Does Vitamin C Serum Dry Out Your Skin

When you’re looking for beauty and good skin care products for smoother and brighter face, vitamin C serum could be the true workhorses of any product line. But as with most skin care products, it also has a few drawbacks, which some could be quite serious if not properly used! Does it dry out the skin – can it burn your skin?

Why should use vitamin C serum?

Your good skin care is dependent on several factors. But overall, it is pretty simple. Using the right moisturizer, cleanser, and sunscreen are probably enough for a clear complexion.

However, sometimes you may need something that gives some extra TLC. Here skin care serum could be one of your best bets.

Serum is a light, quick-absorbing solution used as an alternative or a complementary choice to lotions and creams. It is loaded with high concentration of skin-health boosters. Typically it is water based, making it more easily to be absorbed into the skin and eliminating oils together. When most of the fluid is eliminated, what you’re left with is essential active ingredients.

It is an effective way to deal with numerous skin problems such as acne, dryness, or wrinkles. Bonus, it is free of harmful, heavy ingredients (e.g. petroleum or other bad mineral oils) – and low in thickening and lubricating agents.

So the appeal of using serum is hard to resist, even though it’s one of the costliest skin care products. Nowadays it’s a top pick among many skin care pros. Depending on your skin’s needs — it could be your best bet for the most potent dose of skin brighteners, anti-aging properties, peptides, or antioxidants! It could deliver the most powerful results.

With all these backgrounds, we can say serums are the true workhorses of most skin-care regimens. Even though it is more expensive, it’s quite affordable when you use it effectively. A 1-ounce container of serum, when applied properly, should last at least 4 weeks or more.

Try serum with a medicine-dropper application or in a pump bottle, so you can practically and efficiently dispense the tiny amount you need for a month. A few concentrated drops should be enough since serums consist of very tiny molecules, allowing active ingredients penetrate into the skin quickly and deeply.

The heavier, thicker ingredients in lotions or creams form a layer (barrier) for locking moisture in – but this way will also lock essential, active ingredients out! With serum, you are free of this hindrance so your skin can absorb the active ingredients more effectively and faster.

Without a great serum, you could be doing your skin a disservice. However, it’s not always easy to choose the best one that meets your skin requirement most. Even some could be counterproductive if you don’t know exactly on how to choose and use them. How about vitamin C serum?

Vitamin C and skin health

Also called ascorbic acid, vitamin C is essential vitamin for numerous body functions. It’s required to form cartilage, collagen in bones, blood vessels, and muscle. What else? It plays a key role for supporting the body healing process. Furthermore, it is an important antioxidant to protect the body from free radicals. And it helps the body absorb and store minerals (iron for example).

Since the body is not able to make vitamin C, you need to continuously get it from diet. Spinach, Brussels sprouts, peppers, broccoli, cabbage, sweet potatoes, berries, and citrus fruits are healthy foods high in vitamin C. It is also available as capsules or chewable tablets (oral supplements). People with certain conditions may need these oral supplements, though supplements might not provide the same health benefits as naturally occurring antioxidants /nutrients in food.

How about its effect on skin health? Are there any scientific evidences to prove the benefit on the skin? Numerous studies have confirmed that topical skin care with vitamin C may help improve various skin problems, such as; rough skin, fine wrinkles, sallowness, and laxity. It is a good way to improve overall skin texture. The same goes for vitamin C serum, though it doesn’t work for everyone!

Does vitamin C serum dry out the skin?

We can say vitamin C is essential for everyone. But when it’s applied topically ‘with serum’ on the skin, the result may vary depending on the type and condition of your skin.

However sometimes it’s not easy to find out what causes the problem exactly. Just because your skin becomes dry, red, or inflamed after applying vitamin C serum, this doesn’t always definitely mean the cause is your serum. It could also be caused by something else.

But if you do find that your skin is too sensitive to vitamin C serum, choose other types of serum that meet your goals of your facial skin. Choose one that contains ingredients you need most! For example, if you’re targeting aging, serums containing growth factors with less varied ingredients are more recommended.

Serums are available for virtually every skin type. Choose one that carries an extra level of treatment for your specific skin needs! Once you find one that meets your skin requirements most, it will help you a lot for a beautiful relief.

