Pat any excess product onto the top of your hands, neck, and décolletage. Step 4: Apply a moisturizer (Yes, your moisturizer should come after your Vitamin C serum — remember the “thinnest to thickest” rule.)
We recommend that beauty lovers use our Vitamin C Serum after cleansing, exfoliating, masking, and/or toning — but always before moisturizing. All you have to do is apply a couple pumps of serum to clean fingers, and gently press the product evenly over damp skin.
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.
“I recommend using vitamin C products twice daily for maximum benefits,” Dr. Chang said. “If used in serum or essence forms, it should be applied after cleansing and before your thicker moisturizers and creams.”
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.
Goldenberg's go-to recommendation for timing between serums and moisturizers is about one minute. This wait has the same reasoning: Sixty seconds — give or take — gives each product a moment to delve into your pores.
Know when to go in reverse.
If your sensitive skin reddens with the thought of using even one treatment product, try putting on a simple, fragrance-free moisturizer first and then serums on top. "The cream will reduce the potency of the serums," says Dr. Hirsch, "but they'll also be less likely to cause irritation."
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're wondering when to apply a vitamin C serum, the answer is both morning and night, after cleansing and toning. One study even recommends applying a vitamin C serum every eight hours, or twice daily for the pinnacle of protection.
Use your vitamin C serum first, and let it dry.
Then "Let vitamin C completely dry prior to placing niacinamide," says Lamm. That way, the ascorbic acid has a chance to settle into the skin, and there's a smaller chance of combining the two actives.
Use a water based or non comedogenic moisturizer which means it doesnt clog your pores. AcneOC is a good one which is light, non-greasy and non comedogenic.
Vitamin C (especially L-ascorbic acid) is notoriously unstable—it loses potency when it's exposed to air, light, and water—which is why you want to apply it on clean, dry skin right after washing. You'll also want to let it dry completely, as piling on products right after could potentially deactivate the vitamin C.
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.
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.
A thick moisturizer with hyaluronic acid would be applied after a vitamin C serum, but a hyaluronic acid serum will come before a face cream with vitamin C in its formula. In the case that you have two separate serums, it still comes down to thickness. Apply whichever is thinner first.
"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.
Vitamin C serum (leave to absorb for 1-2 minutes)
Dr Khan explains: “With vitamin C, you want to get the most out of the product by not diluting it. A couple of minutes should be an adequate time for the product to dry down before you go in with your next step.”
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.
To allow serums to fully absorb, apply and wait 5 minutes before moisturizing. Take note: Well-formulated serums absorb quickly and disappear into your skin. If they leave an oily or sticky residue, they're not doing their job well.
In most cases, it makes sense to apply serum before moisturizer. This is because serum is usually more lightweight, whereas moisturizer tends to be thicker. Applying serum first can also give the skin more opportunity to absorb the active ingredients. In many skin care routines, moisturizer is the last step.
Because oil is the heaviest — or most dense — product in your routine, it's able to penetrate your moisturizer, allowing it to reach your skin, but the reverse isn't true. If you want to really amp up the moisture, apply your oil after applying moisturizer onto damp skin.