What’s The Tea On Vitamin C

By Shammi Mondal 

We know you’ve been flooded with countless vitamin C posts on social media, and you’re probably wondering if it’s worth the hype. Trust us, when it comes to giving your skin a healthy, radiant glow without too much effort, vitamin C is your buddy who understands the assignment. We asked dermatologist Dr Jaishree Sharad for her tips on using this multi-tasking, no-nonsense ingredient.

Know Your Basics 

Vitamin C is a strong antioxidant, this means it protects your skin cells from UVA and UVB rays, further reducing sun damage. 
Dr Jaishree says, “Vitamin C prevents melanogenesis (the formation of the pigment melanin), so naturally it also reduces hyperpigmentation.” This makes your skin tone more even. It also takes care of ageing skin as it helps in producing collagen, a protein that gives our skin its elasticity, which reduces as we age. Basically, vitamin C helps in making your skin smoother, brighter, and plump. 

Can you use vitamin C? 

Yes, vitamin C works on almost all skin types. “Ideally everyone from the age of 18 and upwards can safely use a vitamin C product. But in case it causes break outs, you must stop immediately,” adds Dr Jaishree. 

How to get started? 

Choose a vitamin C serum, moisturiser, or powder that you can mix in with your moisturiser. “The most powerful form of vitamin C is L-ascorbic acid, however due to its unstable nature [it is highly sensitive to air and light], it must be stored in a cool and dark place,” says Dr Jaishree. But formulations like magnesium ascorbate or tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate are more stable and can be used even during the day when topped with a sunscreen.

Some good practices 

We want you to get the most out of your vitamin C serum, so make sure you use a sunscreen every time you apply it.  As such, it does not make your skin vulnerable to the sun, but its more potent forms are sensitive to light, exactly why a broad-spectrum sunscreen is needed. 
Remember, vitamin C is a very powerful stand-alone ingredient, so mixing it with another active should only be done under the supervision of your dermatologist. “Avoid using a retinol or an AHA, BHA or any other active along with vitamin C. However, you can use them separately on alternate days,” says Dr Jaishree.