Skin Nerd: Here's why Vitamin C is a hero ingredient

Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that plays a part in producing collagen – the structural protein for firm, bouncy skin.

Skin Nerd: Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant that plays a part in producing collagen – the structural protein for firm, bouncy skin.

Vitamins are essential for maintaining our overall health, but they should be an integral part of our balanced dinnerplate of skincare, too. Vitamin C, aka ascorbic acid, is one of my favourite ways to serve my skin a dose of vitamins. It’s a potent antioxidant and pro-ageing hero that facilitates collagen synthesis and addresses skin concerns like hyperpigmentation and redness.

Did you know there are many forms of vitamin C? Well, to name a couple – there’s magnesium ascorbyl phosphate and sodium ascorbyl phosphate. These are both stable derivates of vitamin C which are gentler to skin compared to potent forms like ascorbyl palmitate. To explain, our Skingredients Chemist, Gabriela Duffy Morales, says that “vitamin C can be unstable as it’s easily oxidised by light and air which makes it difficult to incorporate into formulations. It requires a low pH which some can find irritating which is why many cosmetic companies have opted for vitamin C derivatives to help with irritation and formulation difficulties.”