Vitamin C Reccomendations
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free skin care · Tue Oct 18, 2005 6:11 pm

I thought I might try a vitamin c serum and was looking for some recs. for good ones.Anything light that wont clog pores.
Has anyone tried any that are available on EDS?
Thanks Very Happy

free skin care · Tue Oct 18, 2005 6:30 pm

Hello,
There are many vit-c serums that were reviewd on EDS. Some are better for certain skin type. What is your skin like? This way me and others may be able to provide a suitable recommendation.
Smile

free skin care · Tue Oct 18, 2005 8:37 pm

Most popular here in no particular order:
Vivier
Skinceuticals
Cellular Skin Rx
JB C&C
PSF C

Look for l-ascorbic acid as the C ingredient (most effective form of C), at least a 10% concentration, preferably no water in the formula to prevent oxidation of the C, packaged in a dark colored bottle to protect the C from light.

Personally, I use the Cellular Skin Rx C Firming serum. 12% concentration, no water in an amber glass bottle. It works well and is not expensive. ($3 Cool

free skin care · Tue Oct 18, 2005 11:08 pm

My skins a little bit oily,nothing major though just a slight oiliness with blackheads,the occasional spot.
I've tried skinceuticals vitamin c cream,was waaay to thick and heavy.

free skin care · Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:06 am

hello,
JB C&C is great for combo skin. Its a gel like texture that you can smooth on the skin really easily.
I remember other ladies had great reviews for PSF C for combo skin too.
I hope this helps
Smile

free skin care · Wed Oct 19, 2005 12:33 am

Excuse my ignorance but what does JB and PSF stand for?What brands are they? Very Happy

Thanks

free skin care · Wed Oct 19, 2005 2:46 am

I recommend PSF (Pure Skin Formulations) Emergen-C Serum - great for combination slightly oily/slightly dry which is what my skin is like. I love it!

Wed Oct 19, 2005 3:54 am

carolb69 wrote:

Excuse my ignorance but what does JB and PSF stand for?What brands are they? Very Happy

Thanks

And JB stands for Janson Beckett (Alphaderma).

I find the Cellex-C and Skinceuticals serums in general the most runny and drying so I tend to recommend those for people with oilier skins, though I just recently finished Cellex-C myself and I must say that my skin kinda got used to the drying feeling. There is no hard fast rule, but I have found some serums too oily feeling for my skin - so really we're looking at personal preference. PSF is a good option, Vivier is also a very good serum and the JB C&C as well.

Wed Oct 19, 2005 6:36 am

I use the home-made diy vitamin c serum that was posted on the forum by CareKate. Check out the thread - DIY skincare receipes. It works for me so in case you're interested:

Homemade Vitamin C Serum:

• 1/4 teaspoon of Lysorbic Acid (Vit-C) powder or crysals
• 5 ml distilled water
• 5 ml of propylene glycol (glycerin can be used instead, but I'd only recommend it for those with dry skin!)
• small amber or dark blue glass bottle

Put all of the ingredients in the little blue or amber bottle (need to wash it out thoroughly each time before mixing a new batch), replace cap/lid, and shake vigorously then let sit for a couple of hours, coming back to shake the bottle again every hour or so because it can take a little while for the Vit-C to solubulize.

If you really want to make your Vit-C serum with glycerin, you can usually find small bottles of it in the first-aid section of most pharmacies or supermarkets. Personally, I prefer using the propylene glycol – the consistency of my serum turned out even *better* than the CSRx version!!! When I made the serum using glycerin instead of PG, I found it to be too “greasy” for my liking (remember, I have hyper-oily skin!) and it caused me to have to blot my face even more often than usual, but this new batch has left me having to blot LESS often that usual, so I definitely think I’ve got a winner here!!

FYI - I ordered my propylene glycol from this website: http://www.thepersonalformulator.com/ and this is the link to the brand of Vit-C crystals that I bought at my local Whole Foods: http://amos.shop.com/cc.amos?main=catalog&prd=18010344&_x_=SouthNatural-NUTRICOLOGY-PURE-VITAMIN-C-ASCORBIC-POWDER-120-GM&ccsyn=260&pcd=11927518&ccsid=372971285-18619&_ccn_test=1.

Please note: You have to be careful when buying Vit-C though, because there's a 100 different types: unbuffered, Vit-C crystals with additional additives, Vit-C crystals that are sugared and flavored that you mix with water into a drink...basically you just need to read the label to be sure it's 100% pure lysorbic acid with no additional ingredients. They also have the Vit-C in powdered form, but apparently the crystals are more "soluable."

