Vitamin C+E Complex by SkinMedica® (Antioxidant Face Serum & Primer)

Application:

• Morning and evening, after growth factor serum, before moisturizer and sunscreen.
• Face, neck and chest.

Best for:

• Skin tone, texture, brightness.
• Antioxidant protection.
• All skin types.

This is an antioxidant serum meant to target skin tone and texture, including lines, hyperpigmentation and acne scars. It helps with achieving a ‘glow’ on dull skin. And best of all, it repairs free radical damage, which we accumulate from sun exposure, pollution and general aging processes.

Being more effective than just a vitamin C serum, or just a vitamin E serum alone, this formula brings you the goodness of both in one bottle. But the benefits don’t stop there: you get multiple forms of these vitamins in a single formula, to act in different ways on your skin, over time.

For example, the mix includes stable, water-soluble, fat-soluble and oil-soluble vitamin C and E variants. These help with the penetration levels in your skin, so they get through the top barrier, and start doing their ‘magic’ while ‘under the hood’ of visible skin.

Eventually, the effects start to show through your top layer of skin, but only if you keep using this product day in and day out.

SkinMedica^® is no stranger to skin care ingredient effectiveness. This formula comes in an opaque bottle (not just dark glass), in order to preserve the stability of the vitamins in it. Yes – light can render your vitamin serums useless, so packaging is more than a marketing vehicle in this case.

A few helpful things to know about this product:

This serum is formulated in a light silicone suspension for time release throughout the day. It has a silky finish.

Generally, serums like this one should be used with a moisturizer on top, at least.

During the day, be sure to also layer on a strong, broad-spectrum sunscreen with this product. Without sunscreen applied every 2 hours, your anti-aging efforts will be useless, since free radical damage will accrue. A great option for reapplying over makeup is the Sunforgettable^® brush-on mineral sunscreen.

For even more anti-aging protection, we’d recommend using this product along with TNS Recovery Complex^®, which should go on first, but after cleansing (of course).

Based on what your doctor recommends, you will likely need more than this product on its own to solve your skincare concerns. For example, a stronger retinol (vitamin A derivative) may be useful for acne or anti-aging benefits, but not when mixed with Vitamin C (retinol can be very strong and irritating, so please consult a doctor before using it).

To offset dryness and dehydration, a hyaluronic acid product may also help. If you have dark spots and are aiming to treat complexion problems, a skin lightener may be useful, instead of a retinol.

In short: this product is best used in a combination routine, where you are layering and alternating products morning and evening, for a synergy of ‘action’ on your skin. Contact us, and we’ll develop a regimen for your specific skin needs!

Notable skin care ingredients

Ascorbic Acid (vitamin C) – A water-soluble form of Vitamin C, which can neutralize free radicals, and aid in cell regeneration. It is a well-known skin soother and skin care antioxidant.

Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate (vitamin C) – This is a fat-soluble (lipid-soluble) form of vitamin C. It is believed to help with absorption, since the skin contains some fat.

Tocopherol (vitamin E) – An oil-soluble, naturally-occurring variant of vitamin E, which helps with skin healing from sun damage, and more.

Tocopheryl Acetate (vitamin E) – A more stable, longer-lasting, synthetic form of vitamin E that acts as a free radical fighter, skin healer and moisturizer.

You’ll also notice that the ingredient list in this product is incredibly short. This indicates that it contains very high levels of these vitamins, and isn’t intermingled with a lot of ‘extras.’