Take this skin quiz to find the best ingredients for your skin and build your skin care routine.
Take The Skin Quiz
Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant found in citrus fruits and leafy vegetables. Vitamin C is an important nutrient for healthy skin, bones, teeth and blood vessels. Vitamin C also goes by the name ascorbic acid and is commonly found in skincare products because it can help reduce the appearance of wrinkles & discoloration.
The two most common forms of Vitamin C are Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate and L-Ascorbic Acid.
Vitamin C is an important component of a great skincare routine. This nutrient helps even out skin tone and reduce discoloration. Vitamin C as an antioxidant also protects skin from the negative consequences of pollution on our skin, such as wrinkles and dark spots. Vitamin C also acts as a hydration barrier, keeping your skin viable and pliable.
Vitamin C is known to help reduce discoloration in the skin. Studies have shown that using vitamin C on hyperpigmented skin can reduce discoloration by up to 60% in time. As a naturally occurring antioxidant, vitamin C inhibits certain steps of melanin formation, therefore stopping hyperpigmentation from occurring at a cellular level.
Vitamin C requires a low pH to be effective so it may be too irritating for sensitive skin.
Many traditional treatments for dark spots (bleaching chemicals) yield several moderate to severe side effects, while vitamin c rarely induces any side effects at all. The only downside is that vitamin C does not penetrate deeply into the skin very well, so it is only effective on some types of dark spots.
Pores are itsy-bitsy openings in the skin—and there are millions covering every millimeter of skin. There are two types of pores with different functions: sweat pores and oil pores. The sweat pore allows moisture, produced by sweat glands, to exude out to the surface of the skin, where it helps to cool the body in response to heat, exertion or fever. Sweat pores are so tiny, they are mostly invisible to the human eye.
The oil pore, on the other hand, is a bit larger. Oil pores are also known as hair follicles because these pores produce oil from the sebaceous glands, but they are also the openings from which hair emerges. The oils help to keep our skin and hair healthy. It is the oil pores that can get clogged with sweat, debris and other gunk, causing acne, blackheads and whiteheads. Sweat pores rarely get clogged, as they are so tiny.
Benzoyl peroxide is a topical agent for fighting bacteria and unclogging pores. It is one of the longest-used medications to keep pores clean and healthy. Jojoba oil and rosehip oil are also good for reducing inflammation, fighting bacteria, and keeping in moisture for healthier skin. Ingredients that help exfoliate dead skin cells and increase new skin cell production, such as Vitamin A/Retinol, glycolic acid, and salicylic acid, are good for keeping pores unclogged as well.
vitamin C may be effective for clogged pores, but there are many other factors that may affect whether this ingredient would work on your skin or if there are better ingredients that may work for you. Take this skin quiz to find the best ingredients for your skin and build your skincare routine.
Next: Does honey work on cystic acne ?