Saturday, September 17, 2011

Best Thing for Your Skin: Vitamin C Serum



If you are anything like me, you prefer to make your own natural beauty products because they are much better and nurturing for your skin than store bought products pumped full of bad chemical preservatives that do nothing to help your skin cells. After moving to Denver in 2010 from a relativity humid climate, I notice my skin became a lot duller in the dry mile-high country. I always thought that vitamin A (also known as Retinol) was the absolute best thing to put on your skin. I spent hundreds, if not thousands of dollars throughout the years on consumer products with “retinol”. None of these items (department store bought or handmade) really had any impact on the appearance/texture of my skin. In the end, I did a lot of research and discovered a great vitamin C treatment to help my dry skin and help me protect my skin cells from UV damage in the process.

***skip to the bottom for recipe***
A few words about Vitamin C:
Vitamin C (also known as L-ascorbic acid) is one of the best things you can put on your skin on a daily basis. Not only has it been proven to help against UV damage, but it can also boost collagen levels and reduce wrinkle deepness. Notice I did not say it reduces wrinkles, because NOTHING can do that but surgery. It can also lighten pigmentation, which as a fair skin girl isn’t really needed, but some of you may find this beneficial. 5% to 10% L-ascorbic acid on the skin is very effective, as not a lot is needed in the production of the crème or serum which is applied to the face. It should also be noted that vitamin E is also a very beneficial for the skin, but for the purposes of this article I am only focusing on the wonders of vitamin C.
Why do I want to make it myself, can’t I just buy this at the store?
NO!

Okay, I know I will be asked this:
Question: I’ve seen vitamin C lotions or serums at Dillards or Target, can’t I just buy those and be done with it?
Answer: You shouldn’t, because it wouldn’t do anything but smell pretty and take your hard earned $!
Explanation: Vitamin C with a carrier substance (L-ascorbic acid mixed with other items) has a shelf life of about 5 to 8 days before it oxidizes. Let that sink in for a moment. The beauty companies sell products that have “Vitamin C” printed on the side of the bottle or front of the box and hope you won’t catch onto their ruse. The sad fact is that by the time the product is put on the shelves of the US supermarkets and department stores, the vitamin C has already oxidized and lost most of its potent effectiveness. The beauty companies know this, but because they are not regulated by a body to make sure their products are always effective at time of sale they can get away with it!
When oxidized, vitamin C lotion or serum turns a yellow-amberish color. Because oxidation happens so quickly after production, it is so important to use it immediately….. which is why you should start making it  yourself.
Some lesser versions of vitamin C consist of Ascorbyl palmitate, Tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate and Magnesium ascorbyl phosphate. Although these have proven to stimulate collagen growth, they are not as powerful as L-ascorbic acid.


One thing to always remember: L-ascorbic acid is highly unstable, it is always best to use it immediately after production.

Let’s make a Vitamin C serum at home!
Her e is what you need:
L-ascorbic powder (buy it here)
Glycerine
(
buy it here)
Distilled water
Dark glass bottle (preferable with spray nozzle) **note, vitamin C is photo sensitive and oxidizes faster when light hits it. You need to keep it in a dark bottle where light cannot easily pass through it**

Optional:

Aloe plant
Essential oils


Step 1:
Heating the distilled water:
Place about ½ a cup of distilled water in a smaller glass or porcelain contain inside a saucepan of tap water. Heat at medium on the range. Heat for 5 minutes.
Step 2:
Prepping the bottle:
Add ¼ tsp  (1.25 ml) L-ascorbic acid power to your dark glass bottle
Tip: curl up a small piece of paper into the opening of the bottle as a funnel into the bottle and hold over the sink when pouring, as powder can become messy
Step 3:
Add 1 tsp of distilled water to the powder:
Scoop out 1 tsp (5 ml) of the warmed distilled water with measuring spoon and add to the powder in the dark glass bottle.
Tip: use an eyedropper to pull the distilled water from the measuring spoon and deliver into the bottle.
Step 4:
Dissolve the powder into the warm distilled water
Take the time to shake the bottle until the powder is totally dissolved into the distilled water before moving to the next step. This can take up to 5 to 10 minutes. Wait until the powder is totally disovled into the distilled water to move onto step 5.
Tip: At this stage I put the mixture into a bottle with an eyedropper, I squeeze on the eyedropper into the liquid over and over to move the mixture around and speed up the dissolving of the powder.
Step 5:
Adding the glycerine
Add 1 tsb of glycerine to the mixture. Shake until totally mixed.
Step 6:
You’re done!!!! Spray all over on clean skin for 7 days, then start over again in 7 days (or when you notice yellowing from oxidation) with production. If using make-up, allow 10 minutes to dry until you apply makeup.

Notes to consider:
1: When using, exfoliate your skin first!! This will ensure that the dead skin cells are removed and the live cells are getting the full benefit of the vitamin C. Personally I use an at home microderm abrasion kit once a week to make sure the dead cells are gone, then I spray the vitamin C serum onto the skin. Feels so good the next day!!
2. Vitamin C will sting at first, much like the first time you tried Vitamin A for the first time, but this will be easier each time you use it.
3: Double up on the amounts in the recipe of ingredients if you want to put the serum on your body. 4: The serum will only stay active for about 5 to 7 days
5: Always be naturally beautiful!

6: Contact me for any questions!

For alternates forms:

Aloe
- Aloe can help the stinging effect of the vitamin C. Squeeze a few drips of Aloe into the mix if you have sensitive skin. Only do this after you have fully mixed the serum.
Essential oils - only add a very small amount (one drop) to the mix if you desire an odor to the facial mix.