Cape Times

WHY VITAMIN C IS YOUR SKINCARE’S HOLY GRAIL

- N. LOTHUNGBEN­I HUMTSOE

WHETHER you are a skincare fanatic or have just started your journey towards creating your own beauty regime, you would have come across a multiplici­ty of ingredient­s on skincare product labels that often leave you wondering what's a good fit for you.

The most versatile yet tricky amongst those is Vitamin C.

Most people get a fair dose of this vitamin from the food, fruits, and vegetables they eat. It is a supplement required to keep our immune system robust and fortify our bodies against diseases. It has also played a crucial part in our fight against Covid-19.

With countless benefits internally, the vitamin has equal, if not more, dermatolog­ical advantages.

Arushi Thapar, Senior Marketing Manager, Plum, PurePlay Skin Sciences Pvt Ltd. shares more on the new 'in' natural additive.

C the advantage: Vitamin C is a potent antioxidan­t that can neutralise free radicals, but what does that mean for your skin? Vitamin C is known to be a difficult ingredient to develop and work with owing to its fragility and photosensi­tivity.

With advancemen­ts in research, we know that the potent L- Ascorbic acid or also known as the most stable form of Vitamin C which can effectivel­y reduce dark spots, protect from sun damage & treat dull skin.

With age and due to sun exposure, collagen synthesis in the skin decreases, leading to wrinkles – once again Vitamin C is the only antioxidan­t proven to stimulate the synthesis of collagen, minimize fine lines, scars, and wrinkles.

Therefore, its important to understand the make of such a potent concoction with multifold benefits.

Many skincare products on the market today, deep dive into the skincare science and highlight the vitamin C derivative­s, which is an important part for consumers to understand and choose the right Vitamin C serum.

Products with the right concentrat­ion, formulatio­n and other mix of ingredient­s like

Japanese Mandarin and Kakadu plum that boost the performanc­e of the Vitamin C, are important factors to take into considerat­ion before purchasing a Vitamin C serum.

Why Plum Mandarin & Vitamin C serum should be your holy grail: Make sure your Vitamin C serum checks these boxes before purchasing or using them.

A greater absorption of skin is possible with the use of vitamin C in serum-based formulatio­ns.

The concentrat­ion should be between 10-20% with the sweet spot at 15%- any higher nullifies the benefits and could damage your skin. Another important aspect to pay attention to is the pH value.

Human skin tends to have a pH value between 4-5 hence, the serum should have a similar value to be effective.

Other factors to consider while adding Vitamin C to your beauty shelf include packaging, colour, and smell.

As mentioned before, Vitamin C is photosensi­tive; i.e its properties change with exposure to light.

It is, therefore, important for the serum to be packaged in a dark or amber coloured bottle.

Store away from sunlight and in a dry environmen­t.

Be mindful of the colour and smell – ideally any skincare product should be free of artificial colours & fragrances. A change into a yellow, orange, or brown colour means it has oxidised; a sour or rancid smell means the product has lost stability and its use must be discontinu­ed.

Once you have the ideal Vitamin C infused serum you can mix it up with your existing AM/PM regime- As a base alongside sunscreen is basic but an absolute must for glowing skin.

It can also be used with Hyaluronic acid for hydration; combined with peptides making it a specialist for mature skin, or mixed with Vitamin E for ultimate nourishmen­t for your skin! Ingredient­s such as niacinamid­e, chemical exfoliants, and retinol should not be applied together.

Vitamin C with Niacinamid­e could be potent, with exfoliants causing destabilis­ation, and combined with retinol becomes too much for the skin to handle at one time.

Now that you know all there is to know about Vitamin C, add one to your cart that suits your skin the best.

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 ??  ?? VITAMIN C is a potent antioxidan­t that can neutralise free radicals.
VITAMIN C is a potent antioxidan­t that can neutralise free radicals.

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