Yes, you can certainly use a Vitamin C serum at night, which helps avoid any sensitivity that it may cause by day. But its important to take your night-time skincare regime into consideration.
Refrain from getting too vitamin C happy if you have sensitive skin to deal with. Dr. Chiu warns that because vitamin C is a skin-care “active”—meaning it's particularly potent—applying too much of it on your face can potentially lead to more breakouts or irritation.
Most face serums are safe to be applied twice daily – once in the morning on a cleansed face, before the rest of your makeup, and once at night before bed.
Vitamin C serum is typically applied once or twice per day. A good rule of thumb is to cleanse, tone, apply vitamin C serum, and then moisturize. It can be safely used with other active ingredients, although using alongside niacinamide may make vitamin C less effective.
A Vitamin C serum should be used in your bedtime routine and a couple of drops of it should suffice. Tap it on your skin using your fingertips and leave it on overnight. Wash your face in the morning and apply SPF to avoid any skin irritation.
And the experts want you to know that it's okay to use multiple products boasting vitamin C. In fact, you should embrace it. "Simply because you use say a serum, that's not to say you can't and shouldn't add vitamin C to your other skincare or makeup steps," Dr. Magovern says.
Can You Use Hyaluronic Acid and Vitamin C Together? Not all powerful skincare ingredients can be mixed, but hyaluronic acid and vitamin C are two that become even stronger when paired with one another. These ingredients can provide both immediate and lasting results when used together in anti-aging formulations.
Most of the skincare experts we spoke with recommend adding a Vitamin C serum to your skincare routine slowly before building up a daily or twice-daily tolerance. “I recommend every other day to daily use in the morning, typically three to five drops for the entire face,” Palm says.
"Because vitamin C serum helps protect your skin from free radicals, most dermatologists have recommended applying it in the morning to prevent damage during the day," says Joshua Zeichner, the director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City.
While it's all down to your skin (and no one knows your skin better than you), most prefer to apply vitamin C serums in the morning because of its antioxidant properties—which means that it helps to defend against pollutants and free radicals that could otherwise damage skin throughout the day.
Pamper your pout with this conditioning lip serum that provides long-lasting moisture. The lip serum glides smoothly onto your lips and can be worn under lipstick as a primer or over for added gloss. Infused with antioxidant rich vitamin c for even lip colour. Usage: Squeeze the tube and apply to your lips.
No, it does not. It may stain your skin but it cannot darken your skin. It is important to know the difference between staining and darkening the skin. Staining is where the product reacts with your dead skin cells and leads to a change in the color of those dead cells.
The brightening properties of vitamin C also extend to fading dark spots and lightening hyperpigmentation. Vitamin C inhibits the pathway of abnormal production of skin pigments (melanin) to even out the skin tone and lightens dark spots, sun spots, acne scars, blemishes, and hyperpigmentation due to melasma.
Since serums contain the active ingredients that you want to penetrate as deeply as possible into your skin, you should always apply a serum directly to your skin after cleansing or toning and before your moisturizer and sunscreen. Don't put your serum on after you moisturize.
We all have different skin needs and routines, but as a general rule, we recommend incorporating vitamin C into your skincare regime every—or every other—morning. We specify morning, because the antioxidant helps to protect from things like pollution and UV light, which you're typically exposed to throughout the day.
If you are applying a Vitamin C serum and hyaluronic acid separately, it's suggested that you apply the Vitamin C first, and then add the hyaluronic acid afterward in order to help fortify the skin barrier and lock in the moisture.
The reason why people suggest a maximum of two or three serums comes down to layering and penetration. Heaps of brands, salons and experts recommend leaving time between applying your serums and moisturisers, and doing it in a specific order so as to allow all of the ingredients to actually sink into your epidermis.
A tell-tale sign of vitamin c over-use can be increased blackheads or a development of blackheads. General skin irritation and breakouts can also occur if you are using your vitamin c too much or too often. We recommend using your serum 1-2 times a day and 2-4 drops is all that is needed.
After 20% Vitamin C content, you may run into more irritation from the high concentrations without seeing much benefit in return. The most common strengths we see in products are between 5%-20%, so if you are looking for a good place to start aim for 10%-15% and see how it works for your skin.
Vitamin C serum is completely safe to be used on your dark circles. Vitamin C is extremely effective and you will be able to see the difference within a day or two only.
How Long Does Vitamin C Serum Take to Work? You will likely notice skin improvement 4-12 weeks after starting routine use of vitamin C serum.
Although your Vitamin C serum will lose its efficacy once oxidized, the product does not become harmful to the skin until it's expiration date, approximately one year after manufacturing. For best results, we recommend using your Vitamin C serum within 3 to 6 month of purchase, when it is fresh and most effective.