Thu Oct 20, 2005 10:53 am

I didn't want to open a new topic as there are already so many of them about Vitamin C serum so I'll use this one.

I need an opinion. What do you think of the ingredients of Natural's Wealth Double C Serum.
The serum is the same orange color as this scan and provides nothing but a burning sensation on the skin.

free skin care · Thu Oct 20, 2005 6:34 pm

Burning?? or tingling? The latter is fine, but I would not use a Vit C serum that burned. Vit C is also way down on the list. I think there are better C serums out there. tbh. Smile

free skin care · Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:38 pm

Is the homemade one meant to be as good as Vitamin c serums you can buy?Would it be as effective do you think? Very Happy

free skin care · Sat Oct 22, 2005 5:53 am

Hi Carol,

I have used a commercial vitamin C serum which seemed to do nothing for my skin.

I currently use the home crafted Vitamin C serum and I can see the difference in my skin already.

I like knowing exactly what's in my serum too,

Just my two cents.

Mary

free skin care · Sat Oct 22, 2005 7:38 am

ndaist wrote:

I use the home-made diy vitamin c serum that was posted on the forum by CareKate. Check out the thread - DIY skincare receipes. It works for me so in case you're interested:

Homemade Vitamin C Serum:

• 1/4 teaspoon of Lysorbic Acid (Vit-C) powder or crysals

ndaist - The recipe you listed says lyscorbic, but the link to the Vit-C you gave is ascorbic. What is the difference and is there a reason why you went with this one? Thanks!

free skin care · Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:22 am

Hi Mary,

Could you share your home crafted Vitamin C recipe and how long can you keep it?

Thanks.

free skin care · Sat Oct 22, 2005 10:20 pm

anyones advice.. i have JB cc serum . ok . when you use it in your routine ? for day and night. im almost out of it. i dont see a difference due to maybe not putting it on the right way. i had to stop due to my moisterizer balling up. im doing something wrong and i just cant figure it out. im back to square one from when i first started in this forum using estee lauder.
tissue off cleanser with alittle bit of water then

night repair
perfectionist cp+
future perfect
night repair for eyes
resiliance eye lift
so polished exfoliant

so far so good. im just wondering if the night repair is like a vita c ? it is in a brown bottle...im sooo confused but things seem to be working and im not over doing it. for months i have been having BIG issues with everything .. maybe trying to many different products or not putting them on right. my mmu's havent been going on right. if night repair isnt some type of vita c, should i be using one(vita c) ? right now almost everything is making my face red and no mmu's are taking that away. and believe this one, the BE brush will make my face red. im just a sad sad case Confused

lassie 1234

free skin care · Sun Oct 23, 2005 8:40 am

Hi Tidieu,

I use, basically, Carekate's recipe ... the one that's reproduced in this thread. The only difference is that I make mine with pectin in the following proportions.

1/4 tsp l-ascorbic acid crystals/powder
7 ml pectin*
3 ml propylene glycol or glycerin

[pectin is available in most grocery stores and is generally used to make jams and jellies. It's available in crystal form or liquid. So far I've only used the liquid.]

The consistency is very thick ... and if you found it too thick then you could substitute part of the pectin ratio with distilled water.

Now, when I began using pectin, I had no "scientific" reason for doing so. I just wondered what pectin would do to the serum, and I was under the impression that pectin had always been held as a boon for the complexion.

As it turned out, pectin helped dissolve the l-ascorbic acid crystals almost immediately ... so I continued to use the pectin.

I have since discovered that pectin is very useful for healing wounds and minimizing scars when applied on the skin ... so there is some scientific basis for my including it in my Vitamin C serum.

(for those interested, the study of pectins on burn wounds is PMID: 12619514 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE] ... or if you have access at Biochemistry of Beauty, see the wound healing section)

I make a fresh batch every 5 to 7 days ... and I keep my Vitamin C serum in the refridgerator.

Mary

free skin care · Sun Oct 23, 2005 10:06 am

I really wanted to try a C serum, but I break out. Is there anything that I can add to the homemade version or maybe a product out there for sensitive skin?

free skin care · Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:04 pm

Hi Madeline

Are you saying that you break out as a result of using Vitamin C serum ... or that your skin tends to break out in general ... and you want to ensure that the Vitamin C serum you make doesn't make things worse?

If it's the latter, then I wouldn't worry too much. You could certainly use the pectin and the PG or glycerin ... although I'd recommend propylene glycol of the two.

My skin has a tendancy to break out as well ... but I've never had a problem with the home made vitamin C serum. The pectin actually could help heal your skin ... and there are numerous posts that claim that vitamin C serum is drying to the skin.

