Best Vitamin C Forms & Products for Every Skin Type! | Dr. Shereene Idriss

Good morning my little nerds, I am Dr. Shereen Idris and welcome to my YouTube channel where we are going to go in deep today on the science of vitamin C. I have not done this topic in over two years and I wanted to revisit it. So we're gonna hit on the different types of vitamin C's and which one best applies to your skin type. But before I jump in, make sure to subscribe and follow and like this video. And if you have not signed up yet to my newsletter, make sure to log on to Pillowtalkderm.com and sign up for my newsletter so you can be the first in the know whenever there's a new product release or any sort of educational material coming your way. So without further ado, let us jump into vitamin C. It's one of the best ingredients that we have on the market that can really be used by everyone and anyone. As long as you have skin, as long as you've been exposed to the sun, as long as you live in a city, you will get some benefit from vitamin C. What are the main benefits of vitamin C? Number one, it is a potent antioxidant and that means it helps to provide protection against what's known as free radical damage. Free radical damage happens when you are living, when you're just around, all right? From oxygen over time, from the sun, from pollution, from stress outside and inside. And vitamin C helps to break that ---- up and protect your skin in the process so that your collagen doesn't break up prematurely, your elastin doesn't get weaker, you don't develop discoloration at an earlier age. So anybody who is human can benefit from that perspective. Number two, it is not an SPF replacer and I talk about it in my perfect ingredient pairing videos below, but it is a beautiful ingredient to pair under your sunscreen because it boosts the effects of your sunscreen. How? It actually increases the amount of time your skin needs under the sun to turn red. It is not going to reflect the UV, it is not going to absorb the UV the way a sunscreen works, but it helps to neutralize the effects of UVA and UVB much more efficiently. Number three, a vitamin C is also necessary if you're looking to build collagen. And I don't know about you, but pretty much everyone I meet in my practice is looking to build collagen. And vitamin C is key if you're trying to do that because there are two enzymes in the collagen production pathway. There is prolyl hydroxylase and lysyl hydroxylase that need vitamin C in order to spit out collagen. So it's the fertilizer to those enzymes to create collagen. And number four, and this is probably the one that holds nearest and dearest to my heart given that I am all about an even skin tone, it helps to even out discoloration by eating up copper in your skin. And you're going to ask me, wait, I thought we need copper. Copper is required in your skin and it is a key element needed for melanin production. But if you have a predisposition to being hyperpigmented or in general life, the sun, sun damage, like we talked about, oxidation, you want to use up that copper. So it's not readily available. So you cannot overproduce pigmentation and vitamin C eats up that copper so that your melanocytes don't have access to them as readily and you're not going to overproduce pigment. So that is how it works for pigmentation. Feedback to who can benefit from vitamin C? Everyone and anyone, unless you're in a dark cave, unless you have not seen the sun in a bajillion years, and unless you are living in the mountains of Bhutan, which you may or may not be where there's less pollution, chances are you're living somewhere where there is pollution, somewhere where there is sun exposure, somewhere where there is stress and your skin can benefit from. Which vitamin C do you actually need to use? There are two forms of vitamin C. Vitamin C is an umbrella term. All right? You're going to have active form, L-ascorbic acid, and notice the ascorb, all right? That is a key part of the word that you need to notice, versus the inactive forms of vitamin C, which all contain the word ascorb as well. So if you bought a product that says vitamin C on it, but you're not sure, you don't see L-ascorbic acid, look for ascorb and you'll be able to tell whether or not that product contains a type of vitamin C. It is slightly misleading when a product or a brand says, we have a vitamin C, whatever, but they're not using the active form because the active form is the one that directly goes to work when it's applied on your skin. The inactive forms have to get converted in your skin to go to work. And then you might ask me, wait, so why don't I just use the active form? I'm a step ahead. The active form is not for everyone. Let's jump in. The active form of vitamin C is also known as L-ascorbic acid. It is the one that has been the most tried and true, the most studied, but that one is a little bitch of an ingredient because she isn't stable, she's hella irritating, and it's not for everyone. And a lot of brands tout higher is better in terms of concentration and percentages, but it is not. It has been