I am looking for a budget vitamin c serum
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enjoys freebies · Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:07 pm Quote

Hi everyone, I am looking for an effective vitamin C serum. I have used Cellex C, IS Clinical and Skinceuticals, but all of these are very expensive in Europe. Are there any other options for me?

enjoys freebies · Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:47 pm Quote

Cellular Skin Rx C + Firming Serum 1 oz.is a wonderful serum. I note EDS stocks it for $38.00 US. For several years this product has a loyal following on EDS. It is much less expensive than many serums and stays stable for quite some time. If you do a search for this product you will find many threads discussing it.

enjoys freebies · Tue Apr 01, 2008 4:52 pm Quote

cellbone also offers Vit C serum for a lot less $$ than higher end companies do, with greater effectiveness. I actually used Cellular Skin RX for about a year; each bottle lasted me for 4 months and it stayed as true and fresh on the last day as the first day I opened it. I only recently switched to cellbone [see related thread in this forum] 23% Vit C serum because I wanted to boost up to a higher percentage.

HTH!

Athena

Tue Apr 01, 2008 5:18 pm Quote

If you order directly from PSF you can get a Vit C sample of .25 oz for $10.

enjoys freebies · Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:01 pm Quote

You can't get much cheaper and fresher than making your own. One tbsp of distilled water, one tbsp of glycerin, 1/4 tsp of vit C powder or crystals. How can you beat it?!! Doubt

enjoys freebies · Tue Apr 01, 2008 6:07 pm Quote

There was also a thread where someone just used a bit of sliced lemon, and squeezed the juice onto her face every day. Also pretty darn economical, if you're willing to go that route!

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 5:28 am Quote

Dianayvonne has some awesome serums under the $40: their triple C and Spintrap C&E are fantastic.

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:18 am Quote

ginnielizz wrote:

There was also a thread where someone just used a bit of sliced lemon, and squeezed the juice onto her face every day. Also pretty darn economical, if you're willing to go that route!

I'm not so convinced that lemon would be as beneficial as a Vit C serum, if only because we don't know how much we get with each dose. AT the very least, a DIY or professional product has measurable doses of ascorbic acid. I would also be concerned about the photostability of lemon juice on the face that gets exposed to so much sun.

I forgot to mention - Cellbone's 23% serum is only $31 USD, well within range of the budget minded considering it'll probably last 2-3 months.

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:38 am Quote

Cellular skin rx is cheaper and you can order from EDS.

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 8:16 am Quote

Lemon juice has far more citric acid than ascorbic acid in it. The percentage by volume of vitamin C is far below what has been shown to be clinically effective. I have no information on whether citric acid has any skin benefits, but I suspect that it may instead be an irritant.

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 10:19 am Quote

Cellular Skin Rx C + Firming Serum Wink

Thumb up!

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 1:34 pm Quote

mountaingirl wrote:

You can't get much cheaper and fresher than making your own. One tbsp of distilled water, one tbsp of glycerin, 1/4 tsp of vit C powder or crystals. How can you beat it?!! Doubt

I second that, I make mine too. Surprised

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 2:15 pm Quote

Nice to hear some of this feedback about cheaper C solutions! And I'm happy to hear some feedback about the lemon juice idea -- personally, I've never tried it, because when I used to use lemon juice to lighten my hair in high school, it would really sting my skin. I suspect the citric acid theory is right on.

I've been using and really enjoying PSF's Vitamin C serum, but I might try switching to one of these cheaper alternatives now that you've all brought them to my attention!

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 3:50 pm Quote

Does anyone know the % of the Cellular Vit C Serum? Thanks!! Also, anyone on this has luck in reducing fine lines? Thanks!! Smile

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 3:55 pm Quote

Wow, thank you so much for the great replies everyone. I am looking forward to reading up on these brands. It is good to see that there are some budget options available out there.

Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:50 pm Quote

Stardustdy wrote:

Does anyone know the % of the Cellular Vit C Serum? Thanks!! Also, anyone on this has luck in reducing fine lines? Thanks!! Smile

I've never used it but it says 12% Stabilized Vitamin C in the form of L-Ascorbic Acid in a glycol base on their website.

http://www.cellularskinrx.com/products_vitamincserum.html

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 8:36 pm Quote

Thanks havana8! So should a beginner use a 5% to start with or 12% should be fine?

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:06 pm Quote

I use Cellbone C23: http://cellbone.com/c23.htm
Usually I use it within 1.5 - 2 months. I like Cellbone products in general, and this one I use daily. I keep it in a dark drawer of a bathroom sink cabinet.

enjoys freebies · Wed Apr 02, 2008 9:11 pm Quote

mountaingirl wrote:

You can't get much cheaper and fresher than making your own. One tbsp of distilled water, one tbsp of glycerin, 1/4 tsp of vit C powder or crystals. How can you beat it?!! Doubt

This is a good suggestion. I remember reading somewhere that Zinc Sulfate is good to add to Vit C serums. I actually bought ingredients, but never got around of making my own serum.

enjoys freebies · Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:33 am Quote

Mpstat: Tell me about the Zinc sulfate. How much do you add? Is that for sun protection?

enjoys freebies · Thu Apr 03, 2008 6:08 am Quote

mountaingirl wrote:

Mpstat: Tell me about the Zinc sulfate. How much do you add? Is that for sun protection?

I read it on cellbone site:
http://cellbone.com/zincsulfatepowder.htm
Zinc Sulfate is a micro-ingredient that is indispensable to human life. It is of vital importance to increase your body resistance as a component of numerous enzymes.
Zinc Sulfate helps enhance the absorption of L-Ascorbic Acid onto skin.

I bought Zinc Sulfate powder from cellbone too. Cellbone C23 serum contains it, as well as Cellex-C, and some other Vit C serums.

enjoys freebies · Thu Apr 03, 2008 7:03 am Quote

I wonder if the Zinc Sulfate tablets you can buy in a bottle, like vitamins, would work as well? After all, the Vit. C crystals work. Smile

I see it online, for around $7 a bottle for 100. Of course it's in stores everywhere in the vitamin section.

Here's what it said about it:

Zinc Sulfate

This Zinc supplement uses Zinc Sulfate to supply your body with the zinc it needs. This zinc sulfate supplement is taken once daily, with a meal as a supplement. Each serving (one capsule) contains 220 mg of Zinc Sulfate and delivers your body 50 mg of elemental zinc. The zinc in zinc sulfate represents 23% of its mass, so 220mg of zinc sulfate has 50mg of zinc in it. 50mg of zinc is 333% of the recommended daily value.

Someone who knows their chemistry would probably know if this would be suitable to mix with the Vit C concoction.

enjoys freebies · Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:12 am Quote

I like cellbone's C23 and glycolic C and would reorder them. I've considered Diana Yvonne also - price looks great and it has good reveiws.

enjoys freebies · Thu Apr 03, 2008 9:55 am Quote

But where do you get vitamin c powder or crystal to make it???

mountaingirl wrote:

You can't get much cheaper and fresher than making your own. One tbsp of distilled water, one tbsp of glycerin, 1/4 tsp of vit C powder or crystals. How can you beat it?!! Doubt

enjoys freebies · Thu Apr 03, 2008 10:29 am Quote

jade-1234 wrote:

But where do you get vitamin c powder or crystal to make it???

GardenOfWisdom: http://www.gardenofwisdom.com/page/page/4040338.htm
SkinActives: http://skinactives.com/products/ascorbic_acid.htm

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