Skincare with Friends Ep 65- Do We Really Need to Use Vitamin C in our Skincare Routine

Vitamin C as an ingredient in skincare is troublesome because of a few issues, I wanted to really dig down and find out what we actually know about it and how to overcome it’s problems. In this article some burning questions I wanted answering on the topic of “Is Vitamin C in Skincare worth the Hype?” and the answers to those questions to be found in science. I’ve read lots of studies and prepared snippets and explanations to answer these big questions surrounding one of the world’s favourite actives.

This episode is inspired by an Instagram post by Natalie Spierings. In an Instagram video, she said that no one needs to use topical vitamin C and that it has no positive effect on any given skin problems. She thinks it’s only role is as an antioxidant in sunscreen with vitamin E. She thinks it causes more problems than it cures in terms of irritation. It has a photo protective effect but doesn’t target lines or pigmentation. This lady is a respected dermatologist so her opinion is worth noting and you would expect to be evidence based. And yet vitamin C is so incredibly popular.

Consumer interest in Vitamin C as a skincare ingredient is growing, sales of vitamin C serums grew by 37% in 2020 according to Vogue Business. It’s generally accepted by the beauty community that vit C is a good thing.

I wanted to explore the evidence around vitamin C as a topical skin treatment, is it as useless as Dr Speirings thinks, or is it the wonder ingredient that everyone should try? One statement from a study was slightly alarming “High levels of Vitamin C in the cells lead to oxygen-promoting reactions, which cause DNA damage, the depletion of ATP reserves, and failure of cellular metabolism (Tian et al., 2014)” but looking at the rest of the evidence it doesn’t look like Ascorbic Acid absorbs well enough to get to these damaging levels when applied to the skin. Read on!

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Vitamin C in a nutshell

We get vitamin C (also known as L-Ascorbic Acid) from our food and it’s transported from the blood to the skin where it helps protect against sun damage and is a cofactor in the process of collagen production, it might also help reduce hyperpigmentation. As we age, the amount of vitamin C in our skin drops. So using it topically seems to make logical sense. 

It’s a water soluble vitamin that we can only get from dietary sources. It’s unstable which means that it oxidises in the presence of air and water to dehydroascorbic acid, which is yellow/orange in colour then irreversibly to 2,3 Diketo-1-gulonic acid . This instability makes it difficult to incorporate into skincare and fit C products tend to go off (you’ll know because they’ll turn yellow). There are also derivatives which are stable, but they must be converted to vitamin C in the skin. We’ve already done vit C on the podcast, go check it out next.

The potential benefits of vit c according to science-

Can your Vitamin C Serum Absorb into the Skin?

Possibly!

Can Ascorbic Acid get through our Stratum Corneum into our living skin cells at all? Vitamin C is a water-soluble charged molecule and is therefore repelled by the physical barrier of the dead skin cells of the Stratum Corneum.

Studies performed by Pinnell and colleagues suggest that topical L-ascorbic acid can be formulated in a way that improves absorbtion. These studies show that L-ascorbic acid can be cross the stratum corneum (the dead skin cells) as long as the ionic charge on the molecule is removed. This is achieved only at a pH of less than 3.5. The highest absorption of the Ascorbic Acid was at a pH of 2, but this would be extremely irritating for the skin.

A pH of 3.5 or below may well cause some stinging and burning sensations. Now, how well this change in pH is tolerated will depend on your individual skin type. You might find it uncomfortable and it could worsen eczema and acne. I think this is the main dilemma in the case of vitamin C- it has to be at this irritating pH for it to work at all!

The highest concentration of L-ascorbic acid for skin absorption was 20%, and, surprisingly, higher levels of vitamin C didn’t increase absorption. Daily application of a 15% Vitamin C product at a pH of 3.2 increased L-ascorbic acid levels within the skin by 2000%, and tissue levels were saturated after 3 days. The half life of L-ascorbic acid after tissue saturation was approximately 4 days. I checked out this study and it was performed on pig skin, Ideally we would have liked the studies to have been performed on humans but pig skin has many similarities to human skin and is the next best thing.

We can take from this evidence-

• That a Vitamin C product MUST be highly acidic to have any skin effects,
• 15% is a high enough concentration to work
• and also that the effect from a Vit C serum will last for around three days, so you don’t need to use it every single day.

