4 Topical Vitamin C Serum Benefits and Disadvantages

When it comes to skin care antioxidant power, vitamin C ranks at or near the top of the list. But do vitamin C serum benefits include improving the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles? And how about actually regenerating skin collagen?

The short answer is, yes, and this is supported by clinical research. There are several important caveats, though. The best results come with sustained application of vitamin C serum but that only makes sense. The second caveat is that some peoples' skin may be sensitive causing skin redness. That's why it's important to choose a serum formulated for sensitive skin types.

There are several advantages to using the serum rather than a moisturizer. The former penetrates deeper into the skin and it's absorbed faster. There is a third advantage as a result of the first two, serums produce faster results.

1. Collagen Regeneration

Skin collagen gives skin that full, smooth and youthful appearance, however, collagen production slows with age. And this slowing process begins at an astonishing early period in the late 20s. The production of another important skin component starts to slow, elastin.

Topical vitamin C serum stimulates skin collagen production which helps with some degree of youthful skin restoration. This improvement also helps diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles and helps make the skin more soft and supple.

2. Skin Tone

Vitamin C is used in skin whitening products because it lightens skin tone and can help with the condition known as hyper-pigmentation.  Topical vitamin C serums can reduce persistent dark spots or circles under the eyes.

3. Sun/UV Protection

Vitamin C serums are not typically used for protection from the sun; although they do offer some small degree of protection. Sunscreens specifically formulated for UV protection provide the best form of protection. There has been ample research showing how damaging excessive exposure to the sun's UV rays is to the skin.

There is research supporting the ability of vitamin C to repair or reverse some skin damage caused by the sun. Recent research has shown that a metabolic breakdown product of vitamin C can reverse damage to DNA. This is significant because cancer and tumors are the result of cellular DNA damage and permutations.

4. Disadvantages of Vitamin C Serum

If anything, the primary disadvantage of topical vitamin C serum is instability. There are two main culprits at play: air and light. The effect is to render the active ingredients inactive or possibly greatly reduced in effectiveness. That's why it's important to verify the product container is airtight and made of opaque material.

Remember that all vitamins lose potency the longer they are exposed to air. With topical vitamin C serum, this effect is offset by the fact that the serum is quickly absorbed into the skin. It's best to apply the serum when the skin is freshly cleaned and with nothing else on the skin that may slow its absorption.

If you are looking for a natural vitamin C facial serum containing the most effective vitamin C concentration, that is both cruelty free and paraben free, then we can highly recommend Voibella's Advanced Anti-Aging Facial Serum with 20% Vitamin C Complex. This serum has added botanicals like vitamin e, Hyaluronic Acid, Aloe Vera and others that help reduce fine lines and wrinkles and blemishes, to smooth your skin for a radiant and youthful look.