Your mom wasn’t joking about vitamin C. But you shouldn’t just drink it in OJ—you’re going to want to slather the stuff all over your face.
Turns out, vitamin C (also known as ascorbic acid) has some crazy-amazing, research-backed benefits that can help you look younger, glowier, and altogether better. No torturous beauty treatments required. (We’re looking at you, Madonna, and your fork facial.)
What is ascorbic acid?
Ascorbic acid (a.k.a. vitamin C) is an antioxidant that provides lots of important nutritional benefits—like boosting your immune system and preventing heart disease and eye problems.
But it has a LOT of beauty benefits, too. Ascorbic acid can combat sun damage, reduce inflammation, brighten pigmentation, and stimulate new and healthy collagen formation in skin (leading to fewer wrinkles and firmer skin). Translation: major glow-up.
How is it different from other types of vitamin C?
While there is a lot of research backing its benefits, formulating the vitamin so that it stays stable enough to produce visible results can be tricky. L-ascorbic acid, the pure form of ascorbic acid, is among the most potent and stable forms to look for in skin-care products.
If you’re about to buy a product that says it has vitamin C, check the ingredients list to see if ascorbic acid or l-ascorbic acid is mentioned. If not, check for these other research-backed derivatives of vitamin C: retinyl ascorbate, ascorbyl palmitate, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, and ascorbyl glucoside. That way you’ll know you’re getting a truly effective product.
How do you use ascorbic acid?
Ascorbic acid is usually found in serums and moisturizers. Since all forms of vitamin C easily break down when exposed to air and sunlight, you should look for packaging like air-tight pumps that are dark or opaque, and store the products in a cool place out of the sun.
Vitamin C is most effective when applied every night before bedtime, followed by dousing on a broad-spectrum sunscreen in the morning. Since it’s an antioxidant, vitamin C can work with your sunscreen to make your protection even stronger (although don’t use it on its own to protect you from the sun!)
