Vitamin C serum - concentration and ingredients
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skincare Tools & Do-It-Yourself Skincare

free skin care · Mon Mar 28, 2011 3:05 am

I cannot find l-ascorbic powder or crystal in my hometown so that I just DIY my C serum by dissolving 3 Vit C tablets (500mg of ascorbic C each) into 30ml of distiller water followed by a drop of E oil. My questions are :
1) Can I use C tablet instead of C crystal or powder ? I once read of a C mask recipe which uses Rexadon - the orange drink once melted in water.
2) What is the concentration level of my mixture ?

THZ.. Surprised

free skin care · Mon Mar 28, 2011 5:03 am

No, you can't use food grade, you must use cosmetic grade ascorbic acid. Especially not tablet as they have fillers.

free skin care · Mon Mar 28, 2011 6:43 am

you can order it online at skinactives.com

Sat Apr 02, 2011 1:34 pm

I use NOW LAA vit c crystals. I tried a simple recipe with just water and I think I may be missing an ingredient because after application, it left sort of a white-ish cast on my face.

free skin care · Sat Apr 02, 2011 2:43 pm

^ I use laa vit c crystals diluted in green tea or water and sometimes other ingredients and have never experienced any white cast - and my skin is dark so I'd see it!

Does anyone else get a white cast with their vit c?

I'm wondering whether yours contains fillers.

Sat Apr 02, 2011 2:58 pm

LoriA wrote:

^ I use laa vit c crystals diluted in green tea or water and sometimes other ingredients and have never experienced any white cast - and my skin is dark so I'd see it!

Does anyone else get a white cast with their vit c?

I'm wondering whether yours contains fillers.

Hi LoriA,

Mine doesn't contain fillers or any preservatives. It's food grade and 100% vegetarian/vegan. Maybe I added too much of the crystals and not enough water? I was thinking of adding vegetable glycerin as the third ingredient. What do you think? Once I get the proper formula for my skin, I will start adding actives like ferulic and other antioxidants.

Sat Apr 02, 2011 4:20 pm

LoriA,

I just made another batch and this time I nailed it. The first time I didn't add enough water to dissolve the crystals. Now I have to figure out what actives and anti-ox I want to add Very Happy

free skin care · Mon Apr 04, 2011 12:11 am

Quote:

I cannot find l-ascorbic powder or crystal in my hometown so that I just DIY my C serum by dissolving 3 Vit C tablets (500mg of ascorbic C each) into 30ml of distiller water followed by a drop of E oil. My questions are :
1) Can I use C tablet instead of C crystal or powder ? I once read of a C mask recipe which uses Rexadon - the orange drink once melted in water.
2) What is the concentration level of my mixture ?

1. Not a good plan.
2. 1.5 grams of C[ with fillers] in 30 mls....you need about 4.5 grams LAA to get a 15% in 30 mls.

You can save yourself a great deal of grief, pain and guesstimating by purchasing a jewelers scale. Something that will measure to 0.01grams...because once you start with DIY it's pretty addicting.

Take a look at Kassy_A DIY CE and F serum. It's an excellent place to start.

One thing to note, not all LAA are the same, different grinds, will give different volumes and that tends to chuck any sort of vague accuracy out the window.

For a 15% of 30 ml volume, serum no matter what else you put in there. For the backbone of it, The LAA will require 4.5 grams, the Ferulic Acid 0.15 grams and the vitamin E 0.3 grams.

Don't know about you....but I am pretty crappy at eyeballing those measurements.

free skin care · Mon Apr 04, 2011 9:10 am

Hi nucleus, I'm glad you sorted it out. I'm no expert here so can't be of much help, but I recall reading that people do use glycerin with it. As you can see though, there are several others here who can give very knowledgeable advice!

If you have the patience, also try skimming the vit c serum diy'ers thread for ideas. Its only 59 pages. Bad Grin

Sat Feb 23, 2013 12:03 pm

I just love this thread...High five to all of you for being so smart about your skin care:

Here is a summary of all this Vitamin C hype--

TA--Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate
AP--Ascorbyl Palmitate
MAP--Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate
LAA--L Ascorbic acid
AAP--Aminopropyl Ascorbyl Phosphate

Solubility: LAA and MAP are water soluble while TA,AP and AAP are lipid soluble

Stability(shelf-life): LAA<AP=MAP<AAP<TA

Potency to induce collagen as opposed to only melanin production inhibition: TA>AAP>AP>MAP> LAA

Irritability index: LAA>MAP=AP>AAP=TA

Absorbability: Water soluble more quickly than lipid soluble but lipid soluble stay longer in skin and penetrate deeper.

