Ask Dr. Lens: Vitamin C
One of the most favoured skincare ingredients on the market, vitamin C is multi-functional, with skin benefits such as boosting collagen, brightening the complexion and evening skin tone. But what actually is vitamin C, and when should you be using it? Let Dr. Lens tell you everything you need to know…
Q. What is Vitamin C?
DR. LENS: “Vitamin C is really one of the essential ingredients in skincare. Why we love Vitamin C is because it’s a multi-functional, active ingredient. It has antioxidant capacity; it helps brighten the skin and at the same time it's a collagen-boosting ingredient.”
Q. When should you use Vitamin C?
DR. LENS: “Some people prefer to use vitamin C only in the morning or just in the evening but many, like me, like to use it both morning and evening. And it can be used all year round.”
Q. Is it especially good to use in the summer?
DR. LENS: “It is known that Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant and therefore it helps significantly in the protection against damaging free radicals generated upon exposure to UV light. Of course, you should still always use a broad-spectrum sunscreen.”
Q. What is a good age to start using Vitamin C?
DR. LENS: “You could start using vitamin C really from an early age, depending on the formulation. It’s one of those ingredients that can be easily added to any routine and that you can benefit from no matter what else you’re using in your routine.”
Q. Tell us about Power C, the vitamin C concentrate:
DR. LENS: “Power C contains 20% vitamin C and we are using a particular form that isn’t pure vitamin C or ascorbic acid, it’s an ester of ascorbic acid. Why are we using that? Because it’s a very stable molecule. It’s easy to formulate with, because you don’t have side effects such as oxidation, which easily happens when you’re using ascorbic acid: the moment you expose ascorbic acid to the light, you will have a darkening effect caused by oxidation. We tend to say that it’s a very vulnerable molecule. With an ester of vitamin c, we don’t have that problem. Ascorbic acid can also easily irritate the skin, particularly if it’s used in conjunction with other ingredients.”
Q. Can you layer Vitamin C with other antioxidants?
DR. LENS: “Yes, you can combine vitamin C with other different antioxidants in the same regime”.
Q. Who should use Power C?
DR. LENS: “Power C can be used by anyone who wants to protect the skin, if looking for simply antioxidant protection, or anyone who wants to brighten and even the skin tone, or those people who would like collagen boosting. So if you would like a nice firming effect and less wrinkles visible, then I would suggest Power C”.
