
“Vitamin C is likely one of the few energetic substances that may profit all pores and skin sorts,” says Elizabeth Tanzi, M.D., board-certified dermatologist within the Washington, D.C., metro space and affiliate professor of dermatology at George Washington College Medical Middle.
In the case of searching for a vitamin C serum, you’ll be met with a plethora of choices, together with a variety of potencies. These on the upper finish could also be labeled as “simpler,” however that’s not at all times the case.
There are a lot of completely different types of vitamin C utilized in these merchandise, with L-ascorbic acid being probably the most potent but additionally probably the most unstable. So in the event you put two and two collectively, a vitamin C serum with a excessive focus of L-ascorbic acid would possibly put you in danger for irritation.
As aesthetic doctor Dr. Barbara Sturm, founding father of her namesake line, just lately defined on the Clear Magnificence College podcast, this rule doesn’t apply to dietary supplements: “Vitamin C is a very nice ingredient. As a complement, in the event you do a excessive dosage, it will not harm you. It is wonderful and good for our immune system,” she says.
“On our pores and skin, nonetheless, a excessive dosage [can] destroy your pores and skin barrier,” Sturm says, which can visually manifest as redness, irritation, and heightened sensitivity. “A excessive dosage of L-ascorbic acid bombarding your floor of the pores and skin shouldn’t be a good suggestion,” she provides (most notably when you’ve got simply infected pores and skin).
So in the event you beforehand subscribed to a extra is extra philosophy with vitamin C, now the dangers. If vitamin C tends to interrupt you out or trigger sensitivity, go for gentler variations or decrease concentrations—listed below are a number of of our favourite vitamin C serums to buy.
Or, in the event you’d fairly go for ingestibles that may profit your full physique (pores and skin included), attain for a vitamin C complement. L-ascorbic acid typically doesn’t have the identical tolerability points in dietary supplements. Actually, high-potency vitamin C dietary supplements are sometimes even higher, opposite to topical merchandise. Simply be sure to select a system with a high-quality dose, supply, and bioactive type.
Unsure the place to search out such high-potency formulation? Right here’s our curated checklist of the very best ones available on the market proper now to offer you a head begin.

