True Radical Honesty From Our Community

What are those dark circles under your eyes all about? And can you really make them go away with just a few lifestyle changes and the odd beauty hack here and there? Sure you can.

If bedtime for you means countless hours of tossing, turning and clock-watching until morning finally arises, you’ll be well aware of the never-ending list of body woes that come with sleepless nights. We’re talking dull hair, lifeless skin, dryness, breakouts and, well, need we go on? Actually yes, because there’s one thing missing from this list. And it’s a big one: dark, under eye circles.

Along with fine lines, wrinkles, dryness and puffiness, dark circles under the eyes are something that affects everyone at some point in their lives. But are they purely a result of lack of sleep or is there more to them that that? Here, we take a look…

What Causes Under Eye Circles?

Contrary to popular belief, the main reason for dark circles – or periorbital hyperpigmentation if you want to get real fancy – is not lack of sleep, but your genes. Yes, time to blame the parents again. Has your mom or dad got noticeably thin, translucent skin along with dark circles under their eyes? Then it’s almost guaranteed that you’re going to be plagued with the same problem. As you know, the skin around your eyes is much thinner and more delicate than the skin on the rest of your face anyway, meaning it ages quicker, becomes looser over time and shows up the underlying tissue and blood vessels more prominently. This means that if your skin is thinner than others (thanks parents), you stand very little chance of naturally keeping dark under eye circles at bay.

But your genes aren’t solely to blame. Dark circles can also be caused by more prominent blood vessels around the eyes or by puffy eyelids which causes shadows under your eyes. The aging process further thins your skin and sun damage can increase the pigment in this area which will cause dark circles to become more noticeable as you get older. Of course, missing out on your quality zzzs further exacerbates the problem due to blood and fluid retention around the eye area and your skin appearing paler from failing to properly regenerate as you sleep.

Sigh.

In other, more positive news, there are plenty of simple home remedies that can help manage dark circles around your eyes. Here are five of our favorites…

5 Ways To Ditch Under Eye Circles

1. Try A Cold Compress

Cold teaspoons, used teabags (chilled, of course) or slices of cucumber may sound like old wives’ tales for treating under eye circles and helping reducing puffiness, but the good news is, they work. Anything that has a cooling effect will constrict your blood vessels, while the light pressure helps drain excess fluid. Cucumber also has a high water content which boosts moisture under the eyes to help with dryness and irritation. Works like a charm, every time.

2. Get More Quality Sleep

Short nights aren't usually the primary cause of dark circles but pale skin from lack of sleep will make them much more obvious. Poor sleep also makes your eyes dry and irritated which won’t help any inflammation or swelling one little bit. Try to get your eight hours as much as possible, (Gallup data shows that Americans only average about 6.8 hours of sleep a night) and elevate your head with an extra pillow. This helps prevent excess fluids from pooling in your lower eyelids.

3. Apply An Effective Eye Treatment

Not only is the skin around your eyes thinner and more delicate than the rest of your face, but it also contains fewer sebaceous glands. This means it’s less able to keep itself moisturized, supple and healthy-looking which all adds up to a big, fat hello to premature aging. To combat dark circles – as well as puffiness and lines – invest in an effective eye treatment that contains antioxidants to protect and strengthen the skin, plus peptides to boost collagen and elastin. Both TruSkin eye treatments work on the visible signs of aging around the eyes but we particularly love Eye Gel for getting to grips with dark circles and puffiness. Just remember to use a gentle touch as you apply it so you don’t drag or rub the skin around your eyes.

4. Stay Hydrated

Like lack of sleep, dehydration isn't the main cause of dark circles, but it’s not going to help matters. Not one bit. On the other hand, drinking plenty of water helps flush toxins through your body and stops it from retaining fluid – especially under your eyes. Make sure you get your fill of H20 and herbal teas, and eat plenty of water-rich foods like watermelon, zucchini, tomatoes, citrus fruits and of course, cucumber.

