ASCORBIC ACID, BETTER KNOWN BY ITS STAGE NAME: VITAMIN C!
Everyone talks about vitamin C, but do you know why it is so important? First and foremost because it is THE essential vitamin for your skin, and to convince you, here’s a number: 2,000. Your epidermis contains 2,000 times more vitamin C than vitamin A, for example (1)!
This champion works on all fronts to protect us, but it is particularly known for its antioxidant power (2). It defends our cells against unstable molecules called free radicals that want to attack our cells and age them prematurely. We can be grateful for it!
EVERYTHING THAT IS PRECIOUS IS RARE!
We talk a lot about vitamin C because we are constantly on the lookout for it to avoid falling into a state of deficiency. Yes, humans are one of the few mammals that cannot produce their own vitamin C! We were capable of doing so millions of years ago, but evolution was not favorable to us (3). Today, we must find it through our diet, mainly from fruits and vegetables, or through skincare products.
Do you know which fruit is the richest in vitamin C? No, it’s not the orange or acerola, it’s the Kakadu plum, an exotic Australian fruit. Just 3g of this tangy treat and your vitamin C needs are covered for the day!
The well-known Goji berries (4), another great source of vitamin C, come in the second place.
In terms of cosmetics, vitamin C is not easily contained in a bottle. It is a fragile vitamin that is destroyed by light, water, and heat (4)! It is not easy to preserve it in skincare products that are often composed of nearly 70% water and stored in the warm and humid environment of our bathrooms.
SUN & VITAMIN C: GUARANTEED IRRITATION?
Now that you know all about Vitamin C, let’s get back to our main question and to a statement I often hear: “I can’t use vitamin C products in summer, or my skin will get irritated!”
Let’s break this myth right away. Vitamin C is not sensitive to the sun!
If many of you think the opposite, it’s not just a coincidence, because products containing vitamin C are often incompatible with sun exposure. This is due to their pH, a physical parameter that quantifies the acidity of a solution or product.
Let's delve into the details to understand. For classic vitamin C to penetrate the skin effectively, it needs to be incorporated into a product with a very acidic pH, close to 3. To understand how acidic this is, know that the pH of a lemon is around 2.5! The application of such products is not recommended in case of sun exposure because it will cause irritation and damage the outermost layers of your skin.
This is a real problem, because the more your skin is exposed to the sun, the more it needs vitamin C, as UV rays break it down.
To summarize: our skin needs vitamin C when exposed to the sun, but conventional skincare products are incompatible with sun exposure. Sounds like mission impossible!
A CUTANEOUS VITAMIN C BOOST THANKS TO NOVEXPERT!
At Novexpert, challenges drive us. That’s why formulating a vitamin C skincare product suitable for everyone, in every season, even during sun exposure became our priority.
Our scientific team, together with our Doctors, embarked on this quest and developed a new-generation vitamin C complex! A kind of super vitamin C with an unmatched record.
To ensure it can be preserved in the bottle, this vitamin C complex has been formulated to resist light, heat, and water. But above all, the real innovation lies in the ability of the formulated vitamin C to penetrate different skin layers at a less acidic pH, closer to that of the skin—around 4.5 (the pH of facial skin (5) is not 5.5 but about 4.7). This allows us to offer you products, such as Vitamin C Booster, with a pH similar to that of the skin. It can therefore be used all day long, even in summer.
Mission accomplished for Novexpert scientists!
Our Booster Serum is unique in more than one way as it contains 25% of this stabilized vitamin C complex. It is one of the highest concentrations in the world for a cosmetic product. Yes, in the world—I did not make a typo! With it, you can give your skin the vitamin C it deserves without any worries. It is certified non-photosensitizing, non-photoallergenic, and non-phototoxic. It can therefore be used daily on all skin types, even the most sensitive, and all day long. Perfect for building up a good stock of vitamin C!
I would like to remind you that for prolonged sun exposure (beyond 20 minutes), applying sunscreen is recommended.
Now you know everything! So, this summer, you can confidently slip our Vitamin C Booster into your tote bag. It's a great ally in helping your skin maintain its vitamin C levels.
The Essentials
JUST ENOUGH TIME TO DRINK A JUICE—FOR THE "RUSHED" READERS!
✔ Vitamin C is THE skin vitamin—it defies all competition with its very high concentration in the epidermis and dermis.
✔ SOS! Humans can no longer produce vitamin C, and it’s not so easy to find in our environment.
✔ Vitamin C itself is NOT sensitive to the sun. However, traditional products containing it can be, due to their acidic pH!
✔ Novexpert to the rescue! We have developed a vitamin C complex that allows us to formulate a Booster Serum with a less acidic pH, suitable for all seasons and all skin types!
(1) Pullar, J. M., Carr, A. C., & Vissers, M. (2017). The Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health. Nutrients, 9(8),
(2) Pehlivan, F.E. (2017) Vitamin C: An Antioxidant Agent. In Vitamin C; InTech: London, UK.
(3) Dr. Corson P. (2014) La vitamine C. Ed Médicis
(4) Machlin L. (1984) Handbook of vitamins. Nutritionnal Biochemical and clinical aspects. New York & Bale. Marcel Dekker Inc.
(5) Lambers H, Piessens S, Bloem A, Pronk H, Finkel P. (2006) Natural skin surface pH is on average below 5, which is beneficial for its resident flora. Int J Cosmet Sci. 28(5):359-70.
And to delve deeper into the subject, here are a few articles to read:
