The truth: You can use vitamin C with retinol and retinoids. Get them as separate products so you can tailor the concentration of each and use them at the right time of day. Although vitamin C can be used day or night, it is ideal for daytime use, while retinol and retinoids should be applied at night.
Your skin requires a low pH level (0 to about 3.5)to absorb Vitamin C, while Retinol requires a higher pH level (around 5.5 to 6). When you mix Vitamin C and Retinol, the pH of vitamin C increases and the pH of Retinol decreases — hence why it's believed that the two ingredients render each other ineffective.
Main Takeaways: Retinol and vitamin C can be easily and effectively used together as long as they're not used at the same time. Good to Know: By allowing a couple of hours between the application of retinol and vitamin C, even sensitive skins can avoid irritations. Recommended Products: Nectar of the C Vitamin C Serum.
Combining certain ingredients can bring out the best of both and makes for a truly effective anti-aging regimen. Enter vitamin C benefits for skin. When paired with the revitalizing skin benefits of retinol, this duo can help promote a youthful complexion.
In short: yes, you can use vitamin C and retinol together; try retinol at night and vitamin C during the day—always with sunscreen.
So, should I use vitamin C or retinol for wrinkles? Well, when it comes right down to it, the choice is really in what you're looking to do for your skin. While vitamin C is incredible for the skin because of its ability to help brighten and improve hyperpigmentation, the best active ingredient for wrinkles is retinol.
Since retinol and L-ascorbic acid have a big gap in pH, using them at the same time will lower the retinol's pH and raise the vitamin C's pH. The result? The retinol will become less active, and the vitamin C will have a reduced ability to get into your skin. Essentially, they will both become less effective!
AHAs and BHAs, such as glycolic, salicylic, and lactic acids should never be used with Vitamin C. Vitamin C is an acid, too, and is unstable, so the pH balance will be thrown off by layering these ingredients together and might as well be useless.
Many people wonder when the best time is to use their Vitamin C products. While some associate Vitamin C with daytime, others believe nights and evenings are best to use their Vitamin C-infused products. The truth is, Vitamin C can work effectively in the days or evenings.
Is it a good idea to combine Vitamin C, Retinol and Hyaluronic Acid in a skincare routine? Yes. These ingredients work well when used individually and even better when paired together.
Retinoids work best if you use them daily. Specifically, they should be used at night because some types are deactivated by light and air. It's important to start slowly and allow your skin time to adjust. Using too much too quickly can cause redness, dryness, and irritation.
"Retinol makes your skin more sensitive to UV rays and sunlight decreases the efficacy of the product," explains Bowe, who instructs patients to only use retinoids at night and be diligent about applying a daily broad-spectrum SPF 30 or higher during the day.
Good (Skin) Days C's The Day Serum
Vitamin C moisturizers are also becoming more common, Dr. Lamb says, and you'd want to use those at the end of your skin-care routine. And if you're wondering if you can use vitamin C every day, the answer is yes.
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.
Don't Mix: Retinol with vitamin C, benzoyl peroxide, and AHA/BHA acids. AHA and BHA acids are exfoliating, which can dry out skin and cause further irritation if your skincare routine already includes retinol.
“AHA, BHA, retinol, and benzoyl peroxide can be mixed with moisturizing ingredients like hyaluronic acid, ceramides, and rosehip oil to get effective results — just ensure you are not using retinol as well as AHA or BHA's during the day," says Graf.
A combination of retinoids and humectants such as niacinamide, panthenol, glycerin, and hyaluronic acid can help slow down TEWLs during application of retinoid. Hyaluronic Acid is an excellent ingredient to alleviate some of these concerns.
Vitamin C serum protects the collagens while the Retinol serum helps in cell turn over thereby creating new collagens. Vitamin C serum fights dry skin, while Retinol serum may dry out your skin upon regular usage. Vitamin C serum is not as effective as the Retinol serum in anti-ageing therapy.
Vitamin C is used for its anti-ageing benefits as it boosts collagen, improves elasticity and repairs damaged cells. Using it before bed is safer and has far more beauty benefits and thus, we totally recommend you to use it in the night, before hitting the sack.
A formula with retinol, like the L'Oréal Paris Revitalift Triple Power Eye Treatment, should be applied after your serums and before moisturizer due to its consistency.
Rouleau says the best time to use a scrub is in the morning. Overnight you've loosened up dead skin cells with your glycolic acid or retinol products, making the morning a perfect time to brush them off.
Yes, you could use niacinamide in the morning and vitamin C at night. Both ingredients are highly effective and are able to deliver impressive results whenever they are applied to the skin.
Also, we consulted with scientists who told us that if you wear vitamin C without sunscreen, your vitamin C can actually be photo-incinerated (i.e. totally burned away) by the sun.
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.