Vitamin C is currently on trend in the skincare world, but what does it actually do for your skin? 

What is vitamin C? 

Ascorbic acid — the pure form of vitamin C — is a natural antioxidant. Since humans do not produce vitamin C, they resort to ingesting it (through eating oranges for example!) and applying it topically with skin care products. 

Essentially what vitamin c does is protect your skin from free radicals (that can contribute to premature ageing) and sunburns. Free radicals are to blame for wrinkles, fine lines and dark spots so it's essential to up your vitamin C to avoid these. It also is great for brightening your skin as it increases collagen synthesis by stabilising collagen fibers and decreasing collagen degradation which reduces pigmentation as a result.

How do I add vitamin C to my routine? 

1. Add a Vitamin C serum 

The most effective way to add vitamin c to your routine is through a serum. These potent formulas contain high amounts of vitamins and get to work on your skin fast. If you use Hyaluronic acid serum in your routine, it should be used before your vitamin c. 

2. Pair with your SPF 

You know how we told you that using vitamin C can help protect your skin from free radicals? Well, as such, vitamin C pairs nicely with broad-spectrum sunscreen — which should already be part of your daily skin care routine, so it should be effortless to embed this step into your routine. 

Remember to store correctly! 

Keep your Vitamin C products somewhere dark (away from sunlight!) so they don't lose their potency.