Why You Should be Careful Which Vitamin C Products You Buy

Did you know vitamin C skincare products begin to expire the moment they are opened and exposed to air?

Vitamin C, also known by its scientific name of L-ascorbic acid, is a multipurpose skin enhancing antioxidant with a reputation in being one of the best free-radical fighting ingredients in skincare.

But despite its benefits, vitamin C can be very high maintenance, making it difficult to stabilise.

As soon as a vitamin C product is opened, it starts to oxidise slowly. The actives and the compounds inside the bottle begin to change as it’s already reacted to the oxygen outside, rendering this one magical ingredient useless without you ever knowing it.

It’s because of this, many vitamin C products expire the moment they are opened. And if not used within the first weeks of opening, with each passing day, the vitamin C component will begin to degrade bit by bit.

My favourite thing about vitamin C is how is reverses the signs of ageing and also functions as a barrier for your skin, shielding it from free radical damage due to environmental aggressors, like pollution and UV rays from the sun.

It’s also great for any skin type, including sensitive skin.

For example, If you have skin inflammation, severe acne, hives, actinic keratosis, rosacea, allergies, eczema, and measles, stay away from highly concentrated vitamin C products, as they may cause further irritation.

I would recommend that if someone has sensitised skin conditions or any other major skin concern, it is best to patch test the product for 24 hours. If no problem occurs, start using the product once a week, every second day, then increase usage slowly until their skin gets used to the product and you can use daily.

I spoke with Carmen Le, founder of Efani Co. Skincare, an Australian skincare brand whose ethos is based around skin solutions backed by science with years of research on natural skincare, on the effectiveness of vitamin C and how it can save your skin.

Can you explain a little about how vitamin C expires?

“Sure. So, in a closed bottle it could be stable for up to three years. However, once opened, the potency of the vitamin C could last for a maximum of six months. And this goes for most vitamin C beauty products.

That is where vitamin E comes in. With a proper formulation, Tocopherol (vitamin E) helps boost the stability of Vitamin C without losing its effectiveness. It also increases the skin brightening effect of vitamin C and provides very powerful antioxidant protection.  

The science behind it all states research combining 15% L-Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) And 1% Α-Tocopherol (vitamin E) shows that application during four days provided progressive results that yielded a four fold enhancement in antioxidant protection”, Carmen explains.

However, there are ways of looking out for the best types of vitamin C products.

“Our vitamin C serum has twenty percent concentration of vitamin C and its pH is low, the skin penetration speed is much faster compared to other Vitamin C products but it creates a slight stinging sensation. It does not affect the product’s potency and effectiveness though and it would only go down to the skin tolerance of each user of the product.

When it comes to potency. It’s hard to formulate with L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C) due to its instability nature, that’s why some companies tend to settle on Vitamin C derivatives. But with the right formulation there are many products with a highly stable and effective vitamin C component.

Check out some of our relatively stable formulas below.