your skin (as well as your hair and eyes) its color. Melanin production is triggered by many things including exposure to the sun which causes your melanocytes (melanin-producing cells) to multiply in a bid to help absorb and scatter damaging UV radiation. This makes your skin tan in the summer months, but it can also result in an uneven distribution of melanin which can make your skin look uneven and patchy. Yes, hi there dark spots.
Applying our Vitamin C Facial Serum (as well as sunscreen EVERY MORNING) is a great way to keep melanin and those inevitable dark spots under control.
6. We could sing the praises of vitamin C forever, but our Vitamin C Facial Serum is so much more than just one single ingredient. It’s also super hydrating thanks to hard-working humectant ingredients like hyaluronic acid, kosher vegetable glycerol and aloe vera which help draw moisture to the skin’s surface. Dehydration is a common skin woe and can happen to anyone – no matter the skin type – so ensuring your skincare routine contains humectants is essential.
Check.
7. There are many other important ingredients in Vitamin C Facial Serum (soothing vitamin E, moisturizing botanical oils to name a few) but another key favorite is MSM.
MSM stands for methylsulfonylmethane (which is why it’s always shortened!). It’s an awesome skincare ingredient because it plays a vital role in the production of collagen and elastin while promoting healthy blood flow, fighting inflammation and helping to protect your skin from environmental damage. It’s also been shown to help the skin become more permeable which allows toxins to escape more readily and enhances your skin’s ability to absorb other active ingredients in your skincare products. Oh, and it’s pretty much tolerated by all skin types.
Again... check!
8. Of course, what’s also important about this skin-loving face serum are all the things we do NOT include. Like all of our skincare formulations we say no to unnecessary ingredients that could potentially compromise your skin or our planet. This includes things like harsh sulfates, parabens, phthalates and PEGs.
Vitamin C Facial Serum is also clinically- AND dermatologist-tested, ideal for vegans and 100 percent cruelty-free.
9. Quick fact. Vitamin C Facial Serum won’t break the bank. In fact, you can nab it for less than 30 bucks. Just thought we'd throw that out there!
10. Finally, our Vitamin C Facial Serum has a ton of fine friends, enabling you to enjoy the fabulous benefits of vitamin C across your entire skincare regime. From your cleansing and exfoliation routines through to your morning and bedtime moisturizing rituals, SAP is here for you.
Just remember, no matter how gentle SAP is, it’s still an active ingredient so it’s always wise to patch test new products before using them properly for the first time. Not sure what patch testing is all about? No problem, we’ve got your back, right here.
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![Insanely Good Skincare Ingredients That Pair Well With Vitamin C]()
PSA: pair vitamin C with other effective skincare ingredients and it becomes next-level good.
Vitamin C is basically our middle name here at TruSkin. Don’t get us wrong, we love any skincare ingredient that offers real-life benefits to your skin that you can actually see and feel. Retinol is one of the first that comes to mind, but also bakuchiol, its plant-derived cousin has also become a permanent fixture in our daily routines.
However, there’s something about vitamin C that makes it hard to beat. Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant that’s been proven to fight environmental stressors and thus protect your skin from all the damage that comes from exposure to things like smoking, pollution and, quelle surprise, UV radiation. It’s also known to inhibit a certain enzyme in your skin called tyrosinase which helps keeps melanin under control and reduces your likelihood of developing sun-related dark spots and an uneven skin tone. And if you’re worried about the potency of pure vitamin C on your skin? Don’t be. L-ascorbic acid (the pure stuff) packs a pretty mean punch, for sure, but there are many kinder-to-skin derivatives out there, including our favorite, sodium ascorbyl phosphate which is gentle, but oh-so-mighty.
All this is great, but one of our absolute favorite things about vitamin C is that it partners so well with other true greats. So which ones are worth your time? We’ve rounded up the vitamin C pairings we believe are pretty unbeatable.
Vitamin C + Vitamin E: The Ultimate Antioxidant Duo
As skincare couples go, vitamin C and vitamin E are an unbeatable little double act. You know that phrase, ‘you complete me’? That's these two, in a nutshell.
