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Vitamin C for stopping a cold? Science says no. But vitamin C for skin? Science says yes—hell yes. The best vitamin C serums and products help protect skin cells against all the garbage that makes you look less like your youthful self: pollution, UV rays, chemicals, and the like. Beyond playing defense, vitamin C also reduces melanin production, which subtly, but visibly, “brightens” your skin, particularly by lightening unwanted discoloration or dark spots. And—and!—the wonder ingredient reduces lines, wrinkles, and other signs of aging. Teamed up with a facial oil (particularly with niacinamide, hyaluronic acid, or squalane), a vitamin C-laced product will have you looking and feeling like a radiant baby.
While pure vitamin C is an acid that can cause skin irritation, particularly for sensitive skin types, there aren’t many dangers to using vitamin C-focused skincare products—but there is a catch. Vitamin C is like produce: you want the freshest you can get. The antioxidant breaks down too quickly to sit on drugstore shelves or in warehouses for very long, which has pushed manufacturers to invent new ways to get you your vitamin C fix. You’ll find lockbox-like containers, special formulations, and two-part products that require DIY mixing. You’ll also find that the best vitamin C serums and skincare products can get expensive—and periodically, go out of stock.
In testing and finalizing our favorites for the best vitamin C serums, we only chose brands that we know ensure the freshness of their products. We’d suggest ordering directly from the manufacturers to guarantee you’re getting a bottle right off the assembly line, but we’ve also included buy buttons for places like Nordstrom’s and Amazon in case you’re impatient.
Read on for more information about how best to work vitamin C into your own skincare situation, including its benefits and our picks for the best vitamin C serums and products.
What Vitamin C Brings to Your Skin
So much good from one little letter!
1. More supple skin
Vitamin C helps boost your skin’s production of collagen and elastin, which are (respectively) the proteins and fibers that keep skin tight. You can think of your skin as one big collagen bed, and elastin as the fibers that hold it together, allow it to stretch, and maintain your skin’s elasticity. This can also lead to improving fine lines and acne scars.
2. A more even complexion
Vitamin C loves to shut down excess melanin production, which both brightens your skin tone on the whole, and lightens those annoying, persistent dark spots that can come from hyperpigmentation or sun damage . (Please, sunscreen yourself, even if it’s just in your moisturizer!)
3. Relief for acne-prone skin
While vitamin C won’t do much to prevent breakouts, its skin-protecting powers do help diminish redness and irritation. Obviously, check with your own board-certified dermatologist to make sure using a vitamin C serum makes sense with however you’re treating acne.
4. Fewer free radicals
Free radicals are jerks. Okay, fine, they’re technically damage-causing chemicals that literally get under your skin, brought on by everything from pollution to UVA and UVB rays, potentially causing spots, wrinkles, dry skin and worse. As an antioxidant, vitamin C essentially neutralizes free radical damage, making sure your skin stays as healthy as it can and allowing it to gleefully absorb all the great hydrating skincare products you’ll put on after.
How to Find the Best Vitamin C Products
Because vitamin C, like a banana, seemingly wants to go bad, anyone buying a topical skincare product starring the antioxidant should know how to get the freshest, most effective version. There are exceptions to these rules—some brands have used mad science to develop vitamin C formulas that can defy one or two of them. But if you want to be sure you’re getting that vitamin C goodness, and not just expensive face oil, here’s what to look out for.
An airtight, opaque container: Vitamin c oxidizes (read: loses its potency) in air, so avoid finger-scooped creams or pipette-dropped face serums. We particularly like—and selected, below—powder-based products that you mix at home, or products that you activate as you use them.
Look for ferulic acid and vitamin E: These two ingredients help stabilize Vitamin C when they’re added into a product’s formula. Some truly top-shelf pipette-dropped serums will pack in ferulic acid and vitamin E as active ingredients to keep the potency powerful—but you should still do quick applications! (One note: vitamin E can block pores for anyone with oily skin.)
Buy direct through the maker: Since it’s hard to know how long a product has been in the warehouse, your best bet is to buy direct from a skincare brand in order to get the freshest vitamin C possible.
Use the product within 2-3 months: Unless you get one of the products you activate before each use, the moment you pop the top, the clock starts. Using the product within 2-3 months means you should get maximum vitamin C benefits before its potency wanes.
Don’t combine vitamin C with many other ingredients: Vitamin C isn’t entirely a diva, but it likes to have the spotlight. Maybe use it as the first product in your morning regimen, and let it absorb into the skin for a few minutes before you layer other serums, creams, or SPFs over top. Chemical exfoliants (like salicylic acid, lactic acid, and glycolic acid) will neutralize vitamin C, as will retinol and benzoyl peroxide. Because most of those ingredients are better suited for nighttime use anyway, it’s smart to relegate Vitamin C to your morning regimen.
Store vitamin C products in a cool place: Fine, vitamin C is a full-blown Mariah Carey diva. We’re not saying you must stash your vitamin C skincare product in the fridge, but it’ll certainly protect the fragile antioxidant better than your steamed-up bathroom cabinet.
The Best Vitamin C Serums and Products
These are the vitamin C-centric products we trust the most for delivering the antioxidant’s incredible skin-fortifying and skin-brightening benefits. All come from top-tier, trusted brands that have developed packaging or formulations to keep the product fresh. Oh, and FYI to you skincare sleuths: if you go out scouting on your own, or start reading deep into the product listings, you’ll often see vitamin C listed on the label in its two most popular forms: “L-ascorbic acid” or “tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate.” There are a handful of other versions, but those tend to be the stars in the most reliable and stable formulas.
This essence is lightweight and absorbs quickly, and it has a stellar 4.8 stars out of 5 on Sephora, which has notoriously informed and vigilant customers. (Most other vitamin C products on the site linger in the 3-4 star range.) If you want a daily radiance booster, then put this stuff on after cleansing.
Drunk Elephant's outstanding serum arrives in two parts: One an activation serum, and the other a powder blend of the vitamin C. Simply combine them into the pump vessel, give it a thorough shake, et voila: fresh vitamin C serum.
Here is a product with a huge cult following, thanks to an effective formulation and inarguable results. A little squalane in the mix helps soothe sensitive skin.
This German-made kit is like a lab experiment. You get vials of powder "puffs" that you activate one day at a time with the accompanying serum, making sure the vitamin C is always at its most potent. Heads-up: it's constantly selling out, so keep your eyes peeled. (And maybe grab some extra refills.)
This pair of serums from Allies of Skin gives you some options. Both have a waterless base which prolongs their shelf life. The 20% formula focuses on short-term firming and brightening (which become long-term benefits with continued use). The higher-powered 35% version of the formula, only available in the U.S. and Canada, plumps skin somewhat, too (as well as providing all the brightening and toning of the 20% version).