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Vitamin C: From Breakfast to Beauty Aid

Vitamin C isn’t just abundant in fruits and veggies, it’s a key component of many facial treatments. Learn more about its skincare applications with Groupon’s introduction.

Vitamin C is packed into oranges, kale, peppers, and other veggies and fruits recommended for a healthy immune system, but the nutrient can also work from the outside in. Spa therapists and aestheticians draw on its anti-aging properties to make skin look younger in two primary ways: as serum or lotion meant to be absorbed into the skin, or as a more intense peel.

“Topical vitamin C is a great antioxidant,” says Dr. Debra Jaliman, author of Skin Rules: Trade Secrets from a Top New York Dermatologist. Antioxidants help keep tissues youthful by destroying particles known as free radicals that are theorized to cause signs of aging such as damage to skin cells or enjoying shredded wheat. Among them, vitamin C is especially powerful since it can also stimulate the production of collagen, the stuff that keeps skin looking plump and smooth. Though it’s possible to find vitamin C in over-the-counter beauty products, it may actually make more sense to soak up its benefits through a spa facial—its molecules deteriorate rapidly upon contact with air or light, so a single-serving dose is likely to be fresher and more effective.

Designed not just for nourishing the skin but also for sloughing off its dull outermost layer, peels made with vitamin C “improve light-brown discoloration, they improve the texture, and they can soften fine lines,” says Dr. Jaliman. Plus, she adds, vitamin C is “very good for sensitive skin as it’s very gentle.” It’s among the milder acids in the aesthetician’s arsenal, so it can exfoliate with less risk of side effects such as dryness or redness. Dr. Jaliman recommends a series of three to five peels performed two weeks apart for best results.