C and E are both potent antioxidants and proven to neutralize damaging free radicals which form in the skin when it’s exposed to environmental nasties. This helps reduce oxidative stress, slowing down cell damage and thus helping to preserve important proteins in your skin like collagen and elastin. As you know, these are super important to keep your skin strong, soft, clear and youthful-looking.
Of course, vitamin C does a pretty good job of this on its own, but if you combine it with vitamin E you automatically amp up both of their superpowers with zero effort at all. You see, vitamin E strengthens and accelerates vitamin C's protective abilities by preserving its stability and efficacy. Meanwhile, C stops E’s age-fighting powers from depleting as it fights off those free radical bad guys.
Vitamin E is also great at soothing and hydrating the skin as an extra bonus. Together, they're the ultimate fighting champions.
Vitamin C + Sunscreen: Great Alone… Even Better Together
As we’ve drummed into you by now, sunscreen is the number one way to fight off external skin aging, reducing your likelihood of developing everything from lines and wrinkles through to dull skin, sagging and dark spots. Any broad-spectrum sunscreen that has a decent SPF of at least 30 is going to effectively shield your skin from sun damage. No arguments there. However, there’s one way to make your sunscreen work even better. And that’s by pairing it up with vitamin C.
Studies show that vitamin C makes sunscreen work harder by neutralizing more free radicals than sunscreen is able to do on its own. It’s also thought to help your sunscreen absorb more UV radiation.
The truth is that sunscreen is only able to shield your skin from around 50 percent of the number of free radicals caused by the sun. And not only that, but even the most highly protective sunscreens that boast SPFs of staggering numbers can only protect your skin from around 98 percent of UV radiation. This means a certain number of UV rays are always going to sneak through. Ditto free radicals.
C to the rescue. And how!
Try: SPF 30 Sunscreen with Vitamin C
Vitamin C + Hyaluronic Acid: The Hydrating Power Couple
Vitamin C plays pretty well with most skin types – especially if you stick with the skin-loving sodium ascorbyl phosphate – but still, everyone’s skin has different levels of sensitivities so irritation can never be counted out.
So, what’s a great way to reduce your chances of flaring up? By ensuring your skin’s barrier function is strong and well hydrated. Of course, gentle cleansing and moisturizing is key, but another effective trick for rehydrating your skin is to couple your vitamin C with the master of moisture: hyaluronic acid.
Hyaluronic acid (HA) is a type of polymer that acts as a powerful lubricant and humectant. More technical jargon, we know, but humectants are water-loving components that suck in moisture and hold onto it like a sponge. They’re essential for keeping the skin hydrated, plump and smooth and, as humectants go, HA is kind of a big deal. Just one gram of the stuff can hold up to six liters of water.
HA is very gentle on the skin and works like a dream with most other skincare ingredients, especially vitamin C whose anti-aging and texture-enhancing abilities get enhanced like nobody’s business by the powers of HA. HA can also counteract any sensitivities or dryness you might experience from vitamin C. Major plus points.
Vitamin C + MSM: The Collagen Protectors
It upsets us that MSM isn’t center stage like vitamin C and retinol, but hey, not everyone can be the leading lady, right? But don’t let that fool you because, just like any great movie, the supporting actors are just as important. Often even more so. And MSM is all that… and then some.
Not familiar with the powers of MSM? Well, to quote its full name, methylsulfonylmethane is a natural-occurring form of sulfur that’s often referred to as the ‘beauty’ or ‘healing’ mineral. Does it deserve such a nickname? Absolutely. Its inherent ability to encourage blood flow, fight inflammation and boost collagen makes it a total whizz-kid for the skin. Simple as. It also works darn hard to fight environmental damage by helping to enforce your body’s natural defense system, so there’s also that.
In skincare, vitamin C helps your skin to readily absorb MSM, doubling up their combined collagen love and working extra hard to fight off the visible signs of premature aging.
Try: Vitamin C Deep Hydration Night Cream
Insanely Good Skincare Ingredients That Pair Well With Vitamin C
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