5. When In Doubt, Cheat With Makeup

As with most skincare concerns, treatment and prevention are your best bet for long-term results. But you can’t beat a little cover-up job in the meantime. Dark circles are usually blue-ish in color, so to hide them properly look for a concealer that's yellow or peach toned. Apply it in an upside-down triangle shape below each eye and blend well with a soft-bristled concealer brush. Feel like you can still see those pesky shadows? Then finish with a slightly lighter concealer to really brighten and open up your eyes.

Yes, the struggle with dark, under eye circles is real. But thankfully, the solutions are just as real. Can we have a hurrah for that?

Too much effective skincare can lead to irritation, dryness, even breakouts. And we doubt this was what you had in mind when you carefully chose the products in your routine, right? So, let’s have a look at some of the optimum amounts of product you should be applying.

Skincare has moved on since the days of 'cleanse, tone, moisturize and done.' Nowadays, there are all manner of eye treatments, serums, facial oils and retinols to contend with. And while we’d never suggest you overload your skin with gazillions of products, a carefully curated routine that contains a gentle mix of antioxidants, AHAs, night treatments and sun protection will go a long way to achieving younger-looking skin.

But it’s not just about what you put on your skin. Turns out, how you apply them, when you apply them and even how much you apply is just as important. We’ve covered the hows and the whens before, so hopefully by now you’ve nailed the art of skincare layering and applying your products like an absolute pro. But are you sure you’re applying the right amount?

Knowing how much of your skincare essentials you need can be confusing business, so here are some basic rules to follow to get to know your products’ sweet spots.

Always Read The Label

The directions on your skincare labels are not just there to fill space or look nice. They’re important and should always be followed for the best, safest and most effective results. Granted, skincare products don’t need FDA approval but they must still adhere to particular guidelines. And one of these is that both the ingredients and the finished product must be safe to use according to its directions.

This means it’s always vital to read the instructions for a guide on how much you should be using. Obviously these guidelines aren’t set in stone, but they’re a great starting point.

Know The Basic Numbers

All products are different, but generally speaking the amount you should be using rarely differs from the following:

• Cleanser – a dime-sized amount is plenty to effectively cleanse your face and neck. Anything less might not be enough to gently remove bacteria, dirt and oils, whereas using more will just be a waste.
• Toner ­– go for around four or five spritzes if you’re spraying toner directly onto your face, or enough to saturate an entire cotton round.
• Serum – treatment serums such as antioxidants, AHAs and retinols are super lightweight, but extremely potent, so less is always more. Stick with two or three drops for your entire face and neck.
• Eye Cream – a single pump or pea-sized amount is the sweet spot for both eyes. More than this will overload the delicate skin around your eyes, resulting in puffiness and/or irritation. Not cool.
• Moisturizer – moisturizing creams, lotions and gels vary a lot, but as long as you choose the correct formulation for your skin type, a pea-sized amount should be ideal.
• Sunscreen – the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends about half a teaspoon of sunscreen for your face. This may sound like a lot, but failing to protect your skin increases your risks of premature aging and skin cancers. This is why sunscreen is one of the few products where scrimping is not an option. 

Understand That Your Skin Type Isn't The Issue

The amount of product you apply shouldn’t be dictated by your skin type. It’s far more important to choose the right product to suit your needs and concerns than to overload, or indeed scrimp on your application. For example, if you feel like you need to double up on your moisturizer, because your skin still feels dry, tight or dehydrated even after you’ve applied it, you’ve clearly got the wrong formulation and should up your moisturizing game with a richer or heavier cream or balm. Similarly, if you end up applying less moisturizer than the recommended amount because it sits on your skin and makes it feel oily or sticky, your product is likely too rich for your skin. In this case, switch it up with a lighter gel or lotion.

The only exception to this rule is if you wear heavy makeup and feel like your cleanser isn’t doing a good enough job. Gentle is ALWAYS the way to go so stick with a mild cleanser (tailored for your skin type, of course), but try a double cleanse on heavy makeup days.

