Vitamin C is key to the development and maintenance of body tissues. When consumed via foods or supplements, it can help us form collagen, absorb iron, and power the immune system. But vitamin C is also popular in skincare products, including moisturizers, masks, serums, skin brighteners, and dark spot correctors. Here are some of the benefits of vitamin C in skincare.
Natural Sun Protection
While vitamin C can make your skin more sensitive to UV rays, it can also protect you. How? Vitamin C boosts your skin defenses when worn underneath a layer of broad-spectrum SPF.
Collagen Creation
Vitamin C is a powerful anti-aging ingredient, as it helps the body produce more collagen while also slowing the breakdown of existing collagen.
Other Environmental Factors
Free radicals are unstable molecules that build up and harm your body’s cells, lipids, proteins, and even DNA. These molecules come from many environmental sources, including pollution and the sun’s rays. Fortunately, vitamin C can protect the skin from free radicals and help the body repair any damage they cause.
Pigment Correction
Many vitamin C products are marketed as dark-spot correctors and skin brighteners. That’s because vitamin C inhibits tyrosinase, an enzyme that enhances the body’s ability to produce melanin. Since vitamin C can keep the body from producing so much pigment, its continued use has been linked to evener, brighter skin. It’s also a powerful tool for fighting dark spots caused by aging and sun damage.
Vitamin C Soothes
Vitamin C is an awesome skin protectant, but it is also known to soothe the skin by preventing the activation of cytokines, which enable inflammation. This ingredient comes in handy when you’re trying to minimize lasting damage from post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation and acne.
Using Vitamin C Skincare
Are you sold on the skin benefits of vitamin C in skincare? As always, speak to your dermatologist before incorporating any new products into your skincare regime. And remember, you should always use vitamin C under your SPF. It’s also an ingredient whose benefits will not magically occur overnight, so stick with it!