What It Does: This potent antioxidant interferes with the production of pigment in the skin, fading dark spots. When You'll See Results: Once you add vitamin C to your skincare regimen, you may start seeing noticeable improvements in three weeks. It can help significantly fade hyperpigmentation in about two months.
Three of the best vitamins for lightening dark spots are vitamin C, vitamin B12, and vitamin E. Vitamin C helps your skin produce more collagen while inhibiting the formation of melanin. Vitamin B12 also promotes collagen formation while supporting the growth of new skin cells.
Expect that your skin tone or dark spots will lighten over time. How long this takes will vary with each person but in general, you should notice a visible difference after 2-3 weeks, and a significant difference after 8-12 weeks.
Vitamin C is an excellent antioxidant, which can brighten your skin by combating discoloration and dark spots. Skin lightening works by reducing or controlling the amount of melanin in your skin. Vitamin C helps to inhibit the enzyme tyrosinase, which helps to prevent excess melanin production.
Vitamin C applied to the skin can encourage new collagen to grow. It also helps maintain the collagen you do have and protects the precious protein from damage.
As far as skincare goes, vitamin C has its own benefits. Including its ability to even out skin tone, tackle pigmentation, brighten complexion for a lit from within glow, all while gently diminishing the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, and reducing the rate of the natural loss of collagen.
Vitamin C + vitamin E
Vitamin E is no slouch as a skin care ingredient itself, but when paired with vitamin C, the Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University states that the combination is more “effective in preventing photodamage than either vitamin alone.”
Vitamin C serum benefits
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.
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.
7 vitamin C serums to consider
Sometimes it can be too strong for your skin, causing it to react via purging, breakouts, or itchiness. You don't want the product to sting and itch even after you apply moisturizer.
While sunspots can be very difficult to fade, once obtained, Vitamin C can help reduce the look of sunspots. Vitamin C works to brighten and reduce the appearance of hyperpigmentation, dark spots, age spots and sunspots.
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.
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.
Teenage skin needs the same sort of environmental protection as adult skin does, which means antioxidants are key. Dr. Zeichner suggests vitamin C, which will fend off pollution and help brighten skin.
Vitamin C treats acne scars by increasing the synthesis of collagen, a protein responsible for your skin's structure and vital for rebuilding healthy skin. As a result, this vitamin may accelerate the healing of acne wounds ( 6 , 12 , 13 ).
You can take vitamin C supplements at any time of day, with or without food, although taking ascorbic acid with foods can help decrease the potential gastrointestinal side effects caused by its high acidity ( 7 ).
Weight Gain
Early research has found a link between low levels of vitamin C and higher amounts of body fat, especially belly fat. This vitamin may also play a role in how well your body burns fat for energy.
Most dark spots will then fade on their own over time, but it may take a long time. Skin injury: As the wound heals, you may see a dark spot or patch. In time, the hyperpigmentation will fade if you don't re-injure your skin.
If you want to get rid of dark spots fast, a procedure that removes layers of discolored skin may work better than a lightening cream. These techniques include laser treatments, freezing (cryotherapy), dermabrasion, microdermabrasion, microneedling, and chemical peels.