Spread The Excess Elsewhere

If you do get a little over-excited and end up with too much serum or moisturizer on your hands, smooth any excess over your neck (which you should be doing anyway), décolletage or even on the backs of your hands. This is way more beneficial than smothering your face and increasing your chances of clogging your pores or causing redness or irritation.

And just think of the love you’ll be giving your neck, chest and hands as a bonus.

Face serums are a must for anyone interested in maximizing their skin’s potential and targeting those little annoyances like dryness, lines, dark spots or excess oil. But that’s the simple part: it’s choosing a serum to suit your skin that can be a bit of a minefield…

If you’re yet to introduce a serum into your skincare routine, let us be the ones to tell you – the right one could change your life. Yes it’ll add another step to your beauty routine, but honestly, what’s an extra minute or so between friends? And when you see what the right one can do for your skin, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.

Lightweight and super-powered, serums pack a real punch thanks to their small molecular makeup. What does this really mean? Simple: small molecules allow for a deeper penetration of active ingredients and therefore more effective results for your skin. A serum is able to get right under your skin where regular lotions and moisturizers dare not, and in all honesty cannot, go. This means they are way more effective at targeting specific issues like discoloration, fine lines, wrinkles and any other bugbear you care to mention.

But how do you know where to start? Erm, right here, with these six, cleverly formulated serums that cater for the most common skincare types and concerns.

1. Normal or Dry Skin Types: C-Plus Super Serum

One of our favorite all-rounders, think of C-Plus Super Serum as your go-to for maintaining healthy, more radiant skin. Packed with vitamin C, along with niacinamide, retinol, hyaluronic acid and MSM it reads like a veritable who’s who of clinically-proven skincare ingredients. And if you’re worried about this cocktail of active ingredients playing havoc with your skin, don’t be. C-Plus Super Serum is surprisingly gentle and free of common irritants like synthetic fragrance, silicones, parabens and sulfates. It’s a bit of show-off, we know, but deservedly so. Use it two or three times a week for the best results.

2. Oily Skin: Tea Tree Clear Skin Super Serum

A customer must-have for reducing breakouts and balancing excess oils while maintaining a certain kindness to aging skin, Tea Tree Clear Skin Super Serum has been touted as “pretty life-changing” by one particular fan. Yes, truly.

Research shows that tea tree oil boasts anti-bacterial, antiviral, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties, making it an effective treatment for mild to moderate acne… and a great, natural alternative to benzoyl peroxide. Tea tree oil can also help balance oiliness, minimize enlarged pores and may even help relieve dryness. We combine it with salicylic acid, retinol and plenty of other age-defying ingredients to produce this gentle but oh-so-effective serum that your skin will love. Use it to spot treat troublesome breakouts, or apply it all-over, two to three times a week before moisturizing.

3. Dry Or Dehydrated Skin: Hyaluronic Acid Serum

Hyaluronic acid (HA) has been having a moment in skincare for quite some time now. And its popularity is not going away. A key component in your skin's natural makeup, HA has the unique capacity of retaining up to 1,000 times its weight in water. We’ll just let that sink in for a minute. One. Thousand. Times.

This sponge-like quality makes HA extremely important for keeping your skin moisturized and healthy, and it's why it rightfully takes its place at the top of ingredients your skin can’t get enough of. Hyaluronic Acid Serum harnesses the powers of this water-loving ingredient and blends it with vitamins C and E, plus jojoba oil to help lock moisture into your skin. A real find for dry, dehydrated or ANY skin type, if you ask us.

4. Aging Skin: Retinol Serum

Speaking of ingredients that can literally do no wrong, let’s give a big shout out to retinol. Proven time and time again to be one of the most effective ingredients for reducing the visible signs of aging, retinol is a topical form of vitamin A that activates certain genes in your skin to boost collagen production and stimulate your skin cells to turn over more efficiently. This helps soften wrinkles and dark spots, and it's dynamite at making your skin look, well, damn good.