Ideal concentration required to be topically effective: TA(7%),AAP(3-5%),AP(1-2%),MAP(10%), LAA(10-20%)

SAP(Sodium Ascorbyl Phoshate): water soluble, max concentration used on skin 5%, not very well studied yet.

Ester C is calcium Ascorbate (used in oral supplements) while C ester is Ascorbyl Palmitate (used in cosmetics)

Best usage of Vit C is when mixed with Vit E and Ferulic acid(derived from Rice bran Oil). For acne prone skin, use a few drops of Tea Tree Oil in the cocktail. People with oily skin should use oils with caution as it can clog pores. It is said that Jojoba oil, borage oil and vitamin E oil are very low on comedogenicity score.

free skin care · Mon Mar 11, 2013 3:36 pm

CLxx wrote:

I cannot find l-ascorbic powder or crystal in my hometown so that I just DIY my C serum by dissolving 3 Vit C tablets (500mg of ascorbic C each) into 30ml of distiller water followed by a drop of E oil. My questions are :
1) Can I use C tablet instead of C crystal or powder ? I once read of a C mask recipe which uses Rexadon - the orange drink once melted in water.
2) What is the concentration level of my mixture ?

THZ.. Surprised

Lotion crafters has the ultra fine LLA which is what I use. I have heard of people using vit C pills; but you shouldn't. They contain fillers like gelatin. Furthermore, there formulated to digest in the body not to penetrate the skin. That being said, its pretty possible that the product would not be effective.

free skin care · Sat Mar 23, 2013 2:15 pm

Good post which I really need after I ask questions about vc serum. However, it is just still nobody tell me whether I can use it in daytime? I am just wondering whether I need use sunscreen if I use vc serum in daytime? Confused

free skin care · Sat Mar 23, 2013 5:19 pm

angeladayspa wrote:

Good post which I really need after I ask questions about vc serum. However, it is just still nobody tell me whether I can use it in daytime? I am just wondering whether I need use sunscreen if I use vc serum in daytime? Confused

Yes, you can use vit c serums in the daytime. And yes, you still need sunscreen. Vit c serums do not replace sunscreen. Just apply the sunscreen over the vitamin c serum, it's usually best to wait about 15-20 minutes before applying sunscreen.

free skin care · Sun Mar 24, 2013 10:39 am

ShastaGirl wrote:

angeladayspa wrote:

Good post which I really need after I ask questions about vc serum. However, it is just still nobody tell me whether I can use it in daytime? I am just wondering whether I need use sunscreen if I use vc serum in daytime? Confused

Yes, you can use vit c serums in the daytime. And yes, you still need sunscreen. Vit c serums do not replace sunscreen. Just apply the sunscreen over the vitamin c serum, it's usually best to wait about 15-20 minutes before applying sunscreen.

Thanks Shasta!
Does that mean if without sunscreen,my face will easily get yellow...thanks

free skin care · Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:36 pm

angeladayspa wrote:

ShastaGirl wrote:

angeladayspa wrote:

Good post which I really need after I ask questions about vc serum. However, it is just still nobody tell me whether I can use it in daytime? I am just wondering whether I need use sunscreen if I use vc serum in daytime? Confused

Yes, you can use vit c serums in the daytime. And yes, you still need sunscreen. Vit c serums do not replace sunscreen. Just apply the sunscreen over the vitamin c serum, it's usually best to wait about 15-20 minutes before applying sunscreen.

Thanks Shasta!
Does that mean if without sunscreen,my face will easily get yellow...thanks

I've used many types of vit c serum both DIY and ready-made. They have never turned my skin yellow.