studied to show an effect anywhere from three to 5% that your skin can benefit from. Higher doesn't necessarily mean better. After 20%, it's almost overload. Your skin is no longer getting any benefits from it except for potential irritations. So this is one that you really do have to approach cautiously and with a grain of salt because it's not necessarily for everyone. Its instability is also another issue. I don't know if you've noticed, but a lot of times when you buy vitamin C, it's light in color and it then turns darker over time. That is because of oxidation. And once it turns darker over time, it's not as useful to your skin and all you're is applying an acidic product, but we'll get into that in a second, on your skin that can be irritating. So you really have to use it up when you first buy it. Another thing that really bothers me about vitamin C and ascorbic acid is a lot of the brands, including the ones I'm going to mention, sell them in a dropper. Okay, it's opaque, it's slightly darker, even though this one's darker and translucent, but it comes in a dropper that is going to be exposed day in and day out. And as you can see, this is a very old one. It's extremely dark. Usually the color is extremely light, pale yellow, as if you had very hydrated pee. I've had this one in my closet for a while, so I would not use this one. But that simple act of opening and closing is going to cause more oxidation and more breakdown of your active form of vitamin C. The CM NAYAD has a pump top that I cut and I put on top of this normally, if I am going to use this form of vitamin C and it keeps sealed off from oxygen longer than it would if every day you're opening and closing it. But number two, it also stains. Yes, it stains because, fun fact, when it breaks down, as this one has, right, it turns into a chemical also known as erythrolose, which is in self tanners. So that is why you're going to have a stain when you use this on your skin. Let's just show you guys for shits and giggles, because why not? If I put this on my skin, which I am pale AF, it does give your skin a little bit of an orange hue to it. So yeah, it can stain your skin. And number three, the pH of it. It needs to be formulated at a pH of 3.5 or below, and that is very acidic and it needs to be formulated at this pH in order to get absorbed in your skin and not many people can tolerate that. So who is L-ascorbic acid good for? Most skin types can use it around 10% up to 15%, but you have to be careful at around 20 because it can be very irritating. Oily, acne prone skin, I honestly do not recommend it because it can be irritating and further worsen inflammation, which you probably already have if you have acne prone skin. And if you are sensitive, just avoid L-ascorbic acid and save yourself a lot of headaches down the road because you probably are going to get some form of irritation on your face. My top picks though for products with L-ascorbic acid, even though this one has obviously oxidized, this is one that has been studied for years. It has a lot of science and merit behind it. It's SkinCeuticals. It's expensive as hell. It's 182 bucks for just this bottle that has clearly gone to waste, but it's 15% ascorbic acid with vitamin E and ferulic acid at 1% and 0.5% to help stabilize it because it's not a stable ingredient. The vitamin E also helps the photo protection of vitamin C. The ferulic acid also doubles that photo protection. It is a magic combination as a trio, but it comes in a dropper, which is a waste for such an expensive product. Paula's Choice, however, is at $55. It's also at 15% ascorbic acid with vitamin E and ferulic acid, but they do not specify the percentages of that. It still comes in a dropper, but I want to show you guys, this one is a relatively new one. This is the original color of vitamin C. It's hydrated urine. It is not dehydrated piss like the other one, which has been opened several times and exposed to oxygen. Now, you nerds all have been shouting in the comment section that you love this timeless brand. They have two types of L-ascorbic acid, a 10 and a 20%, and they retail for $26 each, which is interesting that for one ounce, they sell at the same price. At bigger sizes, I think the price changes and I don't quite understand how they managed to do that because the raw materials are more expensive unless they're just losing on their margins. It's also combined with vitamin E as well as ferulic acid. They do not specify the percentages and they have hyaluronic acid. If you're going to have hyaluronic acid in your skincare routine, try to limit it to one step of your routine. You do not need to have a dedicated HA serum. You do not need to have it in all of your products at all, at all, at all. This one contains it, so just keep it in mind. If you're sensitive and you're dying to try an L-ascorbic acid, it's within your price range, start at the 10%. Do not start at the 20%. The pros, they did it right. It comes in a pump, at least. It's clear, it's protected, it's opaque. They're not trying to sell you on you acting like a chemist, so I like the