What are the benefits of vitamin C for your skin?
Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is essential for metabolic function. However, because our bodies don’t produce it, we have to take it in via our diet. It’s an excellent antioxidant, found in many skin and hair care products. Here you’ll find the major benefits of vitamin C for your skin.
- 1. Vitamin C helps to fight against oxidative stress
- 2. Vitamin C brightens your skin and fights against hyperpigmentation
- 3. Vitamin C stimulates collagen production
- 4. Vitamin C reduces skin irritation
- Sources
1. Vitamin C helps to fight against oxidative stress.
Vitamin C is packed with powerful antioxidant properties, and protects your skin from free radicals, which are caused by UVA rays, pollution, cigarette smoke, excessive alcohol consumption, and stress. Free radicals are molecules that are missing an electron, and they’re very reactive because they’re so unstable, often reacting with the body’s healthy molecules to damage skin cells and tissue. This process, known as oxidative stress, accelerates the ageing process and the appearance of wrinkles or pigmentation marks. Vitamin C helps to neutralise free radicals by donating an electron to make them stable and less reactive. So, vitamin C helps to slow down skin ageing and protect your skin from external irritants.
2. Vitamin C brightens your skin and fights against hyperpigmentation.
Several studies have demonstrated the brightening effect of vitamin C as a topical ingredient. It can be used to boost your skin’s radiance and/or to fight against hyperpigmentation, a skin issue that can appear at any age and which manifests as brown spots on the skin’s surface.
Vitamin C helps to limit the amount of melanin produced by the pigment cells in your skin. It interacts with tyrosinase, an enzyme responsible for converting the amino acid tyrosine into melanin, in order to reduce pigmentation.
3. Vitamin C stimulates collagen production.
Collagen is a fibrous protein present in the skin which makes it supple and firm. However, as you age, collagen production slows down, which leads to skin sagging and the appearance of wrinkles. Vitamin C helps to boost your skin’s collagen production and slow down the signs of ageing.
4. Vitamin C reduces skin irritation.
Redness and inflammation can be caused by several things, such as too much sun exposure, or hormonal fluctuations. According to a study, vitamin C helps to reduce redness and irritation thanks to its anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Sources :
CHIANG N. & al. Topical Vitamin C and the Skin: Mechanisms of Action and Clinical Applications. Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology (2017).
VISSERS M.C.M. & al. The role of vitamin C in skin health. Nutrients (2017).
TRICAUD C. & al. Vitamin C Prevents Ultraviolet-induced Pigmentation in Healthy Volunteers: Bayesian Meta-analysis Results from 31 Randomized Controlled versus Vehicle Clinical Studies. The Journal of Clinical and Aesthetic Dermatology (2019).
VOSS W. & al. A Collagen Supplement Improves Skin Hydration, Elasticity, Roughness, and Density: Results of a Randomized, Placebo-Controlled, Blind Study. Nutrients (2019).
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