Vitamin C serum: why is Vitamin C serum the cornerstone of facial skin care and Citri California LLC?

Vitamin C serum is a highly effective part of a great skincare routine because it is a potent antioxidant that can neutralize free radicals. 

What are “free radicals”?

Scientifically speaking, free radicals are molecules with unpaired electrons. These molecules are like pirates that plunder electrons from other cells, damaging them in the process. Simply put: they accelerate your skin’s aging, leading to wrinkles, fine lines, dark spots, and sagging skin.

Armed with antioxidant properties, Vitamin C neutralizes those pesky free radicals and aids in your skin's natural regeneration process, which helps your body repair damaged skin cells.

You might be wondering, “Can’t I just drink a lot of orange juice to get enough Vitamin C to do the job?” 

To fight damage from free radicals on your skin, Vitamin C must be applied topically. You cannot consume enough via your diet to have it reach your skin. But great news: topical use of Vitamin C may help offset damage from things like UV and air pollution exposure!  

Kathleen understood the importance of using Vitamin C serum but was unable to find a serum on the market that didn’t also contain potentially damaging ingredients such as propylene glycol (a common antifreeze ingredient) that may ultimately damage skin. The other thing missing was the ability to increase or decrease the percentage of Vitamin C in the serum based on skin sensitivity.  Always a hands-on problem solver, Kathleen started to make her own. Our Vitamin C Antioxidant Serum can start as low as 2.5% for people with really sensitive skin. Most of our customers find that starting at 5% and then increasing to 10% long-term has worked well for their skin. We can always move you back to the lower concentration if you have any issues with a higher level of Vitamin C. 

What’s in Citri California’s Vitamin C Antioxidant Serum?

Vitamin C Serum Ingredients:

• Pure, distilled water to dilute the Vitamin C to the correct level 
• Vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid, which is vital in skincare products because it acts as an antioxidant when applied to skin, helping with skin cell rejuvenation and inducing collagen synthesis[1]. Studies have shown that vitamin C protects skin from UV-induced damage by reducing the amount of free radical formation, which is counteracted by vitamin C’s antioxidant properties[2]. In addition, vitamin C has been suggested to reduce wrinkles and help repair age-related damage, while brightening the skin[3]
• Vegetable glycerin, which helps to hydrate the outer layer of the skin (the stratum corneum), improve skin barrier function and skin mechanical properties, provide protection against skin irritants and accelerate wound-healing processes

To use:

• Citri California LLC, Vitamin C serum should be applied before moisturizers, creams and/or any other products; as in terms of consistency, it’s better to layer from thinnest to thickest (while allowing enough time for them to dry in between). 
• Cleanse face and gently pat dry.  Apply Vitamin C serum and allow it to dry prior to applying Citri California Facial Lotion. 
• Vitamin C serum can also be applied at night, prior to applying Citri California Evening serum and going to sleep.

As with all of our products, It is also important to note what is not included.  We include only fresh ingredients and we use organic when available. No parabens, artificial fragrances or colors are ever added. 

We never test on animals. 

Our direct to consumer model allows us to provide our fresh skin care products directly to our customers.

Stay tuned for next week’s edition of Formulator's Corner, where we’ll take a look at our Vitamin C Serum with Hyaluronic Acid.

[1] Crisan, D. et al, 'The role of vitamin C in pushing back the boundaries of skin aging: an ultrasonographic approach' in Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology 8 (2015) pp. 463-470 [Accessible at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4562654/ ]

[2] Tran, D. et al, 'An antiaging skin care system containing alpha hydroxy acids and vitamins improves the biomechanical parameters of facial skin' in Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology 8 (2015) pp. 9-17 [Accessible at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4277239/ ]

[3] Tran, D. et al, 'An antiaging skin care system containing alpha hydroxy acids and vitamins improves the biomechanical parameters of facial skin' in Clinical, Cosmetic and Investigational Dermatology 8 (2015) pp. 9-17 [Accessible at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4277239/ ]