Should We Even Bother to Use Vitamin C in the Morning?

Yes!

“Vit. C protects the skin from oxidative stress by sequentially donating electrons to neutralize the free radicals. The oxidised forms of Vit. C are relatively non-reactive. Furthermore, they can be converted back to Vit. C by the enzyme dehydro ascorbic acid reductase in the presence of glutathione.” It is important to note that Vit. C is equally effective against both UVB (290-320 nm) and UVA (320-400 nm). Repeated small doses of UVA penetrate 30-40-times deeper into the dermis as against UVB, which mostly affects the epidermis. UVA mutates and destroys collagen, elastin, proteoglycans and other dermal cellular structures. Thus, UVA causes skin ageing and possibly melanoma formation. UVB causes sunburn, ROS, epidermal mutations and skin cancer. Sunscreens when properly applied prevent UV-induced erythema and thymine dimer mutations that contribute to cutaneous carcinogenesis. However, sunscreens block only 55% of the free radicals produced by UV exposure.

Photoageing can be prevented by prevention of UV-induced erythema, sunburn cell formation and inducing collagen repair. To optimize UV protection, it is important to use sunscreens combined with a topical antioxidant. Vit. C does not absorb UV light but exerts an UV-protective effect by neutralizing free radicals, while this effect is not seen with sunscreens. Under laboratory conditions, it has been shown that application of 10% topical Vit. C showed statistical reduction of UVB-induced erythema by 52% and sunburn cell formation by 40-60%.

Although Vit. C alone can provide photoprotection, it works best in conjunction with Vitamin E (Vit. E), which potentiates the action of Vit. C four-fold. Hydrophilic Vit. C helps regenerate Vit. E, a lipophilic antioxidant.Thus, Vit. C and Vit. E together protect the hydrophilic and lipophilic compartments of the cell, respectively. Vit. C and Vit. E synergistically limit chronic UV damage by significantly reducing both cell apoptosis and thymine dimer formation.A combination of 0.5% ferulic acid (a potent antioxidant of plant origin) with 15% Vit. C and 1% Vit. E can increase the efficacy of Vit. C eight-fold.[3] It was noted that this triple combination was very useful for the reduction of acute and chronic photodamage, and could be used for prevention of skin cancer in the future.”

(Telang,2013)

So answer is yes! Ascorbic Acid will help to prevent sun damage when used under a sunscreen. Ideally use it with vit E and ferulic for best effect.

What to Buy? Which Vitamin C Products are Good and Effective Based on this Science?

So based on the science, the ideal Vit C product for skin is formulated with pure Vitamin C (it needs to have Ascorbic Acid in the ingredients list), low pH, a concentration of around 20% and ideally formulated with Vitamin E and Ferulic Acid. It should also be clear in colour, that way we can tell if it’s going off. The packaging should be UV protected and airless. Lots of products on the market call themselves Vitamin C serums or boosters but actually contain a derivative (more about that lower down), or don’t have a percentage. It was actually very difficult to find these products, there aren’t many!

Here are some that meet my criteria-

• Paula’s Choice C15 Booster £49 for 20ml
• SuperCerum 20% L-Ascorbic Acid £15.95 for 15ml
• Skinceuticals CE Ferulic 15% £129.89 for 30ml
• Drunk Elephant C-Firma 15% £69.40 for 30ml
• Geek and Gorgeous C-Glow 15% E10.50 for 30ml

Can We Increase the Amount of Vit C by Supplementing? If We Take Loads Will it Get into Our Skin?

No!

“Skin vitamin C levels respond to increases in plasma supply. A paper by Nusgens and co-workers suggests that skin levels do not increase further once plasma saturation is reached. Dietary supplementation is therefore only expected to be effective in elevating skin vitamin C in individuals who have below-saturation plasma levels prior to intervention.” 

(Pullar, 2017)

So eat your fruit and veg, if you’re a pirate, take some limes on tour with you, but if you take loads of vitamin C tablets it won’t start coming out of your pores.

Is it Worth Using a Topical Vitamin C for Aging?

Yes.

There is some reasonable evidence that vit C shows promise as an anti aging skincare ingredient

“Skin biopsies taken from postmenopausal women who applied 5% L-ascorbic acid to one forearm showed an increase in mRNA levels of collagen I and III and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase (MMP-1)”.

