Continuing with my posts on skin care ingrediants I felt the need to address Vitamin C. You see it all over the place. How good it is for us,how it can repair skin and how it can improve the health of your body.
Potentially Vitamin C can benefit the skin in two ways
1. It is essential for the synthesis of collagen.
2. It is an antioxidant and can help reduce damage caused by free radicals (air pollutants ect)
If Vitamin C is introduced in the correct way it has the potential to dramatically improve wrinkles and skin texture.
THE PROBLEM
Vitamin C is relatively unstable. Unless it is in its dry form. In the presence of air or other oxidizing agents (such as creams, serums, ect) Vitamin C breaks down and loses its effectiveness. In fact once it oxidizes it can actually cause harm to the skin.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
How can I get Vitamin C into my skin the best way?
I feel the best way is to have it applied at a salon or spa that does Vitamin C repairing facials or treatments. Having a technician open the vitamin C right before using it on you and further using a galvanic machine to help the product penetrate quickly is one of the best ways. That way there is little time for the Vitamin C to oxidize and you will be getting the most benefit.
When using Vitamin C serums at home they should be stored in a dark area that is cool, the fridge is fine as long as it is kept away from light.
Throw product away if it has gotten heated and is over 6 months old.
There are some new forms of Vitamin C (Vitamin C derivatives) that they are finding work really well and do not go bad as quickly as the most commonly used form .
The names of these derivatives are,
Ascobyl Palmitate
Tetrahexyldcyl Ascorbate (this form is looking especially promising)
Magnesium Ascorbyl phosphate
If you see any of these derivatives on any of the Vitamin C serums you buy ,you can be assured that they should be effective.
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There is a website that gives a formula for making your own Vitamin C serum at home. I am attaching the formula if interested. this actualy sounds fairly easy to make. BUT if you choose to do this ,PLEASE follow all the directions they give you to a T. Vitamin C can be irritating to some skin types. So take care to use it the way they recommend. Again I stress to please follow all directions carefully .
Make your own Vitamin C serum
The recipe makes an approximate 10% concentration of vitamin C serum, using simple ingredients you can buy from your local Chemist store. The advantages of doing it yourself – apart from the obvious – ‘it will save you a lot of money’ is that you can make it fresh, store it in your refridgerator and know that it will not have oxidised- so in fact you will get fresh active product onto your skin. It is best only to make up small quantities at a time, to ensure it is always fresh and unoxidised.
Take care- these are active ingredients At this concentration it will have a relatively low ph, and in some people this will be too irritating for the skin. If this is the case, try making a half or even quarter concentration to start with. Use this for a week or two until you know you skin is tolerating this, and then slowly increase to a higher concentration. If after you apply it, you find your skin is tingling excessively, wash off immediately.
The recipe is divided into active ingredient, the one that has been shown to stimulate collagen, reduce fine lines and wrinkles and protect against sun damage and a simple base formula. Any product you buy over the counter with active ingredients consists of this.
Vitamin C serum Active Ingredient : 1-1.2 grams Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) (approximately 1/4 teaspoon) (The active ingredient must be L-ascorbic acid, not vitamin C tablets, or calcium Ascorbate) This can also be purchased from Skin Actives.
Base Ingredients. 5 ml glycerine (1 teaspoon) 5ml water (1 teaspoon) You should be able to buy both the L-ascorbic acid and glycerine from your chemist store. (or Pharmacy)
Process. 1. Dissolve 1gram of L-ascorbic acid in 5 ml of water (preferably distilled), in small glass container using a stirrer. Make sure it is fully dissolved before proceeding to next step.
2. Add 5 ml of glycerine and mix.
3. Put in a sealable jar, (not clear glass as this allows light in, and light degrades vitamin C.) Store in cool dry place.
Voila – your own fresh vitamin C serum. Apply to skin once per day to start with (preferably at night), and increase to twice daily if tolerated.
Post note This serum is published to illustrate that it is the active ingredient that has benefits and to get you to challenge the notion that you need to pay a lot of money for active skin care ingredients. You must exercise caution when using this as with any product you put on your skin, if any signs of allergy or reaction develop desist immediately.
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