If you’ve ventured into the world of beauty recently, you might have heard that the buzz around town is all about the vitamin C benefits for skin, as well as the magic of serums with vitamin C on its ingredient list.
Wait a minute. You might load up on vitamin C when you have the sniffles or before long sea voyages, but what does vitamin C serum do for the skin?
Aside from saving pirates (and the rest of us law-abiding seafarers) from scurvy and colds, vitamin C plays a role in maintaining healthy, happy skin.
Curious how? Let’s dive into the high seas of vitamin C.
What is Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is an important nutrient that plays many roles in our bodies and its functions. It contributes to:
- Growth, development, and repair of all body tissues
- The building of collagen
- Building and maintaining cartilage, bones, and teeth
- Supporting the immune system
- Healing wounds and forming scar tissue
The human body doesn’t produce vitamin C on its own, so we have to get it from our diet or supplements. Vitamin C occurs naturally in certain foods, such as:
- Citrus fruits
- Strawberries
- Broccoli
- Rose hips
It’s a water-soluble nutrient, which means your body doesn’t keep stores of it around and flushes out anything extra. Think of those Emergen-C packets people drink for colds. They contain way more vitamin C than what your body can absorb in one go, and will leave your body the next time you go to the bathroom.
How to Get the Most Out of Vitamin C for Your Skin
Since vitamin C leaves your body relatively quickly, this makes it hard to guarantee it’s going directly to your skin.
There are two main layers to the skin:
- The epidermis (the outer layer)
- The dermis (the deeper layer)
It’s difficult to get nutrients to the epidermis from your diet alone because it doesn’t have the blood vessels that normally carry nutrients to cells. According to the Indian Dermatology Online Journal, absorbing vitamin C through the gut alone is not enough to guarantee its benefits for your skin.
Topical products, such as serums, are used instead in dermatology to apply vitamin C directly.
What are the Benefits of Vitamin C in Skin Care?
Is vitamin C good for your skin? Normal healthy skin should have high levels of it, since it helps protect the skin against UV damage and stimulates collagen growth. A deficiency in vitamin C in fact makes the skin very fragile.
Let’s take a detailed look at some of the benefits of vitamin C for skin care and learn why you should consider introducing vitamin C products into your routine.
The Fountain of Youth is Filled with Vitamin C
Vitamin C products often tout their anti-aging benefits because vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant. Antioxidants play an important part in blocking some of the damage caused to your skin and cells by the build up over time of harmful molecules known as free radicals.
Studies have shown that free radicals are a contributor to the aging process. They are produced over time as a part of regular cell metabolisms, or from exposure to toxic sources, such as:
- Cigarette smoke
- Pollutants
- Radiations (UV or otherwise)
Antioxidants like vitamin C can protect against some of the damage done by free radicals, prevent premature wrinkling, and rejuvenate the skin. With that kind of an effect, it’s no surprise that products containing vitamin C, like serums, are such a must-have item in any beauty guru’s kit for maintaining healthy, glowing skin.
Stimulate Collagen Growth
In order to keep your skin firm and taut, you’ll also need plenty of collagen. Collagen is a protein that deteriorates in the body over time, but preventing collagen loss can help your skin keep its youthful buoyancy.
Vitamin C is known to boost collagen growth. Skin care products that have vitamin C in its ingredients can help keep the skin from wrinkling and sagging prematurely.
Vitamin C vs. Sun Damage
Since UV rays can contribute to the appearance of aging, protecting yourself from the sun is keeping your skin from getting all weathered. Vitamin C serums work together with sunscreen to minimize the amount of damage you’re taking from exposure to the sun.
Got a sunburn? Since vitamin C also helps heal wounds and calms inflammation, it can do double-time and help repair your skin while protecting it from further damage.
Get That Flawless Complexion with Vitamin C
Don’t despair if you have uneven skin—vitamin C can help you out there, too. Used topically, vitamin C can calm inflammation and reduce redness, evening out your skin tone.
Uneven skin might also mean:
- Acne scars
- Sun spots
- Liver spots
- Melasma
Hyperpigmentation makes your skin darker in some areas through an overabundance of melanin production. Can you guess what might be a way to treat that? Ding, ding, ding—once again, vitamin C is the answer to your problem.
Serums that use vitamin C derivatives like magnesium phosphate ascorbyl have been shown to slow melanin production and help fade dark spots, brightening the skin. The result is a more even, glowing complexion.
Soothe Your Skin and Your Wallet with RebateKey
With so many great reasons to give your skin a boost of vitamin C, why not introduce it into your beauty routine by looking at the many options available through our website? Skin care products can rack up in cost, but with RebateKey, you can never have to pay full price when trying to find the best for your skin.
Check out the whole line of beauty products today and soothe your skin (and your wallet).
Sources:
Nutrients, 2017 August. The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579659/
Indian Dermatology Online Journal. Vitamin C in Dermatology. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3673383/
Medline Plus. Vitamin C.
https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/002404.htm
J Am Acad Dermatol. 2021 Nov. The Role of Antioxidants in Photoprotection: A Critical Review. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22406231/
Dermatol Surg. 2005, July. Topical Vitamin C: A USeful Agent for Treating Photoaging and Other Dermtologic Conditions.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16029672/