How to use serum safely and effectively? Here are a few important points to remember:

1. Typically, serum will penetrate more deeply into the skin with a sonic skin-care brush or an exfoliating cleanser. While this step is a good way to make serum work more optimally, be careful if you have more sensitive skin. If your skin is quite dry, it’d be better to skip using any exfoliation before applying serum!
2. Don’t apply serum after heavier products (e.g. night cream, moisturizer, or sunscreen)! Applying other creams or heavier products before serum will create a barrier. So always put it on first to make sure all active ingredients in serum will work properly.
3. Make sure your face is clean before applying serum, wash your face first! But before using serum, it may help to wait 10-15 minutes after washing. When your skin is not ready enough (too damp), serum might cause skin irritation.

What else to do to cope with dry skin on face?

Skin dryness is relatively easy to become more sensitive and get inflamed. As mentioned earlier, it can be attributed by many factors, making it more difficult to find out the exact cause of the problem.

To help prevent or ease dry skin on face, here are a few suggestions.

Warm is OK, hot ‘NO’

Almost everyone loves a steamy shower, but hot water is a nightmare when your skin’s drying out. Hot water will strip the natural oil barrier of your skin, making it harder to have smooth and moist skin. Because your skin needs that barrier to trap and maintain moisture!

So it’d be better to dial down the temperature, warm is YES – but NOT for hot. Also, make sure to not linger too long (no more than 10 minutes).

Moisturizer can help a lot

Appling moisturizer is one of best ideas to cope with dry skin. But make sure to use one that suits to your skin condition!

To keep safe, your moisturizer should be low /free of the following popular extras; coloring, perfumes /fragrance, too many acids (e.g. salicylic acid, retinoid acid, and glycolic acid), alcohol, and high amounts of steroid ingredients. More doesn’t always provide better result when it comes to the list of properties in a moisturizer – so again, choose ingredients that you need most!

Also, use it NOT ‘too much’ or ‘too little’. A nickel-sized amount of moisturizer that suits your skin type should be enough! Too much moisturizer will make it more difficult to put on your make up. On the other hand, too little use will drive your facial skin to look dull, feel tight, and flake.

Using the right cleanser is a must

Oil, dirt, dead skin cells, sunscreen, and makeup can build up during the day. So no matter how dry your facial skin, gentle cleansing before going bed is necessary. The good news, you don’t have to wash again afterwards in the morning. Rinsing with water should be enough when you wake up.

But using cleanser could be tricky since it can easily irritate the skin and provoke skin dryness. That’s why it’s very important to choose and use cleanser properly. To ease dry skin, a gentle cleanser containing moisturizer is good idea.

Avoid products containing too many acids (especially salicylic or glycolic acid, which is drying). Just make sure your face doesn’t feel tight, irritated, or too dry after cleansing! Instead, your skin should feel smooth and soft afterwards – otherwise, try a different one!

Also avoid toners, particularly astringents and alcohol-based facial toners. They are effective to remove dirt and oils, but they are bad for both dry and sensitive skin. Luckily, toners are not a necessary part of skin-care routine for most people, so there should be no problem when you skip them.

Use makeup carefully!

You can wear makeup even though you have sensitive or dry facial skin. The key is applying the right makeup products, which may take some trial and error. If you don’t know where to start, go with a few basic steps; avoid products containing fragrances and preservatives.

Extra ingredients for fragrance are often drying and irritating for people with sensitive skin. Parabens, chemicals added to many cosmetics, are common preservatives to block bacteria growth so the products last longer – but they may cause problem if you have sensitive skin.

So products low /free of fragrances and parabens (e.g. propylparaben or butylparaben) are better choices!

How about facial scrub?

When it comes to coping with dry skin, using a facial scrub is a bad idea. Scrubs can provoke your skin dryness, though it can strongly remove dead skin cells, dirt, and oil. They may also cause skin irritation, redness, and soreness – which are particularly true if you have sensitive skin.

The good news, they are not mandatory in skin care routine. There’s no significant downside when you skip or use too little scrubs. A dab should be enough for exfoliation. So you can skip them.

Keep alert!

Never ignore any abnormal reactions. It’s common to have skin irritation, dry skin, or pimples once in a while. But if you have abnormal symptoms or see sudden changes, stop any specific skin-care product that may cause the problem!

Even though you have not switched your skin-care products lately, one of them could still be the cause. Because it may take some time for the reaction /allergy to come up!

Sometimes your body has to be exposed to something for a long enough before eventually a reaction develops. So it’s possible to suddenly experience a bad reaction to certain product after a long time use. Also, manufactures may change the ingredients and you don’t know!