Our Retinol Serum combines retinol with HA, vitamin E, aloe and green tea – an awesome combination known to help hydrate, protect, nourish and reduce irritation. Priceless.

5. Sensitive Skin: Niacinamide Serum

Sensitive skin and active ingredients don’t often make for a match made in heaven. However, niacinamide is one of the exceptions to this rule. A proven antioxidant, niacinamide boasts all the usual benefits of your favorite free radical-fighters (ie: an improvement in dark spots, lines, wrinkles, blemishes and firmness), plus it helps regulate inflammation and improve your barrier function to strengthen and protect your delicate skin. And all this with few to no side-effects. Yes, there really is a beauty god.

Niacinamide Facial Serum might only be a year old but it’s already a favorite with customers looking for an antioxidant serum that brightens and balances skin gently, yet effectively.

6. Dull Or Sun Damaged Skin: Vitamin C Serum

We don’t like to blow our trumpets too much, but our awesome Vitamin C Serum continues to turn heads and now boasts over 65,000 reviews on Amazon. In fact, it’s the number one best seller in facial serums. Just saying.

One of the most effective and highly researched antioxidants in skincare, topical vitamin C works hard to boost collagen, fade dark spots and protect your skin from the damaging effects of the sun. Depending on the type of vitamin C used, it can be a tad too good to be true for some skin types, but we use sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP) in our formulations which is more gentle than the pure stuff… but equally as effective. This classic serum combines SAP with vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, MSM and a whole host of botanicals for a glow-boosting treat you'll want to use time and time again.

PS: Before We Go…

Our serums have been carefully curated to suit all skin types, but still, they contain a lot of potent active ingredients so they should always be applied with care. The golden rules? 1. Do a patch test first. 2. Introduce one slowly into your routine (two or three times a week) before applying it every day. And 3. Always finish with your favorite moisturizer to lock all those ingredients into your skin.

Done and done.

When your face’s age says 25, but your neck looks more like 55, something’s got to change.

Your neck deserves so much better than the lousy skincare it gets. We’re sure you lovingly apply your eye cream, antioxidant serum and moisturizer to your face morning and night. Heck, even your hands are probably treated to a slathering of hand cream a few times a day. But your neck? Not so much.

The skin on your neck has fewer sebaceous glands than that on your face, which means it can’t produce as much sebum (oil) to keep it soft, nourished and lubricated. On the one hand this is great news because your neck will rarely suffer from blocked pores and pimples. However, in the fight against the visible signs of aging such as dry skin, fine lines, wrinkles and sagging, a lack of oil is not good.

Couple this with the fact that your neck is exposed to the elements just as much as your face, and, well, you can see where we’re going here.

The upshot of this is you need to employ a better skincare regime for your neglected neck. And fast. Here’s how…

1. Continue Your Skincare Past Your Jawline

As we mentioned, the skin on your neck has very few oil-producing glands. It’s also thinner than the skin on your face which means it contains less collagen and is therefore more prone to dryness, wrinkling and sagging.

All this means that your neck will probably age faster than your face, so whatever skincare routine you apply to your face, don’t stop there. Cleanse and tone your neck twice daily, exfoliate regularly and apply treatment serum and moisturizer down your neck and over your décolletage area.

Humectants like hyaluronic acid, glycerin and aloe vera are particularly great for the dry neck area as they draw water to the surface of the skin. As are emollients like shea butter and jojoba oil which smooth over cracks and lock in moisture. Our Retinol Moisturizer contains all these, plus retinol which is ideal for boosting collagen and elastin while treating tone, texture, lines and wrinkles.

2. Apply Products in Upwards Motions

When it comes to applying products to your neck, how you apply them is just as important as what you use. Don’t drag or frantically rub moisturizer down your neck as this will do nothing but push folds into your skin and increase your chances of prematurely aging your neck with saggy, loose skin. Instead, work against gravity by applying your serum and moisturizer in light, upwards strokes to lift the skin rather than drag it down.

