Pour 2-3 drops of the Vitamin C Serum into your palm and apply to your face with your fingertips and don't forget your neck! Gently massage the serum into your skin, working in small circles for extra face firming benefits.
A good rule of thumb with serums is that less is more – the amount will vary, but the standard is around 3–4 drops or pea-sized amounts. There should be enough to lightly cover (not coat) your entire face and neck, but resist the urge to slather on your serum as it's super-potent.
"Begin with a low concentration of 10% and increase to 15% or 20% as tolerated," she instructs. For oily or normal skin, L-ascorbic acid is the most potent form of vitamin C and can be the most beneficial, while for dry and sensitive skin, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, a water-soluble vitamin C, is less irritating.
A little Vitamin C serum goes a long way— you only need 1-2 pumps of the serum for each application. Allow the serum to absorb fully into your skin before applying additional products. Always apply your moisturizer after you apply your Vitamin C serum.
“Clear medicine dropper bottles allow ultraviolet light and air into the container, which may alter or degrade the vitamin C serum. Oxidation of vitamin C serum may change the potency or pH of the product,” says Dr. Kung. She recommends consumers buy vitamin C products housed in airless pump bottles.
A pea-sized amount of serum should suffice, which, depending on the product consistency, may equate to two to three drops. A good rule of thumb: You should have a thin, sheer layer of serum on, just enough that doesn't require rubbing in.
Dr. Chiu warns that because vitamin C is a skin-care “active”—meaning it's particularly potent—applying too much of it on your face can potentially lead to more breakouts or irritation. Keep it to a max of two applications a day when a formula that has no more than 10% vitamin C each time.
However, the best way to know, according to Dr Kiran, is to notice the difference in your skin. “If you use the serum for a month and find your skin to be bright, clear, less sensitive to the sun, and you are feeling fresher, then vitamin C is definitely working,” she said.
Yes, yes, yes! As long as you have picked up a formulation suitable for use on your face, Vitamin C serums rank among the best ingredients to use around the sensitive eye area.
Vitamin C serums must be applied on dry skin that has been cleaned. Being a water-soluble vitamin [4], applying it on damp skin can dilute the product and make it lose its slight acidic nature.
Always allow your serum to absorb for 60-90 seconds, to ensure it has time to penetrate the skin. Follow up with a moisturizer to lock in the goodness of your serum, and bolster your skin's protective lipid barrier.
Applying serums is a whole different ball game. For starters, rubbing it onto your face is not advised. Serums should be pressed and patted into the skin so that it can fully absorb all the benefits. Follow our simple steps to ensure you're getting the most out of your serums.
2-3 pumps – Serum isn't designed to feel “saturated”. You really only need enough to spread quickly over your face and absorb. Not so much that you “moisturised”. Your moisturiser will take care of that.
Benefits to using vitamin C serum at night
Adding a vitamin C serum to your nighttime routine with just a couple of drops to your face should suffice. Tap it on your skin using your fingertips and leave it on overnight. Wash your face in the morning and apply SPF to avoid any skin irritation when you head out.
The upper limit for all adults is 2,000 mg a day. Although too much dietary vitamin C is unlikely to be harmful, large doses of vitamin C supplements might cause: Diarrhea. Nausea.
Vitamin C (especially L-ascorbic acid) is notoriously unstable—it loses potency when it's exposed to air, light, and water—which is why you want to apply it on clean, dry skin right after washing. You'll also want to let it dry completely, as piling on products right after could potentially deactivate the vitamin C.
If your skin is looking a little dull or you want to mix up your skincare routine, add vitamin C serum. To get radiant looking skin, wash your face and then rub a few drops of the serum into your skin. The antioxidants in vitamin C can reduce inflammation and help your skin repair itself.
Vitamin C is effectively an acid (it's sometimes known as ascorbic acid), so layering it with AHAs and BHAs like glycolic, salicylic, and lactic acids is a big no-no.
Once you have applied your Vitamin C product, avoid using anything that may contain retinol or niacinamide. The reason being: the pH levels of these ingredients don't interact well with those in Vitamin C. This results in making both the ingredients ineffective and offering your skin little to no benefits at all.
But overall, stick to using water-based products and serums together. AHAs and BHAs, such as glycolic, salicylic, and lactic acids should never be used with Vitamin C. Vitamin C is an acid, too, and is unstable, so the pH balance will be thrown off by layering these ingredients together and might as well be useless.
I did the very boring test of seeing how many drops were in a 30ml bottle of The Ordinary. I worked it out to be around 300 drops. The solutions vary from product to product, some products are thicker than others, and some people will use more product than others.
Typically, a 30 ml, or 1 fluid ounce, bottle of CE Ferulic serum will last between 3-4 months when used once a day. That is if you are storing it correctly, and not over using the serum.
A 30ml serum should last a minimum of 2-3 months when used once a day over the entire face and neck.