I use a vitamin C serum almost every morning. It gives my skin a brightness and glow, some antioxidant protection, what I believe is a beneficial effect on pigmentation and texture, and it generally agrees with my skin. But frequently I meet women who want to use vitamin C skincare, but have found they can’t – at least not comfortably.
The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.
Vitamin C – especially in the form of L-ascorbic acid, the purest, most evidenced but also least stable form in skincare – can be too punchy on sensitive skin types. But there are ways to deploy it more gently. CeraVe’s recently launched Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum (£29) uses L-ascorbic acid but in a manageable 10% concentration, and buffers it with the brand’s signature complex of ceramides to cushion and comfort the skin barrier.
Those who have all but given up on vitamin C may find they can use this with no redness or itchiness. Another way around the problem is via a different form of vitamin C. There’s increasing industry enthusiasm for tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, a more stable analogue of L-ascorbic acid.
While tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate (let’s go with “TA” for brevity) isn’t significantly gentler, it is oil-soluble and better absorbed, so can be added to skincare at lower concentrations to much the same effect as other ingredients at higher, more skin-aggravating levels. It doesn’t sme.