3. Protect Your Neck Every Single Day

Protecting your skin from UV damage is vital if you want to avoid all the aforementioned signs of aging, plus pigmentation issues like sun spots. Again, we like to think you’re vigilant about applying sunscreen to your face, but your neck needs it too, because it’s exposed to the sun just as much as the rest of your face, plus it has less natural oils to protect it from environmental damage.

Firstly, up your antioxidant vitamin C levels by applying a C serum all over your face and neck. Vitamin C works like a dog to protect your skin from those damaging free radicals which are so often caused by UV exposure. It also inhibits melanin production to not only prevent your skin from developing dark spots but to help treat those that are already there. Which is nice.

Apply C Plus Super Serum to your neck two or three times a week, and a broad-spectrum moisturizing sunscreen every morning. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends going with SPF 30 or higher. And we agree.

4. Stop Looking Down At Your Phone

Looking down at your phone for hours at a time is not only bad for the muscles in your neck, but this repetitive movement will also increase your risk of developing bands of wrinkles around your neck. To help prevent what is not-so-lovingly known as ‘tech neck,’ bring your phone up to your face and try to keep it at eye level as much as possible. The same rule should also be applied to your computer monitor and laptop. Eye level all the way, baby.

5. Practice Some 1-Minute 'Necksercises'

Exercising your neck is a great way to improve muscle tone and boost blood circulation to the skin, therefore allowing more oxygen and nutrients to reach the skin cells and help reduce the signs of aging. And all it takes is a few minutes each day – which you can totally do while working at your desk, cooking dinner or watching TV…

One of our favorite exercises for your neck, or 'necksercises' if you will, is to tilt your head back and point your chin up to the ceiling. Then, keeping your mouth closed, make a chewing motion with your mouth 10 times in one direction and 10 in the other. Simple. You could also follow this with pouting your lips 20 times as if you were kissing the sky for an added extra workout. Do this every day to help keep your neck trim and firm. 

6. Keep Perfume Away From Your Neck

While spritzing perfume on your neck is something we’ve have been doing for centuries, it’s actually not that smart. Most perfumes contain alcohol, you see. In fact, depending on the type of perfume you use, it could contain anything from 70 to 95 percent alcohol. Eau de toilette, for example, is generally only about 5-15 percent fragrance with the rest being alcohol mixed with the tiniest amount of water.

As you know, alcohol is very drying on the skin, so unless you’re using a pure, oil-based scent, you’re better off keeping it away from your neck area where it could cause further drying and crepiness. A better idea is to spray your fragrance at the top of your forearms or spritz it over your clothes where it will sink into the structure of the fibers and take longer to evaporate.

Not to be confused with something you’d take for an upset stomach, peptides are a worthy ingredient in skincare formulations. And here’s why…

Skincare ingredients are a bewildering bunch and nothing creates more confusion than peptides. Actually, retinoids can be just as tricky to get your head around, but they’re a whole different topic that we’ve already covered before. And anyway, we’re here to talk about peptides.

We’re sure you’ve seen the countless big bucks skincare commercials shouting about peptides, polypeptides, pentapeptides and the like. You know the ones we mean, right? Glitz, glamour and often a Hollywood celebrity thrown in for good measure? Well, hands up if you’ve no idea what the heck they’re talking about, let alone know why you might need to include peptides in your skincare life.

Good news: we’ve come up with the peptides goods, right here, right now. Want the lowdown? Then read on.

What Are Peptides?

According to Merriam-Webster, the definition of peptides is ‘any of various amides that are derived from two or more amino acids by combination of the amino group of one acid with the carboxyl group of another... usually obtained by partial hydrolysis of proteins.’

Wow, that’s cleared that up then. Not.

More simply put, peptides are chemical compounds made up of short chains of amino acids. Amino acids are basically the building blocks of life and are used by the body to make proteins which perform an infinite number of bodily functions, all of which you need to survive. Think growth, healing, the breaking down of food and so on.

While peptides are short chains of between two and around 50 amino acids, proteins are much longer molecules, made up of multiple peptides.

