The Best Vitamin C Alternatives in Skincare
1. Is Vitamin C for skincare worth the hype?
2. Vitamin C stability, potency and irritation issues
3. What are the best Vitamin C alternatives?
4. Best skincare products with Vitamin C alternatives
1. Is Vitamin C worth the hype?
The skincare ingredient Vitamin C, in the water soluble form l-ascorbic acid, has a lot of hype associated with it. It’s one of the most common skincare actives and is discussed among skinfluencers a lot, a lot lot. Next to retinol, Vitamin C has reached holy grail skincare ingredient status for its potential skin brightening, antioxidant, anti-aging benefit. But when we delve into the science behind it, does Vitamin C live up to its reputation? Is Vitamin C worth the hype?
2. Vitamin C stability, potency and irritation issues
Water-soluble vitamin C, known as l-ascorbic acid, has well known stability issues. It’s popular on TikTok and Instagram to compare the colour of different formulas as they age on the shelf. A vitamin C based formula that turns dark yellow or orange over time is a sign that the antioxidant is degrading. Many people discuss the use of coloured or airless packaging to help lengthen the shelf life of their product. Some brands have begun to offer solutions where the customer combines their l-ascorbic acid to a solution when they receive their product or even use a powdered version to a water based formula each time they go to use their product. Clearly, stability is an issue and there is no one clear method to resolve it.
The original patent on Vitamin C stability filed by Skinceuticals, one of the OG brands to feature l-ascorbic acid, clarified three factors that are essential to the stability and potency of a vitamin C according to their research:
-for an effective product (i.e. best potency) you need 15-20% concentration of l-ascorbic acid, which is quite high
-you need a low pH of below 3, which is quite acidic
-its stability is greatly improved when combined with additives Vitamin E and ferulic acid
According to them, these three features result in an effective Vitamin C topical product. However, the high concentration and low pH required mean that many people do not tolerate this type of product very well. There is a large chance for irritation issues.
In terms of stability, the use of Vitamin E and ferulic acid improve the stability of Vitamin C but they do not compare this improved version to other anti-oxidants that do not have the same stability issues like turmeric (curcumin) or other alternatives that we will discuss below. In other words, the above three features may help to make Vitamin C the best version of itself but that does not mean it’s the best anti-oxidant and skin brightener available to us overall.
3. Best Vitamin C Alternatives
The benefits for vitamin c in skincare are reported as:
-pigmentation and overall skin brightening
-anti-oxidant support and free radical scavenging
-improved cell turnover
In terms of pigmentation and overall skin brightening, it’s possible that some of Vitamin C’s potential activity comes from the low pH of the formula. This ties into the improved cell turnover and possible exfoliation effect of Vitamin C. With this in mind, a powerful and stable combination of skincare products would be to use turmeric based skincare with an Alpha Hydroxy Acid type of product, like glycolic acid. We’ll discuss the benefits in having individual products that target anti-oxidant and exfoliation separately later on.
Turmeric in the form of distilled turmeric oil or curcumin has substantial clinical data to show it improves skin luminosity. Western use in skincare is borrowed from the ancient Ayurvedic use where turmeric powder is combined with honey, yogurt, or water as a skincare mask for skin brightening. Distilled turmeric oil and/or curcumin give similar benefits but remove the skin staining potential of turmeric to make it easier to use every day.
Turmeric has also been shown to have stable and potent anti-oxidant abilities. It has a fair amount of clinical data supporting its use as an ingestible supplement for this reason for many types of inflammatory conditions. There is one study that directly compares it to l-ascorbic acid and nitrites as a food preservation system for raw chicken. Turmeric showed improved performance in comparison to both l-ascorbic acid and nitrites for its ability to preserve food against peroxides and overall free radical scavenging.
The synthetic anti-oxidant EUK-134 has also been shown to have improved free radical scavenging in comparison to l-ascorbic acid. Most anti-oxidants are capable of completing one ‘loop’ of free radical scavenging, in other words it neutralizes one roving Reactive Oxygen Species but then cannot perform anything further. EUK-134 mimics enzymes naturally found in the skin, superoxide dismutase and catalase, that are able to continuously complete free radical scavenging ‘loops’ and hence have improved performance. EUK-134 is a great addition to a well-balanced skincare routine and helpful for anti-oxidant support and skin brightening. It just simply does not get the same amount of recognition as Vitamin C.
4. Best skincare products with Vitamin C alternatives
We combine distilled turmeric oil and EUK-134 in our Cyberderm PM Anti-Age. We have had this formula since 2008 and customers have consistently reported that within 2-3 weeks they notice a visible improvement in skin brightening in terms of their overall skin tone. The difference is noticeable enough that people report getting compliments. Bright skin often gets described as looking ‘lit from within’. Our Be Light, Pigment Correction from our Natrèceutique line also contains distilled turmeric oil in addition to yeast extract and an active that works with the skin’s natural microbiome for gentle yet effective skin brightening.
Different forms of skin pigmentation and signs of aging like skin texture and the appearance of fine lines typically take longer to improve. For typical skin pigmentation like freckles and some form of ‘age spots’, it can take up to four-six weeks to see visible improvement based on the natural cycle of skin cells being 28+ days.
You can pair a product like Cyberderm PM Anti-Age with a skin exfoliant like our Cyberderm Exfoliant Reveal with 8% glycolic acid, Cyberderm Retin+Erase with 1% Hydroxypinacolone Retinoate (HPR) or our Natrèceutique Bakuchiol Building Blocks with Bakuchiol. These stimulate exfoliation, i.e. the shedding of dead skin cells and help other products penetrate better. They would be the stand-in for the acid component of l-ascorbic acid and its preferred acid pH of lower than 3. However, the benefit in using a separate exfoliant product means that you can minimize irritation by using it on alternate nights or 1-2x weekly.
Our Cyberderm PM Anti-Age has been a beloved addition to those who have used it these past 15 years. While distilled turmeric oil and EUK-134 do not get the same amount of recognition as Vitamin C- they have the power to visibly brighten the skin and improve its overall look without the stability, potency and irritation issues of Vitamin C.