(Nusgens et al, 2001)

Humbert and colleagues carried out a 6- month, double-blind, vehicle-controlled study, which is research of a reasonably good standard. They tested the skin of moderately photoaged patients who applied 5% vitamin C cream to the forearms and neck. They saw a highly significant decrease in deep furrows and substantiated with silicon replicas on the vitamin C–treated side. Under the microscope, they could see evidence of elastic tissue repair. The authors demonstrated significantly that topical vitamin C had a positive influence on all the features of sun damaged skin.

We totally need to dive further into this topic, I want to find out from the research if Vitamin C actually works for pigmentation and brightening or scarring. There will be another Vitamin C podcast coming up soon, I’m sure, I’m totally not done with this.

Are Vitamin C Derivatives Any Good?

No 🙁

The derivatives were developed and used in skincare to overcome the issues with the stability of pure vitamin C. Studies have shown that they are more stable and they can absorb into the skin. Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate actually absorbs better than pure ascorbic acid as it’s lipid soluble, it gets through the skin barrier. But these derivatives have to be converted into ascorbic acid within the skin to have the magic vitamin c effects. The Pinnell pig skin experiment doesn’t look promising sadly. Pinnell studied the levels of Ascorbic Acid within the skin after applying different forms- 15% pure vitamin C, 10% Ascorbyl Tetrapalmitate and 12% Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate vs a control.

You can see that Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate and Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate barely increased the skin’s vitamin C content at all.

“The instability and aqueous solubility of AA (Ascorbic Acid) has historically presented issues for formulation. Nevertheless, the current understanding of AA now enables formulation for more than acceptable transdermal penetration. Unfortunately, it seems, many products in the market still fail even the most rudimentary analysis (e.g. rapid discolouration). However, the advent of chemically modified analogs of AA has also helped to improve this formulation issue and, with the exception of Ascorbyl Palmitate, the oxidative stability of AA has been greatly improved. Still, on current available evidence in the scientific literature, the effective transdermal penetration of these analogs (especially the phosphate analogs), their conversion to active AA and, ultimately, their comparative clinical effectiveness still needs to be fully ascertained. These concerns aside, cosmeceuticals containing appropriately formulated AA or its analogs for topical application should play an essential role in the treatment of aging skin”

Stamford, 2012

Summary

The quote “Vitamin C, as a water-soluble and charged molecule, is repelled by the physical barrier of the epidermal cells. It is only when pH levels are below 4 that some penetration occurs” does it for me. pH4 is low, it’s going to be irritating. This spells potential problems for people with troublesome skin particularly, so I can see why Dr Speirings has reservations. It does definitely have great photo protective effects and it may help with aging.

• For your Vitamin C product to be effective, use a formula that has Ascorbic Acid in it’s ingredient list, with a low pH and a concentration of 10-20% ideally with Vitamin E and Ferulic Acid
• If you’re using it with no issues, go for it, use it in the morning
• If you are new to it, treat it with caution and watch skin for signs of irritation

Referrences

• Farris (2001) “Topical Vitamin C: A Useful Agent for Treating Photoaging and Other Dermatologic Conditions” Dermatol Surg 31:7 Part 2:July 2005 
• Nusgens, Humbert, Rougier, Colige, Haftek, Lambert, Richard, Creidi, Lapière. (2001)”Topically applied vitamin C enhances the mRNA level of collagens I and III, their processing enzymes and tissue inhibitor of matrix metalloproteinase 1 in the human dermis”, J Invest Dermatol. 2001 Jun;116(6):853-9.
• Pinnell, Yang, Omar, Monteiro-Riviere, DeBuys, Walker, Wang, Levine (2001) “Topical L-ascorbic acid: percutaneous absorption studies” Dermatol Surg. 2001 Feb;27(2):137-42.
• Pullar et al, 2017 “The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health” Nutrients. 2017 Aug; 9(8): 866. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579659/
• Stamford (2012) “Stability, transdermal penetration, and cutaneous effects of ascorbic acid and its derivatives” Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 11, 310-317
• Telang (2013) “Vitamin C in dermatology” Indian Dermatol Online J. 2013 Apr-Jun; 4(2): 143–146. doi: 10.4103/2229-5178.110593