When it comes to skincare ingredients, I consider myself well-informed. I’ve been in the industry for over a decade, attended many industry events and product presentations, and visited countless laboratories in the name of research and journalism. So when I heard skincare expert, author, and Skin Rocks founder Caroline Hirons announce the demise of Vitamin CI, I nearly spit my tea out.
As a powerful antioxidant, Vitamin C has been clinically proven to improve the texture, appearance and overall health of skin and has long been known for its skin brightening properties. Regular use has also been shown to boost collagen production, improve pigmentation, brighten dull skin and fade stubborn acne scars.
Personally, I always notice it when I’m not using Vitamin C in my skincare routine. For the last five years or so, I’ve been using products containing this powerful antioxidant, from my go-to Skinceuticals CE Ferulic Serum (£165) to my favourite The Body Shop Vitamin C Gel Moisturiser (£22). Its brightening effects on dull, tired skin have lasted through two pregnancies and postpartum (when my skin was severely damaged) and continue to do so afterwards. It’s also one of the first products I recommend when people ask me about their basic skincare routine and serums to improve the overall appearance of their skin.
We had to dig deeper to understand whether Vitamin C is truly in bad blood or if this is just a marketing tool, so we spoke to Hirons, who have chosen to launch a popular antioxidant serum as part of their skincare range, as well as consultant dermatologists Dr Emma Claythorne and Dr Anna Mansouri to find out the truth.
Experts featured in this article
Dr Emma Craythorne is a Consultant Dermatologist at Wanwelbeck Skin Health and Allergy. Dr Craythorne has clinical appointments as a Dermatologist and Laser Surgeon and Mohs Micrographic Surgeon at St Thomas’ Hospital NHS Trust and St John’s Institute of Dermatology at Guy’s. She leads the specialist skin cancer multidisciplinary team.
Dr Ana Mansouri is a multi-award winning Aesthetic Physician, Trainer, Key Opinion Leader, International Speaker, Specialist Media Advisor and Medical Director.
Caroline Hirons is a certified aesthetician, writer and, according to The Guardian, “queen of skin care.”
What is Vitamin C?
“Vitamin C is clinically proven to benefit the skin in many ways, including lightening pigmentation, preventing premature ageing, protecting the skin from UV damage, stimulating collagen and neutralising free radical damage,” Dr Ana Mansouri tells PS UK. “It also gives the skin a radiant glow.” As well as improving the appearance of skin, Dr Emma Claythorne explains how Vitamin C also has a positive effect on the deeper layers of skin and its chemical structure.
“Vitamin C is an extremely powerful antioxidant that has been proven to be effective in regenerating other antioxidants in the body, including vitamin E,” explains consultant dermatologist Dr Emma Claythorne. “When used topically, it can act as an antioxidant to reduce the appearance of skin ageing, as well as improving collagen synthesis and regulating pigmentation,” she adds.
What should you consider when using Vitamin C?
“Vitamin C works best when applied as a diluted serum, but it is a very delicate and unstable molecule,” warns Dr Mansouri. “It needs specific properties to penetrate effectively and work in the deeper layers of the skin to have the desired effect.” He also warns that it may not work for all skin types. “Vitamin C can be irritating to the skin, especially if you have sensitive skin,” says Dr Mansouri.
It’s for this reason that Hirons decided to forego this popular ingredient when developing his new Skin Rocks serum. “Vitamin C has long been lauded for its antioxidant properties, but that’s only one piece of the puzzle,” Hirons tells PS UK. “One of the main concerns with traditional vitamin C in skincare is its stability. Vitamin C, particularly in its pure form (ascorbic acid), is unstable and prone to oxidation, which can diminish its effectiveness.”
According to Hirons, this oxidation reduces the efficacy of vitamin C. “Oxidation of vitamin C is a chemical reaction in which vitamin C loses electrons when exposed to oxygen,” she told PS UK. “This process changes the structure of vitamin C, potentially reducing its efficacy and making it less effective on the skin.”
Vitamin C is an “unstable” ingredient in skin care products, meaning it can easily break down or lose its effectiveness when exposed to certain conditions. “This could be because too much air can cause ‘oxidation’, light can reduce its potency, and heat,” she told PS UK. “Vitamin C is one of those tricky ingredients to formulate, so it needs to be carefully formulated and packaged to protect it.”
For this reason, dermatologists like Dr. Mansouri and Dr. Claythorne recommend that if you want to see results from using vitamin C, you should only consider products from reputable, premium brands. “As a clinician, I recommend SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic. It contains vitamin C and additional antioxidants, such as vitamin E, which work synergistically to provide extra antioxidant protection. It also contains ferulic acid to stabilize the high dose of vitamin C.”
Who could benefit from switching to a Vitamin C alternative?
If this debate has intrigued you and you think a standard antioxidant formula would work better for you than taking the risk with a cheap vitamin C serum (which may do little to benefit your skin and may degrade over time), it might be worth considering an alternative such as Skin Rocks The Antioxidant (£70). Hirons believes many people could benefit from making the switch, particularly those living in urban areas where their skin is affected by everyday environmental factors such as pollution and anti-ageing concerns. It might also be worth considering if you find vitamin C irritating to your skin.
This power serum is packed with powerful ingredients that provide broad-spectrum protection against environmental stressors. “The advanced antioxidant formula combines highly stable, easily absorbed vitamin C, enhanced with acetyl zingerone,” Hirons says. “Next-generation antioxidants along with acetyl tetrapeptide-2 and green tea extract enhance performance to provide the ultimate environmental protection. It also contains THDA (tetrahexyldecyl ascorbic acid), a precursor to vitamin C known for its stability and excellent affinity to the skin.”
But don’t worry if you can’t quit vitamin C right away: “Many antioxidant serums contain vitamin C and other antioxidants to fortify the formula,” she explains. “If your skin is already used to vitamin C, then you’ll be fine.”
Lauren Ezekiel is Deputy Editor at PS UK, writing about all things beauty and health. With a degree in journalism and 12 years’ experience as the beauty editor of a major Sunday supplement, Ezekiel is obsessed with skincare, hair and make-up and can often be found doling out advice to innocent bystanders. Ezekiel’s work has appeared in Grazia, OK, Health and Beauty, The Sun, ASDA, Dare and Metro.