Protection against free radicals
Vitamin C is one of the most powerful skincare antioxidants available. This means that it helps protect your skin against free radicals from outside. Free radicals attack your collagen reserves which makes your skin look duller, less firm and older. Antioxidants like vitamin C counteract free radicals before they can damage your skin.
‘You should think of antioxidants as the protection you apply before you step outside and are exposed to all the factors that contribute to skin aging, such as UV light, pollution, stress and heat,’ explains dermatologist Corey Hartman off on Well+Good. ‘So antioxidants like vitamin C are an essential part of an anti-aging skin care regimen.’
Reduction of hyperpigmentation
Vitamin C serum is also said to contribute to a more even skin, with fewer pigment spots. ‘This vitamin works very well against pigmentation, for reducing redness, and for evening your complexion, making your skin look more youthful,’ says cosmetic scientist Shuting Hu.
Glowy skin
If a product promises you ‘radiant skin’ or ‘glowy skin‘, it most likely contains vitamin C. Vitamin C counteracts oxidative stress, the process that normally leads to dull skin. Vitamin C serum would therefore be the secret behind a beautiful glow.
Improved hydration
Vitamin C serum is not (sufficiently) hydrating on its own, but it does help other ingredients to do their job better. ‘A vitamin C serum reduces transepidermal water loss (water that evaporates from the epidermis, ed.)’, says Dr. Hu. In less medical terms: it helps to retain water deeper in the skin, so that your skin dries out less quickly. And that’s good news for healthy skin!
Reduction of lines and wrinkles
Skin aging starts faster than you might think. “Collagen production peaks at age 22, and declines with each decade thereafter,” says Dr. Hartman. Fortunately, vitamin C can help to stimulate collagen production and combat fine lines and wrinkles. The fountain of eternal youth as close as it gets.
