Vitamin C for stopping a cold? Science says no. But vitamin C for skin? Science says yes—hell yes. The best vitamin C serums and products help protect skin cells against all the garbage that makes you look less like your youthful self: pollution, UV rays, chemicals, and the like. Beyond playing defense, vitamin C also reduces melanin production, which subtly, but visibly, “brightens” your skin, particularly by lightening unwanted discoloration or dark spots. And—and!—the wonder ingredient reduces lines, wrinkles, and other signs of aging. Teamed up with a facial oil (particularly with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, or squalane), a vitamin C-laced product will have you looking and feeling like a radiant baby.
While pure vitamin C is an acid that can cause skin irritation, particularly for sensitive skin types, there aren’t many dangers to using vitamin C-focused skincare products—but there is a catch. Vitamin C is like produce: you want the freshest you can get. The antioxidant breaks down too quickly to sit on drugstore shelves or in warehouses for very long, which has pushed manufacturers to invent new ways to get you your vitamin C fix. You’ll find lockbox-like containers, special formulations, and two-part products that require DIY mixing. You’ll also find that the best vitamin C serums and skincare products can get expensive—and periodically, go out of stock.
What Vitamin C Brings to Your Skin
So much good from one little letter!
1. More supple skin
Vitamin C helps boost your skin’s production of collagen and elastin,which are (respectively) the proteins and fibers that keep skin tight. You can think of your skin as one big collagen bed, and elastin as the fibers that hold it together, allow it to stretch, and maintain your skin’s elasticity. This can also lead to improving fine lines and acne scars.
2. A more even complexion
Vitamin C loves to shut down excess melanin production, which both brightens your skin tone on the whole, and lightens those annoying, persistent dark spots that can come from hyperpigmentation or sun damage .
3. Relief for acne-prone skin
While vitamin C won’t do much to prevent breakouts, its skin-protecting powers do help diminish redness and irritation. Obviously, check with your own board-certified dermatologist to make sure using a vitamin C serum makes sense with however you’re treating acne.
4. Fewer free radicals
Free radicals are jerks. Okay, fine, they’re technically damage-causing chemicals that literally get under your skin, brought on by everything from pollution to UVA and UVB rays, potentially causing spots, wrinkles, dry skin and worse. As an antioxidant, vitamin C essentially neutralizes free radical damage, making sure your skin stays as healthy as it can and allowing it to gleefully absorb all the great hydrating skincare products you’ll put on after.