fact that they come in pumps. They're lightweight and they all stink, by the way. They all smell like hot dogs, every single one of these. CeraVe has their skin renewing vitamin C serum, which is $27. It's 10% ascorbic acid with panthenol, ceramides, and HA. Because of SEO, every brand wants to have HA. It is a white, milky sort of serum. It still has a smell and I got some on my nose. Good thing for me is I have Kleenex today. So this is CeraVe's vitamin C serum that you guys all love. So now let us transition to the inactive forms of vitamin C, because L-ascorbic acid is not for everyone. The inactive forms of vitamin C offer different levels of benefits, from stability, from irritability, from what it can do for your skin, and even your type of skin. So let us start with sodium ascorbyl phosphate. I am going to refer to this as SAP to make my life simple. What is SAP? Sodium ascorbyl phosphate is the ascorbic acid's monophosphate ester, and it is great in terms of stability because it can be formulated at a pH of 7, so it is not going to be irritating on your skin. The penetration compared to the pure form is questionable. It is not as well absorbed as ascorbic acid, and the conversion rate into ascorbic acid, there is no real hard data for this. So how does it compare in terms of antioxidant quality? It has photoprotective and antioxidant protective properties when studied in vivo. In vitro, it has helped slightly with collagen production, and it does help fade brown spots as well in vivo. A unique benefit though to this one, because you might be asking me why should I use this one if it is all kind of questionable, is that if you have oily or acne prone skin, this is the type of vitamin C ester you want to look at. SAP is the one for you, because 1-5% has been shown to suppress the bacteria on our skin that leads to acne formation. And if you are super oily or super prone to inflammation, you might want to look at a vitamin C ester that helps to minimize that bacteria on your skin. So it is great for oily prone skin, acne prone skin, especially if you have a predisposition to breakouts. And also, if you are looking for a collagen boosting effect, it is not necessarily what SAP excels at, but it has been shown in vitro to aid in collagen production. So You Beauty is one by Tina Craig, this resurfacing compound right here. It is $148. They also combine it with glycolic and mandelic acid. Personally, I do not love exfoliating with glycolic acid in the morning because it can make you more sun sensitive, so I would use this at night in your routine. So I would use this type of vitamin C at night if you are going to use the You Beauty. It also has HA. It is a very watery serum, as you can tell right here, but it is protected from the sun and it comes in a pump. You guys also liked Mad Hippie. Mad Hippie is a vitamin C serum that retails for $33. I hate the dropper, but it is a much more stable product compared to ascorbic acid. So if any type of vitamin C is going to come in the also combined with vitamin E, ferulic acid and hyaluronic acid, but it's $33. The texture of it, by the way, I just opened it, but I didn't show you guys. It's a little slimy. Do I love the texture? I do not love this texture, but it goes away pretty fast, at least a slight tacky residue and it has more of a floral scent. I think they tried to mask the scent slightly with this one. And so the third one, I don't have it here, is number seven, Protect and Perfect Intense Advanced Serum for $29. This one is a very good drugstore option for SAP, especially if you are somebody who's acne prone skin, you can use it in the morning. It's not combined with an exfoliating acid and it has Matrixyl 3000, which is a collagen boosting peptide. So if you are someone who is oily looking for collagen benefits, but can't handle ascorbic acid, this one is for you. You're going to get it through the peptide of Matrixyl 3000, and you're going to get the benefits at least of the vitamin C in terms of an antioxidant without being irritable on your skin. Next up, Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate. MAP is a sterified form of vitamin C. It has great stability, but that's pretty much where it ends because it gets poorly absorbed in your skin. And although it does convert to AA in vitro, the antioxidant properties are questionable. In vitro, it does produce collagen and there is some evidence to suggest pigmentary benefits, but other than that, not much. And there are better ingredients on the market that you can combine with to get some pigmentary benefits if that is all you're really going to get from this product. And in the sake and the spirit of being well-rounded, Glossier, their Super Glow Vitamin C is one that contains MAP as well as magnesium. And it's one that you can incorporate into your If you're dying to have a vitamin C for the hell of it, sure, why not? But it's probably the most useless form of vitamin C. Moving on to my favorite ester form of vitamin C is Tetrahexyl Decyl Ascorbate, also known as THD. It is lipid soluble. It is my personal favorite. It is stable