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Today’s video is a collaboration with fellow Australian YouTuber Beck Wynta. We answer some of the most common questions we get asked about vitamin C, including:
- Can vitamin c be used in the morning?
- Why does L-ascorbic acid irritate my skin?
- Does price matter for vitamin C serums?
- Can you mix vitamin C with sunscreen?
- Why does vitamin C turn my hands yellow?
- Dedicated vitamin C and niacinamide serums, or one product that has both?
- Can you use vitamin C with retinol? Can you use vitamin C with acids?
- Thoughts on natural vitamin C serum?
- Is vitamin C supposed to sting or itch?
- Is vitamin C really needed in a skincare routine?
Also check out our other video on Beck’s channel, where we talk about our favourite vitamin C products.
Hi Thank you for your Q&A on Vit C. I make the formula that Michelle was talking about. Just wondering I dissolve It in Ionised Water but you were talking about silicone being better so it does not breakdown.
Thanks
Marinne
Silicone is better if you want to keep the formula for ages, but there are downsides like stinging, lack of pH adjustment, difficult to mix evenly, difficult to get the ingredients etc. – if I were to DIY a more complicated product, I’d do a vitamin C + E + ferulic product like the Holy Snails recipe.
Great video, very informative. My question is about the niacinamide, I’ve been using NIOD Ethylated L-Ascorbic Acid 30% which is amazing because even at that strength there zero stinging or irritation. However they suggest not using niacinamide with Vitamin C, saying it will minimize the effects. They are both antioxidants so I’m a little confused. Any thoughts would be appreciated
I think they recommend it out of caution, not because there’s any proven diminished effect – Dr Davin Lim and I asked their chief science officer in an interview recently about it, can’t remember his exact answer but that interview should be released sometime soon!
I think they initially referred to old research which Paula’s choice said was done poorly and now they just say in case it’s irritating
What do you say about L-ascorbic acid powder that you’re supposed to mix into your serums or moisturizers? Good idea or not?
I talked about them here: https://labmuffin.com/why-i-dont-recommend-the-ordinarys-niacinamide-and-l-ascorbic-acid-powders/
I noted you thought ascorbyl glycoside is an ok derivative. I am mixing mine with a drop of pycogyneal. What is your opinion on that? Thanks
Have either of you used the Ausceuticals Vit C + E + Ferulic acid? Also how do you rate the Timeless Vit C?
I’ve only just found your blog, it’s so informative! One thing that stands out to me with the “plant extract” type skincare products is if they list, for example “rose hip fruit oil” (or the carrot seed oil mentioned in the video) and imply that it is a natural source of vitamin c because rose hip fruit is very high in vitamin c, surely this is just plain misleading since, as a water soluble compound, none of it will end up in the extracted oil, right?
And another question – have you heard the story about ascorbic acid reacting with benzoate compounds in solution to form benzene (in soft drinks), and do you think this has any relevance to situations such as people layering vitamin c products underneath another product that may be preserved with some kind of benzoate? (The soft drink story was about sodium benzoate, I have a sunscreen that is preserved with “hydroxybenzoates” and i have no idea if they’re even similar enough to react similarly!) I suppose if the vitamin c gets completely absorbed into the skin before you layer then it won’t be there to interact with the other products’ preservatives on the surface anyway?
Thanks for your thoughts!
hello michelle! i just wanna ask if you can refrigerate the diy vitamin c serum? will the light inside the fridge make it go unstable faster? or will the temperature drop help in preserving it? i hope you can answer my queries. :)) thank you and stay safe!
The light goes off when you close the fridge so it isn’t a problem most of the time – the lower temperature will help preserve it.