AND there Vitamin C the most searched beauty active on the web: last year alone there were over one million and two hundred thousand themed searches on Google, mostly attributable to a single question: “What is the effect of Vitamin C on the skin?“.
A boom that is not surprising at all, so much so that it is celebrated today April 4th the Vitamin C Day, also including its virtues in the skincare field.
Vitamin C, the benefits on the skin: it defends against chronoaging And photoaging
Vitamin C Day is “celebrated” on April 4, a national day to remember the benefits of this ingredient on 360 ° beauty.
«Vitamin C, or Ascorbic Acid, performs many useful functions for slow down the processes associated with agingThe doctor explains Gloriana Assalti, Pharmacist Cosmetologist at the Fatebenefratelli in Rome.
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«It is a fundamental active both against the chronoaging than against the photoaging: in the first case prevents aging by blocking the enzymes that destroy collagen, in the second it helps to repair the tissue already damaged by incorrect exposure to the sun, because stimulates the activity of fibroblasts intervening in the synthesis of collagen ».
In short, it acts even when damage has already occurred, thanks to its nature antioxidant. “Furthermore, Vitamin C has anti-inflammatory properties ideal for dull and dull skin, but can also be used by acne sufferersa true ally for beauty », continues the expert.
Vitamin C and differences with other acids
Unlike other active ingredients, such as some acids that are increasingly used in beauty, from Salicylic to Retinoic, Vitamin C is not photosensitizing, and can be used at any time of the year and day.
«However, it is appropriate to differentiate the use, because Vitamin C is very sensitive to pH differences, therefore if combined with an acid that requires a particular pH, it risks not acting in the right way ».
Better use acids in the evening, preferably during the winter period, e take advantage of the benefits of Vitamin C in the morning.
The ideal combination: with hyaluronic acid and Vitamin E
The ideal composition? «In combination with Vitamin Emoisturizing and perfect for improving microcirculation, and with hyaluronic acid low molecular weight, which activates firming and stimulates the fibroblasts to produce elastin and collagen: in this way the highest quality is obtained », suggests the specialist. Not surprisingly these three assets are often combinedboth in serums and face creams.
How Much Vitamin C Is Really In The Formulas?
Vitamin C, subject to a rapid deterioration, it exists in different formulations, to which also the concentration levels correspond.
«If it is presented in its pure form, ie as ascorbic acid, it is always water-soluble and must be” activated “at the time of use. It is usually found in cruets that preserve its stability, and it is always a question of concentrated or booster solutions with 20% Vitamin C that must be used in a hurry, five days or a week », explains Dr. Assalti.
The case of the classic creams in jars is different: «The Vitamin C contained in the creams is about 5%. To prevent it from oxidizing and therefore losing its effectiveness, in these formulas it undergoes a transformation, from water-soluble to fat-solubleit is more lasting, even if less concentrated ».
Pay attention to the opening date of the jar
This does not mean, of course, that a cream lasts forever. As for all cosmetics and drugs, the Pao is worth, and never the expiration date, even more so when we are talking about an active subject to rapid deterioration such as Vitamin C, which in the long run becomes ineffective. “When oxygen comes into contact with the cream, opened even just to smell its scent, the radical cascade begins and the active ingredients lose their effectiveness”recalls the expert.
Because of this Vitamin C creams usually have dark tubes or ampoules that protect it at the origin, and never mind if you then have the habit of storing them in the bathroom (it is the least suitable place because it is the most humid in the house) what matters is to close the jars well.
From citrus to superfoond: the sources of Vitamin C
But where does the Vitamin C used in creams and boosters come from? Immediate think about the citrus fruits. Although they remain the primary superfoods to provide this indispensable raw material, cosmetics have also discovered other sources with very high concentrations.
For example, the Finnish lakka or clouberryas small as a blackberry but with twice the Vitamin C of an orange.
Oppuer the noni, also known as Indian mulberry, star ingredient of Miranda Kerr’s serum of the same name. And then there are the kakadu plum, small fruit typical of Australia, and it yuzu, a variety of cedar native to Asia also used in perfumery. And the skin shines again.
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