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We’ve answered your burning questions regarding vitamin C and have tried and tested the best serums
Vitamin C serums are now among the most popular products in skincare. From Olay to Omorovicza, every brand seems to be heralding their serum as the game-changing secret to beautiful skin. As is often the case with trending beauty buys, it’s hard to know how to cut through the noise. That’s where we, the IndyBest beauty buffs, come in, as we’ve done the hard work for you, by rounding up the best vitamin C serums on the market.
But what exactly are the benefits of these serums? Well, just as vitamin C can aid our immune system, memory, blood pressure and many more health factors when consumed as part of our diet, it can also be used topically, as it’s hailed for its skin health benefits, too.
Working as an antioxidant, neutralising free radicals from a variety of sources, including UV rays and pollution, vitamin C has been known to reduce wrinkles, help prevent sun damage, increase collagen production and reduce scarring and dark spots – which is quite an impressive list of benefits for a serum that can simply be applied topically to the skin each morning.
As you can imagine, when it comes to the skin, it’s not as easy as mixing some orange juice with your morning moisturiser, and, as with any product, not all vitamin C serums are made equal.
So, from the type of vitamin C you should be using, the concentration, added ingredients and more, take a look at our FAQs below and, of course, read our review of the best vitamin C serums for all budgets.
Over the course of many weeks, we corralled a huge number of vitamin C serums, from fan-favourites to budget-friendly buys and even celebrity-approved products, to see which ones really are worth parting with your cash.
Applied every morning after cleansing and before moisturising, each vitamin C serum was tested on its ease of use, scent, feel, price point and, ultimately, the result seen on the skin. Most of the products come in a similar liquid state with a dropper pipette for easy application – simply apply three to four drops (or however many are recommended on the bottle) into the palm of the hand, rub your hands together and pat the formula onto your face.
For reference, our tester has pale Caucasian skin, which is clear with the occasional hormonal acne breakout. Fine lines can be seen across the forehead and eye edges, and there’s slight redness across the cheeks, chin and nose. They were avid vitamin C users before embarking on this experiment, attributing the product as a core element aiding their skin clarity and vibrancy. Here’s which ones they’d recommend.
There are a few different varieties of vitamin C within skincare – L-ascorbic acid (or just ascorbic acid) is the most common, most researched and usually the most potent, which can work great for oily or normal skin but has been dubbed as too harsh on sensitive skin. It’s also the specific structure of vitamin C that’s found within the body and is the most biologically active, meaning it is the most beneficial.
But you do have to be careful when storing L-ascorbic acid as it can become unstable and oxidise when in contact with light or air. However, brands usually combat this by housing it in dark glass bottles with air-tight lids and adding additional ingredients to help stabilise the formula.
For more sensitive skin, other variations including sodium ascorbyl phosphate and Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (THD) are seen to be great alternatives that are often less irritating and easier to formulate due to being more stable.
Any skin type is sure to benefit from regularly using a vitamin C serum unless you have an allergy to triethanolamine. Anyone with sensitive skin or those using vitamin C for the first time should start with a low concentration (less than 10 per cent) and work your way up slowly to see what your skin can handle. You can also combine it with your moisturiser each morning for a gentler application or opt for a moisturiser that also includes vitamin C.
Similar to alcohol, for example, vitamin C serums will have a percentage concentration of either L-ascorbic acid or other types of vitamin C. Ideally, you want to start off at 10 per cent or under and ease your way up the scale to see what works best with your skin.
The general consensus is that anything above 20 per cent is too potent and can lead to irritation without increasing any skincare benefits, so there really is a sweet spot between the two.
Each individual product will tell you exactly how to store it, but the general rule of thumb is in a cool, dry place with the lid tightly sealed. If you notice a rancid smell or the colour of the product changes to a deep yellow, dark or cloudy colour, it may have already oxidised and not be suitable for use.
Due to the often unstable nature of vitamin C serums, other antioxidants and vitamins are often included to help balance the products and provide additional benefits. Core ingredients include vitamin E and ferulic acid to protect against cell damage, reduce inflammation and brighten skin tone.
We may have given you a bit of information overload with this round-up, and we really only scratched the surface with the scientific side of vitamin C and the skin. But, if you take just two things away please make it these: almost any vitamin C serum will benefit your skin (as long as it hasn’t spoiled) but if starting from scratch please be sure to opt for a lower concentration first and do some reading around how it will react with products already in your skincare routine.
While we loved each and every one of these options, Medik8 beat the others to the mark when looking at its rich ingredient list, price point and ease of use with just sunscreen and vitamin A. We do however wish the brand – and many others – would disclose exactly what concentrate of vitamin C is used just to give an idea of strength.
For anyone on a tighter budget, Simple, Bondi Sands and The Inkey List are all a great place to start for any bargain beauty buys. Meanwhile, for any big spenders, Omorovicza or Aesop are the ones to go for.
Finally, our second-best choice has to be the RoC capsules, perfectly measured out for on-the-go use or for those who aren’t that confident with knowing the right amount of product to apply.
For more on all things skincare this summer, check out our guide to the best sunscreens to protect your skin