This post has been updated: Five Best with Vitamin C 2014
A few years ago, my take on vitamin C as an anti-aging topical for the face was that I didn’t get it — too drying, often irritating, usually not much effect. Recently though, I have become a total convert to vitamin C serums by finding extremely well-formulated vitamin C serums that use stable, potent and gentle actives. In fact, vitamin C serums are now amongst my favorite new finds, and I now consider vitamin C essential to my regimen. Here are my newest Five Best serums with vitamin C.
Read my post on how to choose the best vitamin C active
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Medik8 CE-Tetra
Medik8 CE-Tetra ($115 in the shop). I am using this vitamin C serum to repair sun damage on my neck, and I am excited by the results. This pared back formula has vitamins C and E and that’s about it. What makes Medik8’s vitamin C serum a standout is that it has a 7% concentration of tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate. This form of vitamin C rates as potent, gentle and non-drying. It is stable and can be used in lower concentrations than some other forms of vitamin C. Don’t just take my word for it — our reviewer Nina exclaimed, “It now tops my list of skincare standouts.”
Read the full review and learn about the ingredients
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Your Best Face Advanced CE Concentrate
Your Best Face Advanced CE Concentrate ($50 in the shop). It has no less than three forms of vitamin C, amounting to a concentration of 8.7%. They were chosen for their stability and performance: tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate/ascorbyl tetraisopalmitate, magnesium ascorbyl phosphate/MAP and aminopropyl ascorbyl phosphate/AAP. The formula is rounded out with vitamin E. Note there’s nothing nasty, and the preservative is natural radish root ferment. Great price to quality ratio.
Read the full review and learn about the ingredients
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E'shee Serum Vitalizing C
E’shee Serum Vitalizing C ($119 in the shop). A Five Best vitamin C pick for the third year running, E’shee has 20% vitamin C that is supposed to remain active in the skin for up to 48 hours. Here, liposomes stabilize the vitamin C and ensure that it is delivered more efficiently into the cells. The slow release also makes it suitable for sensitive skin. Along with liposome vitamin C, this serum gives us copper PCA as well as antioxidants mulberry and ginkgo biloba. Ginkgo biloba is an anti-inflammatory too. A high-quality product that is deservedly a two-year winner in the Five Best vitamin C serum category.
Read the full review and learn about the ingredients
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Lather Vitamin C Peptide Renewal
Lather Vitamin C Peptide Renewal ($58 in the shop). If you are looking for a vitamin C serum that is flanked by other very useful anti-agers and has a very good price to quality ratio, then get this on your radar. Along with ascorbic acid, there are amino acids, niacin, and two peptides.
Read the full review and learn about the ingredients
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Your Best Face Restore
Your Best Face Restore ($120 in the shop) is a potion to even skin tone and decrease hyperpigmentation and scarring. I’ve seen very distinct freckle fading with the use of Restore. Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate is the dominant ingredient after water and is given a powerful helping hand in the skin lightening department by a hefty dose of alpha arbutin and niacin. There are also YBF’s signature free-radical scavengers, spin trap and lipochroman-6.
Read the full review and learn about the ingredients
Solution for:
Hyperpigmentation,
Sagging Skin,
Wrinkles
About Five Best
Truth In Aging's community tests, reviews and selects the most effective anti-aging beauty products, but the product choices can still be overwhelming. That's why we created our FIVE BEST categories, to give you the very best to choose from for your skin concerns.
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September 18, 2014
by Marta
Hi Mona, sagging skin is a challenge and I don't know of any low cost products that really work. Please look at our Five Best for sagging skin: https://www.truthinaging.com/review/five-best-for-sagging-skin-2014/
Although non are what you would call budget, they are great all-rounders and will help with wrinkles and your other concerns so you don't need to invest in a whole regimen. I would highly recommend an ultrasound and LED device as they do help with wrinkles and firming the skin if given enough time and regular use.
September 17, 2014
by Mona
Hi Marta,
I'm 51 years old and have been trying different types of cleansers, peels, moisturizers, serums, etc., more so, for the past couple of years to find a good anti-aging facial regimen. My main focus is sagging skin and fine and deep wrinkles. I have some deep frown lines between the brows, smile lines and the first signs of jowls along the jaw line I'd like to manage. My goal is to improve those issues and achieve an, overall, healthier complexion. Any recommendations for someone on a budget?
July 29, 2013
by Darrell
Hi Monika -- you're not comparing oranges to oranges, so to speak.
8.7% C in Advanced CE Concentrate is based on recommended use levels of the three specific types of vitamin C used in the product. These forms of vitamin C are all more stable, effective, gentle and cost exponentially more than other types of C.
That said, the percentage of C in Advanced CE (8.7%) is appropriate and not low at all. So, your comment in a way serves as disinformation.
If you were to compare price and quantity of the specific types of C used in our Advanced CE, you would not find a better C product at a better price.
If the type of vitamin C we used was ascorbic acid or some of the other traditional C that indeed tends to oxidize then by all means yes -- 8.7% would be a conservative-at-best amount of C. However as is mentioned in the story above, we are using three high end, more effective and stable vitamin Cs and each of their effective percentages have nothing to do with dosage percentages you see on common vitamin C products.
It's unfortunate you've written off our C product along with the other great products mentioned in this article -- you're missing out.
My best,
Darrell
July 29, 2013
by Monika
I am a firm beleiver in utilizing a Vitamin C serum, however the the percentages are extremely low. 7% and 8.7% is extremely low. Most of the time a person starts utlizing Vitamin C the damge is already present. So with such low concentrations I am not convinced these products are no more than just extremely pricey and will oxidize before they are completely used.
Also, unless someone is a guru at knowing cheicals and ingredients most of the ingredients just sound like they all should be in a product, but in actuality its a bunch of jibberish.
Vitamin C oxidized very quickly. It has major contributing factors: the typeof bottle, if its exposed to light and many other things. So again, I would not say that the products mentioned are not good products, but I will say since I have been a Vitamin C user since the age of 10 I wouldnt buy any of them.
July 14, 2013
by Dennis
I actually bought it about 3 years ago. Back then she was mixing it with vitamin e and idebenone. I really liked it, but I think it needs a proper TIA review. :-)