Why You Should Add Vitamin C To Your Skincare Routine
Vitamin C has become a popular buzz word in skin care and grooming, but what does it do, and does it really work?
You will be familiar with vitamin C in your daily diet, and might be taking vitamin C supplements, but do you use it in your skin care and grooming routine?
Vitamin C is the most recent ‘buzz‘ word in grooming products and so this can be seen as a bit of a fad. Saying that, we have tried some vitamin C products and have truly seen just how effective it can be.
What Is Vitamin C?
Vitamin C is an essential nutrient that we all need to keep us healthy. It was discovered in 1912 and is one of the first chemically produced vitamins.
We can’t store vitamin C in our bodies, so we need to introduce it into our diets through fruit and vegetables (oranges, strawberries, blackcurrants, broccoli and potatoes), and also through supplements such as vitamin tablets.
The health benefits of vitamin C are being continually researched, but it has been stated that it:
- helps to protect cells.
- boosts immunity.
- aids with the healing of wounds.
- keeps blood vessels, bones, and cartilage healthy.
It can also improve the health of your skin and hair.
What Is Vitamin C Good For?
Vitamin C is an antioxidant, which means it prevents the oxidation of cells and production of free radicals. Free radicals can produce unwanted chemical reactions which damage cells.
In skin care one of the key benefits of vitamin C is that it protects skin cells from damage. It also helps with the rejuvenation and regeneration of skin cells. This in-turn keeps the skin looking youthful and healthy.
In the regeneration process, vitamin C encourages the production of collagen and elastin which keeps skin plumped up and tight, which we all want to maintain as we get older!
The other benefits of vitamin C in skin care are:
- evens out skin tone.
- prevents fine lines and improves the appearance of wrinkles.
- dissolves acne scars.
- protects skin from pollution.
- brightens skin.
- improves texture of skin.
- prevents dark spots and discolouration (due to preventing melanin production).
Trying Vitamin C For The First Time?
We have a few top tips for those of you who are new to trying out vitamin C products in your skin care routine.
- Use a low dosage product, and work your way up. Vitamin C can be potent and you need to see how your skin reacts.
- Use a vitamin C serum – this will be more potent than a cream and will penetrate the skin more easily and effectively.
- Check the ingredients. You will need to make sure it states ascorbic acid as a key ingredient as this is the most stable form of vitamin C.
- The properties of vitamin C are quite fragile, so the effectiveness of each product will vary. If a skin care product includes vitamin E, this will help to stabilise the vitamin C, and therefore last longer.
- Keep an eye out for dark bottles – this protects vitamin C from breaking down in direct sunlight.
Vitamin C Products To Try
Vitamin C In Hair Care
Just as it does in skin care, vitamin C also helps protect the hair from the damage of free radicals, produced by pollution and UV rays. Free radicals have been known to stop hair from growing.
Collagen is just as an important protein in hair, as it is in our skin. The amino acids in collagen help to build hair proteins; keeping the hair and the skin at the roots healthy and strong. Vitamin C helps to produce this collagen, so it’s extremely important within hair care.
Maintaining the levels of iron in our hair is also extremely important. A lack, or deficiency, of iron can lead to dramatic hair loss and also prevent the growth stage of hairs. Vitamin C helps with the absorption of iron (particularly non-heme iron, which is found in plant foods) which therefore helps to keep hair healthy.
Our body sees our hair as a ‘non-essential tissue‘, so nutrients are often diverted and sent to other areas of the body that might be lacking in vitamins. By using a vitamin C product, this will certainly help supplement any loss in the hair.
We recommend trying The Inkey List Vitamin C Brightening Hair Treatment.
