Vitamin C: Why You Need It in Your Daily Skincare Routine

If you’re anything like us, as soon as the signs of a cold hit, you’re reaching for the Emergen-C, Airborne (insert your vitamin C supplement of choice) and going to town until the illness starts to subside. But what if we told you that daily vitamin C will help keep you from the cold in the first place? Well vitamin c serums work in a similar way for your skin! Everyday we’re confronted with pollutants, harmful rays from the sun, and the like and daily use of a potent vitamin C serum will help protect your skin (and prevent premature aging) in ways you might not have realized!

What are Vitamin C Serums? Vitamin C is a well-known antioxidant that fights off environmental and sun damage to the body’s cells. Vitamin C Serums are concentrated facial serums intended for daily use that fight off oxidative stress, or the imbalance between antioxidants and free radicals in your body. The kinds of oxidative stress we’re talking about are daily exposure to sun, car exhaust, chemicals, pollution, smoke, alcohol and overly processed foods. Frequent exposure to these stressors without proper protection will lead to a premature breakdown of our best girl collagen and inhibits our skin from keeping the youthful (read: wrinkle free, smooth, firm, etc.) look that only she knows how to provide.

What do Vitamin C Serums do? Vitamin C Serums act as a protective barrier against those aforementioned stressors to the skin, but differently than a sunscreen would. These powerful serums cannot be wiped or washed off as easily as a sunscreen or moisturizer and instead build up a reservoir of protection if applied frequently enough. When we protect our skin from these stressors, we aid the skin in wound healing, protect against sun damage, reduce wrinkles, increase the production (and protect existing) collagen, reduce hyperpigmentation, even skin tone and brighten our overall complexion. After all, half the battle with anti-aging efforts is prevention and while we can take measures to reverse damage, it is a lot easier (and less expensive) to prevent it!

How Do I Know Which Vitamin C Serum to Choose? Just like you wouldn’t go to the donut shop to get your specialty Almond Milk Latte, know that the quality of serums you’ll find at your local superstore (we’re looking at you Target!) or even your nearby beauty supply store will not be of the quality and potency to properly protect your skin. The ZO® Skin Health 10% Vitamin C Self-Activating contains stable vitamin C ester and 10% asorbic acid to exfoliate pigmentation at the skins surface for a more even tone and a brighter complexion. It also contains squalane to increase hydration (yep, the same that is naturally found in your skin!) as well as tocopheryl acetate & coenzyme-Q10 for added antioxidant protection. The moral of the story here is that not all, and actually MOST vitamin c serums are not considered equal so be sure you are buying a medical grade serum from a licensed seller so you can rest easy knowing you are getting the real deal.

Now that you have a new must to add to your daily skincare routine, there are a few tips we have for application! After rinsing or cleansing your face in the morning, gently apply 4-5 drops of you vitamin C serum (always in an upwards motion!), wait about two minutes, and then continue to apply your moisturizer and sunscreen. Let your skin absorb the serum prior to lathering on your moisturizer so your new serum can go to work! More vitamin C serum questions for us? What about skincare questions in general? We offer complimentary cosmetic consults for our skincare offerings and would love to help you get set up on a skincare routine to help you achieve and maintain your skin goals! Call us today at (515) 223-0119 to schedule, and we’ll see you soon!