skin-care-vitamin-c-serum

How To Have Five Star Skin:

#1: Basic Dermal Foundations – Vitamin C

This blog series discusses on the foundational steps needed to achieve “Five Star Skin”.  This series covers basic scientific facts related to rejuvenating the two major skin layers, the epidermis and the dermis.  The next series will be on advanced methods to achieve “Five Star Skin” this will be followed by a series on maintenance of “Five Star Skin”.  The advanced series will cover specific lasers, chemical peels, micro-needling, Hydrafacial and other corrective technique to achieve beautiful skin.

This series discuss the science related to skin rejuvenation compounds, creams and topical products for differing skin types.  Not all products are recommended for every skin type.  Some products are skin type (I – VI) specific.

First, I will focus on the skin’s collagen rich dermis.  It’s the thick sheet of tissue a few cells below the skin surface.  The skin’s dermis becomes “leather-like”, stiff and thins over time.  The major causes of this dermal demise are sun exposure, blood sugars attacking the collagen, smoking, changing hormones and to a smaller extent the actual aging process.

Collagen strands age rapidly when exposed to sun.  Like a sheet of plastic placed in the sun, chronic sun exposure of collagen or tanning beds creates brittle, dry and easily broken fibers.  Long flexible hydrated collagen fiber make up youthful appearing skin.    Just as a plastic sheet breaks into small trashy pieces over time so does damaged collagen. This collagen trash is scattered between other strands of structural collagen which slowly chokes the life from the skin.  The youth of your skin dies as it is buried by such lifeless trash.  Normal unstimulated skin processes can’t dispose of such collagen trash.  However certain chemicals can stimulate removal of the broken useless collagen pieces and promote new collagen formation.

#1: Vitamin C Serum

Recommendation: After cleansing the skin, I highly recommend a daily morning application of a 10% Vitamin C Serum every morning.

Here is why.  Serious skin rejuvenation begins with forcing old cells to do what they haven’t done in years.  Chemicals are the baseline methods to accomplish this goal.  Science clearly demonstrates that certain chemicals applied to the skin will rejuvenate the tissues by improving their physiology.  These chemicals have to be in a specific form and concentrations associate with defined application regimen.

I’ll start with brief history on Vitamin C Serum followed by a FAQs.

A Vitamin C Serum is more medicine than a vitamin.

Vitamins are needed to carryout life-sustaining cellular functions. Vitamin C is the most important vitamin for collagen’s maintenance, strength and formation.   It is an essential vitamin because the human species, unlike some other species, cannot internally produce it.  We get vitamin C from citrus fruits, certain vegetables and some meats.

Two decades ago it was discovered that high local concentrations of vitamin C on the skin could provided 5 rejuvenating properties not seen with ingestion of the governments recommended minimal daily allowances or even very high ingested doses.

The Rejuvenating Properties are:

1. Sun Protection by absorbing UV radiation, (is not a substitute for sunblocks)

2. Very powerful antioxidant which protects cell organs and collagen structures

3. Facilitates the breakdown of sun and pollution damaged collagen

4. Induces and accelerates the production of new collagen

5. Repair broken facial capillaries

These properties benefit the facial skin by reducing wrinkles, reducing prominent pore size, removing sun damaged age spots and reducing facial redness.

FAQ

Can I apply orange juice that has vitamin C to my face an get the same benefit?

No.  Getting high concentrations of Vitamin C into your skin’s dermal layer by ingestion is impossible.  Penetrating the outer skin barrier however requires two critical factors, the ability to dissolve vitamin C in oil to add in penetration and having a high concentration of vitamin C.

Dissolving Vitamin C in Oil

Vitamin C is an electrified molecule.  Electrified molecules dissolve easily in water, but rarely in oils.  The skin’s oily or waxy outer dead cell layer prevents the penetration of all charged molecules but allows oil-base molecules penetrate.

This means, vitamin C must be made oil-like to penetrate and benefit the skin.   It took over 10 years to formulate a serum whereby Vitamin C can deeply penetrate all the skins layers.

The second reason orange juice will never be a substitute for a Vitamin C serum such as Skinceuticals Vitamin C with Phloretin and CE Ferulic, is the concentration of Vitamin C not only needs to penetrate the skin but needs to be at a concentration of 10% or greater. Orange juice has about a 1% concentration of vitamin C, therefore there is no penetration.   The addition of Vitamin E and Ferulic adds additional powerful antioxidant to the serum.  Phloretin has been shown to reduce the incident of skin cancers.

The bottom line is, use Vitamin C Serums daily to remove deep imbedded collagen debris, restore and build skin collagen and protect from oxidative stresses and sun damage.   (Over the counter Vitamin C Serums have not been shown to be effective due to the low concentration.  Ten percent or higher is needed.)