at a pH of around five, and it has great absorption, even better than ascorbic acid, believe it or not, because it is oil soluble. So your skin is going to suck it in and it's going to even surpass the penetration of the pure form of vitamin C. And it converts to ascorbic acid in vitro. How does it compare? It has antioxidant properties. It has proven collagen benefits as well. And it helps with pigmentation discoloration in vitro with skin brightening effects by reducing melanogenesis by more than 80% in human cell cultures. So who is it good for? All skin types, but especially if you're looking to brighten your skin, and especially if you are looking to even out your skin tone, and if you have sensitive skin, this is the one for you. My top picks, shameless plug, Pillow Talk Derm, my active seal. I love this guy. I obviously created it. I know what's in it. I use it twice a day because you need more of an ester form of vitamin C to get the full on benefits. So I use it in the morning and I use it at night. And it also has ceramides in it to help lock in moisture, as well as peptides to help with collagen boosting effects of this type of form of vitamin C. It comes in a pump, not exposed to air. And once you're done, I don't want to open it because I haven't opened this one yet. You can twist the cap up and scrape off anything left behind. So this is my own personal favorite. Obviously I made it. So I'm going to be biased. Retails for 58 bucks. Dr. Loretta has a serum in a $70 dropper with glycolipids as well to trap in moisture. This has THD inside. As you can see, it's a creamy serum and it smells slightly citrusy. And then Sunday Riley has their CEO vitamin C brightening serum at $85 with squalane to help replenish your skin barrier. And this one is also very liquidy serum. Just spit out. So those are THDs. Moving on. The next two forms of vitamin C I like a product that combines them because if you're somebody who is sensitive, but looking to get some sort of collagen effect and a little bit of a brightening effect in a very lightweight serum, this is your product. I'm starting backwards. Summer Fridays combines the form known as ascorbyl glucoside, as well as the 3-O ethyl ascorbate form. The reason why this is important is because ascorbyl glucoside is only water soluble. So although it offers the same benefits as vitamin C in terms of antioxidant production and collagen production and pigmentation, the absorption is not great. And I would say this form of vitamin C is one you would use in order to get more of that collagen boosting effect. The 3-EAC form of vitamin C is water and lipid soluble. So if you're looking for more of a brightening effect, this one is probably going to help you out more, but I like it in combination with ascorbyl glucoside. So you can get somewhat of the collagen production as well. It comes in a serum, so it's not 100% hydrating, but it's a nice one to use underneath a moisturizer. Or if you do not feel like you need a moisturizer, it can probably do its thing on its own. This particular serum retails for $68 and there is niacinamide in here as well. Moving on, ascorbyl palmitate. This is similar to ascorbic acid, but in terms of stability. So there aren't many improvements there. It can penetrate like ascorbic acid and the conversion is questionable at best. Antioxidant wise, it hasn't been proven to be great. Collagen wise, maybe. Pigmentation wise, there's not much data. So pretty much, it's kind of useless. I wouldn't necessarily look for ascorbyl palmitate in any sort of product. I wouldn't go out of my way to look for it. And last, we have aminopropyl ascorbyl phosphate, also known as AAP. This is the newest and latest coming out of Korea. In terms of stability, it has been shown to be very stable. It is utilizing the pure form of vitamin C married to a molecule known as 3-APPA. But in terms of penetration and conversion, there is still a lot to be determined here and we do not know enough to know how well it works. According to the manufacturer, it decreases hyperpigmentation significantly after eight weeks and it helps with wrinkle reductions dramatically after eight weeks by reducing wrinkles around 23%. Again, more is needed, more studies are needed, more science is needed. But if you have a lot of money and you're willing to knock yourself out and you want to spend $275, Neocutis has a bioserum firm that contains this form of vitamin C in addition to glycerin and certain growth factors. Are you spending your money on the vitamin C? I do not know. Again, I do not know enough to recommend this product, but let me know in the comment section if you've tried it and if you like it. So with that, we have done a full discussion on vitamin Cs, their derivatives, and which one best suits your skin type and what not to use if you are sensitive or irritable or just plain old cranky. I don't know if I have the answer for you there. I'm Dr. Shereen Idris and I hope you guys enjoyed this video. I hope you guys have a beautiful Saturday. Let me know in the comment section below what you guys want to learn about next.