Vitamin C is an important vitamin when it comes to skin care, we all know that. We see it everywhere in skin care, promoting it’s de-aging benefits. But did you know…

1) You need vitamin C to build collagen. Collagen is a protein. It can be found in the body’s ligaments and tendons. Collagen is also essential in the health of your skin. It is responsible for skin firmness, skin moisturization, skin suppleness, and the constant renewal of skin cells. The reason collagen is as helpful in ligaments and joints as it is for the skin, is because of how elastic it is. It allows flexibility as well as firmness. As we age, our body’s production of collagen decreases, which leads to visible aging. Keeping up your collagen is an important factor in a youthful appearance. A recent blog article, “Why Do We Need Collagen For Youthful Skin”, said, “If a collagen boost is what you are after, you need… products that contain vitamin C… These are agents that have been shown clinically to boost collagen production.”

2) Vitamin C is one of the few vitamins that your body cannot make all by itself, yet is one of the most essential to survival! Vitamin C affects the body’s antioxidant activity, collagen, cardiovascular system, and the immune system. It also plays a role in preventing disease. Due to the fact that our body cannot store vitamin C, most of the time we have to get it out of what we eat. Vitamin C is especially important when it comes to skin because it can increase skin elasticity (through collagen), reduce skin discoloration, and can increase skin’s luminosity.

3) Oral consumption doesn’t cut it. You have to apply it topically. Some people think that the best way to get vitamin C to improve their skin is by taking an oral supplement. This has been found to be good for maintaining overall health but it’s not as effective at increasing the skin’s concentration of vitamin C. The best way to replenish the skin’s concentration is to go directly to the source and apply vitamin C topically. Life Extension Magazine put out in article, “Revitalize Aging Skin with Topical Vitamin C”, that confirmed that applying vitamin C to the skin is 20 times more effective than oral ingestion! They said, “It is also known that once a topical antioxidant is absorbed into the skin, it cannot be washed or rubbed off. So, even after stopping application, significant amounts of vitamin C will remain in the skin for up to three days.” If you’re looking to improve your skin by application of vitamin C, then the best thing is to find a product that is rejuvenating with a high concentration of vitamin C.

4) Most skin care lines do not have a stable form of vitamin C. The stability of vitamin C in a product can be affected by exposures to air, heat, or light which slowly degrades it. Only a few companies, that I know of, have come up with a way to tackle this issue. Pevonia encapsulates their vitamin C in an enzyme to protect it. This ensures vitamin C absorption in your skin will occur.

5) It is not helpful for extremely sensitive skin types. Have you ever drank orange juice on an upset stomach? Kind of burns right? Well for irritated, sensitive skin, vitamin C can be a bad move.

Vitamin C is vital to the body and can do wonders for the skin! The things you need to remember are: your body can not make it or store it, most products do not have a stable form of it, extremely sensitive skin types need to take it orally instead of topically, and you need Vitamin C to help you build collagen.

Use vitamin C to look younger, radiant and more beautiful than ever!

Love, Gen