I’ve been asked about Vitamin C serums before and thought I’d just make a separate thread about it so all the info. is in one place. I make my own serum and apply it in the morning after washing my face. I have never used any store bought Vitamin C serum. I find most of them too expensive. Since I also apply the serum on my neck and sometimes on my arms, I would be spending quite a bit of $$ on store bought serums. I find it much cheaper to make it myself.
Below are 2 good articles regarding Vitamin C serum and the “pros” of making it yourself. There is quite a bit of chemistry discussed in the articles. I’m terrible at science and needed read the articles several times (on different days!) to wrap my head around what it was saying. So if you don’t “get it” the 1st time you read it…please have patience. In addition to this, doing a search on the internet on “vitamin c serums” will bring up tons of articles.
Vitamin C for wrinkles and skin aging
Vitamin C + E + ferulic acid: enhancing stability and effectiveness of topical ascorbic acid
DIY Formula: below is the particular formula I use. I buy all my ingredients from LotionCrafter.com. This is not the only DIY Vitamin C recipe. Again, doing a search on the internet on “Vitamin C Serum Recipe” will brind up tons of other recipes. There are videos about DIY C Serums on YouTube too.
"**15% vitamin C + E + ferulic acid serum with Jojoba Oil (Note: You can use ANY type of oil you want; Does not have to be Jojoba; Personally I use Argan)
**1 tsp L-Ascorbic Acid
1 tsp Sea Kelp Bioferment
1 tsp Jojoba Oil
3 tsp Distilled water
1/4 tsp Ferulic Acid
1/4 tsp Vitamin E Oil
1/4 tsp ice cold Vodka or Witch Hazel
- First dissolve the ferulic acid in the vodka in one shotglass.
- Combine the SKB, vit E and jojoba oil in a second shotglass.
- Quickly mix the L-ascorbic acid into the water in a third shotglass and combine with the other 2 shotglasses.
Store in a dark closed dropper bottle in a cool but not necessarily cold place (I use a 1oz. amber glass dropper bottle I bought at a local grocery store)
Shake before using each time.
Be sure that each phase is completely dissolved before combining all the phases together. Your serum should be a milky thin fluid, and it is normal to have an oily layer on top. Shake well before using each time to disperse the oil and water.
The pH of any L-ascorbic acid serum should be less than 3.5 in order to be absorbed by the skin. If your serum’s pH rises above 3.5 or turns yellow or darkens, throw it away since it has oxidized and is no longer effective.
Your skin may sting the first few times using this. If you are too sensitive to a 15% serum, use less L-ascorbic acid in your next batch until you adjust to it.
You will use the C serum in the morning along with your other products, but NOT with copper peptides as they cancel each other out.
Use Retin-A or retinols in the evening."
you’v heard inside of my heart voice
I keep mine in amber glass dropper bottles and keep it stored inside a closed drawer in my bathroom. My bathroom doesn’t have any windows at all plus I always make sure the bottle is inside the drawer when its not being used. Mine usually lasts 3 weeks or so. I either use it up by then OR if I see any hints of yellowness at all…I throw it out.