Hi I’m currently using 15% ascorbic acid in the morning under my sunscreen for it’s antioxidant properties and I’ve been noticing my skin is glowing! However I’ve noticed it oxidizes fast and when it does it causes irritation.
I’ve been hearing that copper peptides have an even more powerful antioxidant effect and aren’t as unstable. Is this true ? If so which products do you recommend ? Thank you
Thank you for the advice !
I love Cerave Ascorbic acid 10% serum. It's a very moisturizing formulation and doesn't irritate my skin. It still oxidizes, but that's always the case with ascorbic acid products (and they are still the most potent anti-oxidants on the market). Another option I like is Clinique fresh pressed 10% Vitamin C.
Thank you ! What do you think about the phloretin c f gel by skinceuticals? Do you think that it is more stable since it’s in a silicone base ?
This is definitely a good product (I mean this formulation: https://whatsinmyjar.com/product/skinceuticals-phloretin-cf-gel). There is a good clinical study confirming its effectiveness: https://www.jidonline.org/article/S0022-202X(17)30184-7/fulltext. An interesting point though that this study used both the Skincaeuticals CE Ferulic (15% of Ascorbic Acid) and the Phloretin CF (but the serum format). Both products work well as anti-oxidants, but there is no much difference between them. The Phlorentin CF serum doesn't really perform better than the CE Ferulic. I couldn't find a comparison with the gel phlorentin formula.
My personal practical conclusion from this: if money isn't an issue, Phlorentin CF, expecially the gel formulation, sounds wonderful and is worth including in a routine. If you are trying to optimize the budget though, an ascorbic acid + ferulic serum (Skinceuticals or other brands) is a good alternative. Money-wise, it might make more sense to go for a slightly more affordable ascorbic acid + ferulic serum (or even Clinique fresh pressed or smth similar) and make peace with the fact that it will oxidise after a month or so, then to pay double or triple for a chance that a product has 4 extra weeks of the anti-oxidant effectiveness.
Also forgot to link the supplemental material for that paper: it is actually more informative than the main article - you can compare the performance of the CE Ferulic (Mix 1 in the study) and Phloretin CF (Mix 2) in the graphs: https://www.jidonline.org/cms/10.1016/j.jid.2017.01.034/attachment/c6118e7d-249b-482f-a5df-bab05a74e92f/mmc1.pdf
It’s expensive but I really like the revision c+ correcting complex 30. It has THD Ascorbate which is a more stable form of vitamin c. It won’t oxidize as quickly and is more gentle. My skin reacts to l asorbic acid so this is my hg vitamin c.