Science lesson over. Well, almost…

Peptides In Skincare

As you know, your skin contains many essential proteins: namely collagen, elastin and keratin. These proteins are the absolute foundation of your skin, giving it support, structure, strength and resilience. Sadly, as your skin ages it starts to lose all these important proteins. In fact, you lose about 1 percent of your collagen every year after the age of 30 which is when the visible signs of aging start to really creep in.

Applying peptides to your skin helps counteract this loss of collagen because peptides act like little messengers to encourage your cells to produce more of it. Your skin sees these peptides as signals that you’ve injured or wounded your skin which kick-starts the cells to produce more collagen and therefore heal itself by restoring a healthy barrier function while firming, strengthening and plumping up your skin. Clever, right?

So, Do Peptides Offer True Benefits For Your Skin?

As with most active skincare ingredients, not all peptides are created equal. Many are unstable, some are too large to be able to penetrate your skin and others just don’t do much. However, there are plenty of peptides that offer true results for a whole host of skin concerns including fine lines, wrinkles, dark spots and hormone-related breakouts.

Matrixyl 3000, for example, is a combination of two peptides that has been independently proven to boost collagen in your skin. In fact, one study showed that Matrixyl can almost double the amount of collagen your skin produces making it one of the most impressive peptides out there.

How To Introduce Peptides Into Your Routine

The best thing about peptides is they’re very well tolerated by the skin. This means they're a great option for almost all skin types and are ideal for treating the delicate skin around your eyes.

If you fancy incorporating some effective peptides into your routine, look specifically for serums, eye treatments and moisturizers that list them in their ingredients. Different peptides target different concerns, but many skincare products combine two or more to offer a complete anti-aging package. Search for fancy names that end in 'peptide' and/or begin with 'palmitoyl,' but remember, products that get left on your skin will be way more effective than those that are washed away. Also, stick with formulations that are packaged in opaque, airtight containers. Many peptides degrade when in contact with light and air, rendering them kinda useless.

Our Eye Gel and Eye Cream are both formulated with peptides, including palmitoyl tripeptides-1 and -5, plus the mighty matrixyl 3000. Collagen loss is very noticeable around the eye area due to the skin being so much thinner than the rest of your face. This means wrinkles, lines and dark circles are going to appear in super fast time and it's why including peptides in your eyecare routine is a really smart plan.

Apply your favorite eye treatment twice a day for the best results, gently patting or smoothing it around the eye area with your ring finger so you don’t put too much pressure on the skin.

And as with any new product that contains active ingredients, always, we repeat always, do a patch test first. Not sure how? We can help you with that, right here.

Word is, when it comes to the varying forms of topical vitamin C, cloudiness is a sign of brighter days ahead. Bear with us while we explain…

Vitamin C is one of the most effective ingredients in skincare. That’s a bold statement, we know, but ask any dermatologist to list their favorite topical antioxidant and we’d bet our lives that vitamin C would be the words on everyone’s lips.

Along with hyaluronic acid and retinol, vitamin C is part of a veritable 'Justice League' of skincare ingredients, offering undeniable benefits for a whole host of skincare concerns. From adding radiance and reducing fine lines, through to improving acne and poor texture, vitamin C works. It just does.

This may sound simple enough, but the thing is, you’ll rarely see the words ‘vitamin C’ on a product’s ingredients list. And you might think this is because skincare manufacturers are out to get you with complicated names, but it’s really not that personal. It’s simply because vitamin C comes in many forms – each with different levels of efficacy, stability, look and even smell. We use a form of vitamin C called sodium ascorbyl phosphate (SAP) across all of our serums and vitamin C products because it works for most skin types and we truly believe in its ability to get the job done without causing irritation. There’s so much more to it than that, but first, let’s have a quick look at vitamin C shall we?