The propylene glycol facilitates the serum in being absorbed by the skin ... and doesn't leave an oily film or anything on your face. To the best of my knowledge, there's nothing in the recipe that would clog your pores.

You could, of course, simply make your vitamin C serum with 10 ml of water ... or use 1/8 tsp of l-ascorbic acid to 5 ml of water. Because Vitamin C is so unstable when mixed with water, however, you'd have to make a batch daily.

Mary

free skin care · Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:55 pm

I break out in general, and I vaguely remember trying something with vitamin c in it, maybe a moisturizer, and breaking out from it. My skin is sensitive to everything. If I even look at a new product I breakout Laughing

. But I am also showing signs of premature aging around my mouth. Probably from smoking like an idiot, and going out in the sun without sunscreen. I really want this to work for me and I appreciate the tips. I have never heard of pectin, but I will ask at the grocer. Thank you Mary Very Happy

free skin care · Sun Oct 23, 2005 2:57 pm

I break out in general, and I vaguely remember trying something with vitamin c in it, maybe a moisturizer, and breaking out from it. My skin is sensitive to everything. If I even look at a new product I breakout Laughing

. But I am also showing signs of premature aging around my mouth. Probably from smoking like an idiot, and going out in the sun without sunscreen. I really want this to work for me and I appreciate the tips. I have never heard of pectin, but I will ask at the grocer. Thank you Mary Very Happy

free skin care · Sun Oct 23, 2005 4:15 pm

Hi Madeline,

If you had a moisturizer with Vitamin C, it was probably all the gunk that they put in the moisturizer that clogged your pores, leading to an outbreak.

I can't use commercial moisturizers ... or at least I got fed up with trying commercial moisturizers only to discover that they clogged my pores and caused breakouts!

I'm also not at all confident that the commercial products claiming to contain Vitamin C are, in fact, providing active Vitamin C. So many are in clear bottles and Vitamin C is so unstable ... I just don't believe it. [Call me jaded! Laughing

]

At any rate ... that's the beauty of serums ... they don't have all the gunk in them ... only two or three ingredients ... and you just use a few drops for your entire face ... and if you are using l-ascorbic acid ... you are ensured of an active product ... for however long the other ingredients permit it to remain potent.

You'll find pectin in whatever aisle your local grocery store stocks canning supplies. It's often in the same aisle as the spices and baking needs ... but every store is different and stocks it according to their own "plan".

Good luck!

Mary

free skin care · Mon Oct 24, 2005 6:30 am

Hi Mary
I've decided to make my own to see what its like.I ordered pure L ascorbic acid and some propylene glycol.I couldn't find pectin but do you think the c&propylene glycol will be okay withouy anything else?I dont want to add water after reading you shouldn't.How much of each should I put in?
Also is propylene glycol a light texture?I have noticed this is in tons of skin care products.
I saw the cellular skin rx is simply L ascorbic acid and Butylene Glycol stabilizing solution.
Would the propylene glycol help stabilise it?
Thanks Very Happy

free skin care · Mon Oct 24, 2005 9:01 am

Hi Carol,

You should be able to find pectin in just about any grocery store ... since it's used in canning, this time of year almost guarantees that you'll find it ... but most grocery stores carry it all year 'round. The brand I have is Certo ...

As for using just propylene glycol, you certainly could use just that ... but you may find that it's a bit oily feeling. Certainly one of the chemists on Personal Formulator suggested just that.

According to Carekate's recipe for 10% Vitamin C serum, you'd use

1/4 tsp of l-ascorbic acid
10 ml [2 tsp] propylene glycol

I found that it takes a bit of shaking to get the propylene glycol to dissolve the l-ascorbic crystals ... but if you pick it up and shake it every 20 minutes or so ... it should dissolve in a few hours.

Using water certainly makes the l-ascorbic acid degrade faster ... but the combination of distilled water and propylene glycol usually lasts a week ...

Using 5 ml of pectin and 5 ml of propylene glycol makes a very thick serum ... but I really like the consistency ... it gives one a feeling of putting on something very "rich" ... but without the oily afterfeel.

If you find a serum made exclusively with propylene glycol too oily for you ... you can always add either pectin and/or water to the mix ... using the 1/4 tsp l-ascorbic acid to 10 ml water for a 10% solution.

Hope this helps.

Mary

Mon Oct 24, 2005 2:49 pm

Ok, dumb question time but why do you make it into a serum ? Why not just mix a little Vit C powder into your moisturiser every time you apply it ?

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