When it comes to anti-ageing, there are lots of active ingredients that can play a role in turning back the clock. One of the most proven multi-taskers, however, is good old vitamin C.

What makes it such a winner? For one, it’s a brilliant free-radical fighter and can stave off the damaging molecules that stem from air pollution, cigarette smoke and more. While free-radicals are pretty hard to avoid, using skin care infused antioxidants like vitamin C can mitigate their negative effects and this includes premature ageing.

Vitamin C, why you should choose it every time

Vitamin C is also one of the more proven collagen-boosters around. Collagen is the protein that helps keep your skin firm. Our natural resources start to deplete as we get older, so using skincare ingredients that encourage our bodies to produce more of it is a must if you’re keen on a radiant, plump-looking complexion.

Speaking of glow, here’s another vitamin C plus – it can help reduce the look of pigmentation! (See what we meant by multi-tasking?) It works by inhibiting the formation of tyrosinase, a chemical needed to produce melanin, the pigment that gives our skin its colour. If you’re producing too much of it, it can result in hyperpigmentation, but a daily dose of vitamin C can help keep things in check.

Choose your weapons, not all Vitamin C is equal

Not all forms of vitamin C are created equally. L-ascorbic acid, often simply referred to as ascorbic acid (AA), is the purest and most potent form of vitamin C. Look out for it in skin care products in a concentration of 5 to 15-percent for maximum impact.

If you’ve got very sensitive skin, bear in mind that high doses of AA could be irritating. In that case, opt for a lower percentage (5% should be fine) or consider slightly less stimulating but still effective. Consider derivatives of vitamin C like ascorbyl palmitate and sodium ascorbyl phosphate in concentrations of up to 20-percent.

Remember, the percentage is important. You’d be better off with a product containing 20-percent ascorbyl palmitate than you would something with just a smidge of ascorbic acid.

A few of our faves

Skin Renewal has a great selection of vitamin C-infused skin care products and one of our favourites is SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic. This is a wonderfully light serum with a water-like texture that makes it easy to layer under any moisturizer. It contains 15% AA as well as vitamin E and ferulic acid. The latter are both good antioxidant that, when teamed together with vitamin C, can boost its effects.

Another gem? Lamelle Corrective Recharge CE complex is a great pick for a drier skin type as it contains a fair amount of silicone that gives it a silky, almost primer-like texture that will play nicely with your make-up. It contains 20-percent AA as well as it’s bosom buddy vitamin E.

If you’re on the sensitive side of things, consider something like Matriskin Vitamin C 5% serum. It contains 5% sodium ascorbyl phosphate, the potentially less irritating version of vitamin C.

Let’s go turbo!

Topically, vitamin C can do a lot for your skin but it’s not the only way to reap the benefits. Health Renewal offers an array of intravenous infusion treatments and one of them is the Anti-Viral Infusion Cocktail. Just one or two infusions taken at the first sign of flu can reduce your symptoms as well as the time it takes to fight off the virus without treatment.

Ironically, using a high potency vitamin C moisturizer or serum can make your skin a bit more sensitive to the sun (which is why it’s important to always wear a good sunscreen). However, ingesting it can reduce your skin’s potential to burn. Our favourite supplement to help you mitigate the damage of UV exposure from within is Heliocare Ultra oral capsules. It contains vitamin C as well as Fernblock, a plant extract that can also increase your skin’s natural protection factor. Most noteworthy is its antioxidant properties to help diminish potential sun damage on a cellular level. Still, it’s important to always wear a good sunscreen to ensure you’re protected from both the inside as well as out.