The Facts About Vitamin C In Skincare

Normal skin contains its own relatively high levels of vitamin C whose role is to support, strengthen and protect your skin. A natural and potent antioxidant, vitamin C helps neutralize damage caused by environmental pollutants. It also promotes collagen production and aids healing. However, aging and exposure to UV and pollution causes your levels of vitamin C to dramatically decrease, taking with it the soft, plump, strong and youthful-looking skin you used to know and love.

All this is why vitamin C has made such a name for itself in topical skincare – because a) your skin needs it and b) you naturally lose it through both intrinsic and extrinsic aging.

Simple, right? Ha, not so fast, because this is where things get a little complicated. There's not just one form of vitamin C used in skincare, you see. There are many – some great, some not so much. And the key is to know which ones to look out for.

Many brands use l-ascorbic acid which is the purest and probably the most widely studied form of vitamin C. But l-ascorbic acid comes with its problems. It’s notoriously volatile which means it degrades lightning quick when exposed to light and air. It’s also super potent – sometimes too potent for the skin to handle. Because of these issues, many derivatives of pure vitamin C have been formulated for use in skincare. And this is where the mighty sodium ascorbyl phosphate comes into play.

What Is Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate?

Along with a lengthy list that includes magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, ascorbyl-6-palmitate and sodium ascorbate, sodium ascorbyl phosphate (we’ll call it SAP from now on) is a derivative of l-ascorbic acid. This means that yes, SAP is slightly less effective than its purer sister but – and this is a major but – it has way more of an edge.

SAP is basically a salt form of vitamin C and one of the most stable versions of the pure stuff. Its sodium molecule is the key as it acts like a natural preservative which stops it from degrading on contact with light, air and water, therefore offering more benefits to your skin. In fact, SAP has been clinically proven to improve the tone and texture of your skin. It also works hard to boost radiance, fight photoaging, fade dark spots and reduce acne. Can’t say fairer than that, right?

But that’s not all. In order for your skin to experience the full benefits vitamin C has to offer, SAP has to be converted back to ascorbic acid once applied to your skin. This may sound like a bad thing, but ascorbic acid is a very active, powerful ingredient, which, when applied directly can cause negative side-effects such as dryness, stinging and redness. Having your skin convert SAP back into ascorbic acid after application, however, reduces these chances of irritation and makes the active ingredient much more tolerant by most skin types – even sensitive.

In our opinion, SAP beats l-ascorbic acid hands down, which is we harness its powers in all of our vitamin C products as well as in C-Plus Super Serum, Hyaluronic Acid Serum and Tea Tree Clear Skin Super Serum.

Why Do TruSkin Vitamin C Serums Look So Cloudy?

This is a question we get asked a lot – especially when it comes to our best-selling Vitamin C Serum. And the answer is simple: the cloudiness (or milkiness if you prefer to think of it that way) is all down to that sodium molecule.

Think about when you add salt to water: it immediately becomes cloudy, right? Well, same principal. The cloudiness is not because your serum has oxidized or become ineffective, it’s simply the salt. And it’s the salt molecule that makes this particular vitamin C derivative more effective and better tolerated by your skin.

One of our mottos here at TruSkin HQ is that cloudiness is a sign of brighter days, or more specifically brighter skin, ahead! Get it now?

How To Include SAP In Your Daily Skincare Routine

Whether you’re an avid C fan or just starting out, SAP can offer your skin outstanding results – as long as you use it correctly. 

The most important rule is to start slowly and do a patch test first. Even though SAP is suitable for most skin types, it’s still an active, potent ingredient so you should always perform a patch test on a discreet area of skin before starting a full facial routine. Not sure how to do that? We can help, right here.

Once you’re sure your skin isn’t going to react, gradually introduce your chosen product into your routine two or three times a week as your skin gets used to the active ingredients. Then you can work up to daily use.

Finally, remember, active ingredients like sodium ascorbyl phosphate work on a cellular level, deep within the skin. This means that yes, it might offer you instantly softer, more radiant skin, but its true benefits will need time to fully take effect. We recommend continually using our C products for at least 28 days for those brighter days to really set in.