Tuesday, April 3

Topical Vitamin C skin treatment - Vitamin C skin products

Vitamin C benefits > Skin discoloration pictures > Topical vitamin C skin products

Why topical vitamin C skin products are effective?

Topical vitamin C skin products are the most popular and sought after anti aging treatments.
With proven efficacy these cosmeceutical products exert their benefits by neutralizing the damaging free radicals produced during the metabolic activities in the organ systems including dermal layers.
Free radicals are also produced on exposure to ultraviolet rays in the sunlight.
The effects of free radicals leads to skin aging, formation of fine lines and wrinkles, loss of elasticity and firmness, photo-aging and also hyperpigmentation.
Treatment with topical vitamin C products has been found to rejuvenate and bring back the radiance, softness and glow of skin by promoting collagen synthesis, lightening hyperpigmentation and reducing the effects of ultraviolet A and B radiation from sunlight.
By correcting the structural and functional losses associated with photo aging and skin aging, these cosmeceuticals show important anti-aging effects during treatment.
Latest research studies have shown that topical vitamin C with regular treatment can decrease the  development of melanin pigment.
Melanin is the pigment contributing to darkening and any decrease in its production can give fairer and whiter skin.

L-ascorbic acid form of vitamin C

L-ascorbic acid is the common form of vitamin C available in nutrient supplements.
However this water soluble form lacks stability and is highly degradable in the presence of air, light and moisture; hence its storage life is very short.
When exposed to air, L-ascorbic acid undergoes oxidative changes and becomes useless for skin whitening or anti-aging.
In fact it becomes an oxidative agent and contributes to the increased formation of harmful free radicals.
Moreover L-ascorbic acid is highly acidic in nature and may irritate skin at higher concentration.
Its acidic chemical quality makes it an excellent exfoliating agent.
So it becomes impracticable to use this form in topical products meant for anti aging treatment or skin lightening.
Much research work is been done by cosmeceutical manufacturers and a number of useful stabilized vitamin C derivatives and storage methods are being discovered.
However many of the products are expensive and many do not contain sufficient concentrations to be effective in treatment.

Ascorbyl palmitate

The ester formed from ascorbic acid and palmitic acid is ascorbyl palmitate, a fat-soluble form of vitamin C.
As an antioxidant its primary use was as a food additive.
When taken orally it is broken down into its component acids and its efficacy as vitamin C goes down.
But cosmeceutical manufacturers have utilized its longer stability to make topical serum, gel or cream to formulate more stable skin whitener and anti aging products.
Topical Whitener, for effective treatment results, is incorporated with higher percentage of ascorbyl palmitate.

Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate

Similar to Ascorbyl palmitate, this derivative of vitamin C is less acidic and is gaining popularity and use in anti aging topical products.
It is found to be effective in lower concentrations and also helps in exfoliation.

Tetra substituted lipophilic ascorbates:

Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate is also found to have good anti aging  effects and is being increasingly used in topical formulations and products for collagen production.

Quality of topical vitamin C skin products

Though many of the new generation topical products are more stable than ascorbic acid form of vitamin C, they also gradually degrade over a length of time.
Hence we have to check for freshness and proper storage of the products.
Most of the vitamin C topical products slowly turn yellow as they degrade; do not buy preparations which have turned yellow.
On oxidation vitamin C acquires yellowish tint, indicating advanced stage of oxidation.
Please also note that the change in color is apparent when the degradation is fairly high.
There is a chance that the serum appearing white has already started to grade by the time it is bought.
Some manufacturers, color the preparations and this may camouflage degradation.
Pick a trustworthy brand at a trustworthy source and take care to pick a topical preparation which is recently manufactured.
Also look for sufficient (about 10%) concentrations of vitamin C for beneficial results.
It is also possible make topical vitamin c skin products (gel or serum) at home with ingredients available locally.
Related topics:
Benefits of vitamin C for dermal care
Homemade vitamin C serum
Bluish skin discoloration
Current topic: Topical vitamin C skin care products and treatments

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