Without sunscreen, you could get sunburned, tan or develop freckles, depending on your skin type.

free skin care · Sun Mar 24, 2013 3:43 pm

ShastaGirl wrote:

angeladayspa wrote:

ShastaGirl wrote:

angeladayspa wrote:

Good post which I really need after I ask questions about vc serum. However, it is just still nobody tell me whether I can use it in daytime? I am just wondering whether I need use sunscreen if I use vc serum in daytime? Confused

Yes, you can use vit c serums in the daytime. And yes, you still need sunscreen. Vit c serums do not replace sunscreen. Just apply the sunscreen over the vitamin c serum, it's usually best to wait about 15-20 minutes before applying sunscreen.

Thanks Shasta!
Does that mean if without sunscreen,my face will easily get yellow...thanks

I've used many types of vit c serum both DIY and ready-made. They have never turned my skin yellow.

Without sunscreen, you could get sunburned, tan or develop freckles, depending on your skin type.

Thanks Shasta! Excellent explanation for me! I would use sunscreen even I just go for work.

Mon Mar 25, 2013 11:33 am

Hi all,

I just made a batch of Dr. Kassy's 1oz C,E, Ferulic 15% and have a few questions.

The ingredients:
- 2 glass shot glasses
- 1oz cobalt or amber dropper or pump bottle
- 1 tsp L-Ascorbic Acid
- 1/4 tsp (1 ml) Vitamin E (equals 1%)
- .5% of Ferulic Acid (1 good pinch)
- 2 tsp SKB (Sea Kelp Bioferment)
- 3 + 1/2 tsp of distilled water
- 1/2 tsp of vodka (don't laugh, you need it to dissolve the FA so it's not gritty, and it also keeps the ph low enough!)

I followed the directions meticulously and found a 2.0 PH. Is this too low? My face doesn't really burn. The only thing that may be off is the "pinch" of Ferulic acid.. could you tell me if it would be ok to use 1/4 tsp?

My skin also felt a little tight, and slightly sticky (like aloe gel)for about 1/2 hour. Is that a problem if it doesn't bother me? How can I raise the PH if it starts to burn?

I should also let you know that I only had a bottle of purified water, and it contains some calcium chloride and sodium bicarbonate. Should I get distilled? Are these minerals a problem?

I really appreciate any advise you can offer!

Thanks,
Laura

Wed Apr 24, 2013 7:58 pm

Hello all!!
I bought Vitamin C powder at 'The Fruitful Yield' (a health food store in Chicago) but I'm sure you could find the 'NOW' Brand vitamins at a local drug store or GOOGLE it online! **NOW is the brand of Vit.C powder I use, along with NOW brand Vitamin E Capusles when I use them.
I found the powder to be of good quality and the price is RIGHT ($11 and some change!)
I also use glycerine in my Vit C serum and sometimes I'll add Vitamin E from the capsule to it..
I hope this helps someone!

Sat Dec 06, 2014 8:46 pm

Hi! About a Vitamin C Recipe- if you go to the dermarolling site (I cannot refer to a webpage according to EDS rules) where Sarah Vaughter has a recipe on page 17 under "dermarolling instructions." She explains why regular vitamin C is useless in a oil based carrier. However, Ester Vitamin C (vitamin C joined together by a chemical bond with a fatty acid from palm oil) is oil soluble and absorbs easily into the skin. (from what I remember in esty school).

The biggest obstacle to penetration of any product is:

1. The stratum corneum ( the top layer of the epidermis) Its job is to be an active barrier. Removal of the stratum corneum by laser, chemical, or mechanical methods enhances absorption. (Perhaps a scrub with Clarisonic).
2. The Acid mantle of the skin, pH wise.

Absorption of anything through the epidermis depends on the size of the molecule, the pH of the product and the carrier- oil or water plus the above mentioned skin situations.

Sun Dec 07, 2014 11:14 am

Sparrow1956 wrote:

Hi! About a Vitamin C Recipe- if you go to the dermarolling site (I cannot refer to a webpage according to EDS rules) where Sarah Vaughter has a recipe on page 17 under "dermarolling instructions." She explains why regular vitamin C is useless in a oil based carrier. However, Ester Vitamin C (vitamin C joined together by a chemical bond with a fatty acid from palm oil) is oil soluble and absorbs easily into the skin. (from what I remember in esty school).

Hi Sparrow1956, Just an FYI that you should be able to post links once you reach 10 posts. HTHs and welcome to the forum. Smile

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