Anyone who’s anyone in the skincare industry will be known for their holy grail products—skincare products that they simply cannot live without. But before you discover your ride-or-die products, you need to find the right ingredients for your skin first. To get you started on the right path, here’s one of the most effective skincare ingredients in the market today: vitamin C.
What is vitamin C?
When you have a cold or flu, you eat food that’s rich in vitamin C to fight off the foreign bacteria in your body. This is because vitamin C or ascorbic acid is a natural antioxidant that is effective against viral infections and can neutralize free radicals. So, by taking vitamin C, you’re boosting your immune system.
In the same manner that vitamin C can help you get rid of the toxins inside your body, it can also assist you in removing the pollutants on your skin. Every time you go outside, your skin will be exposed to UV rays and air pollution, which can both lead to cell damage. Fortunately, vitamin C can help speed up the process of cell regeneration and reduce the damage you get from the sun.
What is it used for?
Vitamin C has many benefits on your skin, but it’s proven to help deal with discoloration, lightening acne marks, and speeding up collagen production. If you’re experiencing any of these skin problems, then it might bode well for you to consider using skincare products that contain vitamin C and other antioxidants.
1. Discoloration
Melanin is a natural pigment that gives color to your skin; this means that the darker your skin is, the more melanin you have in your body. It also helps protect the skin from UV rays’ harmful and damaging effects, so it’s not such a bad thing to have a lot of.
However, some skin cells produce too much melanin, which can lead to discoloration or hyperpigmentation. Luckily, it’s not impossible to reverse the effects of melanin if you used a product with vitamin C. This is because vitamin C has a property that can block the skin’s melanin production.
For instance, if you’re experiencing discoloration under your arms because of friction and overproduction of melanin, you can use a whitening underarm gel that contains vitamin C. You can also use other forms of topical vitamin C and apply it directly onto the discolored areas that you want to lighten.
2. Acne Marks
Managing acne can be a pain because it never really goes away. Of course, you can use the right skincare products to reduce your inflammations and keep your skin from breaking out. But if the main cause of your acne is genetic, then it would be nearly impossible to get rid of it, let alone cure it.
As mentioned, there are treatment options that you can use to manage your acne. The best way is to consult your dermatologist about what kind of skincare products will work best on your skin. You can also do your research to find products that you can use to manage acne.
But arguably, the hardest part of dealing with acne is all the marks it leaves behind. Once the inflammation has gone down, you’ll be left with dark spots and acne marks that can be difficult to get rid of. That’s why you should use spot treatments or serums that contain potent vitamin C.
3. Collagen Production
The skin can produce all the vitamins, minerals, and proteins that it needs to protect itself. However, what it can’t do is control the external factors that may affect its cell production, such as constant exposure to UV rays, pollution, eating habits, or personal hygiene, to name a few.
Skin cells can regenerate and repair themselves without your intervention, but because the environment in which you move is beyond the cells’ control, your activities can affect their production process. That’s why you need to use skincare products that return the lost nutrients to the skin, such as vitamin C.
Because vitamin C is highly acidic, it can cause the skin cells to heal themselves by producing more collagen and elastin, which are protein fibers that help the skin remain firm and plump. This means that you’ll be able to fight the early signs of aging on your skin because you’re helping the cells accelerate their collagen production.
Knowing your way around the usual skincare ingredients is important because not everything works in the same manner. If you’re hoping to solve one problem area without using the right ingredient that can help address it, then you won’t make any progress. So, before you go ahead and buy your skincare products, take the time to do your homework on their ingredient lists first.
