C is for Cornerstone: Antioxidant Defense

Vitamin C is such a powerhouse for human health; it even has its own day. National Vitamin C day is April 4, and the timing couldn’t be better for those concerned about their skin health.

As the days grow longer and the weather turns warmer, more people will spend more time outside. But all that outdoor enjoyment can have a downside for those who don’t protect their skin. Exposure to UV radiation, pollution, and other environmental aggressors is known to wreak havoc on the skin by promoting free radical damage.

Antioxidants in any form can help to fight and even reverse this damage. They also protect against skin damage. In addition to the use of sunscreens, a great way to optimize protection is to apply topical vitamin C and other antioxidants directly to the skin.

It must be noted, however, that the benefits of topical application depend on the quality of the product applied. Its many health benefits notwithstanding, vitamin C has a known weakness: it can be challenging to formulate into topical skincare products. The founding scientist and dermatologist behind SkinCeuticals, Sheldon Pinnell, MD, was a pioneer in his understanding of the benefits of topical vitamin C and discovered an optimized approach for its delivery. Today, our company continues to invest in innovation, research, and clinical testing. We offer a full portfolio of products that includes sunscreens to retinols and everything in between.

Our vitamin C and antioxidant formulations will always be cornerstones of our brand. Physicians and patients know that when they reach for our products, they are getting pure forms of antioxidants, in concentrations that are optimal, and in formulations intended to support their overall skin health.

Here’s to enjoying the sunshine safely—and to optimizing skin health with vitamin C!

—Lyndsay Zotian, PharmD, MBA

How do patients’ skin care needs change from the colder, drier winter months to the warmer, more humid days of spring and summer?

Sarah Sawyer, MD: The first thing I like to remind everybody to do, including myself, is to check your sunscreen expiration dates. Lots of those bottles expired during the winter!

When people are outdoors more in the warmer, humid weather, it can cause a little extra buildup of dead skin, sweat, and oil. A lot of patients will switch to a lighter moisturizer at this time. Hydrating B5 Gel from SkinCeuticals is a great choice in the summer, because it’s a serum, not a lotion or a cream, for people who don’t need as much moisturization in the summer. It contains a favorite ingredient, hyaluronic acid, which is water-loving, so many people enjoy using it.

I also remind people if they’re using retinol that it can create sun sensitivity. Patients should wash off retinol in the morning if they applied it the night before. In terms of cleansers, people may change their cleanser to address that buildup of dead skin cells and sometimes sunscreen or sweat or oil. They might want an exfoliating scrub, like Micro Exfoliating Scrub. A granular scrub can give a deeper exfoliation or more of a foaming action, so users get a cleaner finish.

Then, of course, there is vitamin C. CE Ferulic is a great complement to sunscreens because it helps to neutralize residual free radicals in the upper layers of skin that sunscreen alone cannot prevent. I make sure that my patients always have some sort of antioxidant or vitamin C serum to put on every morning once spring hits.

In addition to UV, what other exposures increase with more time outdoors? How should patients protect themselves?

Dr. Sawyer: In addition to more ultraviolet radiation in the spring and summer, we are exposed to more environmental pollution, as well, because we’re outside more. A big change over the last 10 or 15 years in medicine is the recognition that inflammation causes most diseases, and that’s mediated by free radicals. Reactive molecules produce additional reactive molecules in a negative cascade that, in the skin, leads to destruction of collagen and elastin. Any type of antioxidant, whether it’s topical or ingested, is going to work as a blanket over that reaction. They squelch the free radical activity of these molecules and help prevent damage before it even starts.1

To really assure skin protection, it is essential to use topical vitamin C and a sunscreen. Topical antioxidants, if formulated correctly, absorb well into the skin. SkinCeuticals has shown through their science that when vitamin C is absorbed in the skin, it’s there for up to 72 hours. That helps protect your skin for more than just the day you put it on. Even so, you should apply it daily to maintain the levels.

What are key considerations in choosing a topical vitamin C product? How does SkinCeuticals make sure its products are delivering?

Dr. Sawyer: Dr. Sheldon Pinnell was a dermatologist. He originally figured out that vitamin C has to be delivered at the right pH to absorb properly and stay stable on the skin and has to be in the right concentration (between 10-20%) to confer benefit. The purity of the vitamin C is important, as well as what you combine it with. C E Ferulic—the original flagship vitamin C by SkinCeuticals, formulated with vitamin E and ferulic acid—has really been traditionally and still is known as the optimal synergistic blend. SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic has numerous studies and publications showing that it’s well absorbed, it’s an ideal concentration, at the right pH, and it’s formulated with synergistic ingredients. It boosts skin defense against the elements of the summer.

Do you see a role for vitamin C or antioxidants in conjunction with procedures that you do?

Dr. Sawyer: I like to make sure every patient is on a good skin care regimen. Right after sunscreen, vitamin C is the number two priority for me, especially when it comes to pigmentation and wrinkles—the two main complaints about aging. These serums can start the cleanup engine of the skin. Vitamin C not only protects your skin, but it helps to rehabilitate your skin. Post-procedures, vitamin C can support healing and help remove pigmentation.

SkinCeuticals has tested its vitamin C formulations used immediately after ablative and non-ablative procedures. Because the skin can be sensitive after ablative procedures, I tell patients to try it on a small patch of skin, and if it stings or burns then just wait a day or two.

Do you change vitamin C recommendations based on patient age or sex?

Dr. Sawyer: Vitamin C is for everybody! I typically think about skin type and the condition of the patient’s skin. SkinCeuticals has three main unique formulas. Often, I pick C E Ferulic for people who have normal to dry aging skin who don’t have any active acne or issues with any breakouts. If somebody has unwanted pigment or problematic skin, then I recommend Phloretin CF, which is just a little bit lighter. It has also shown to be effective against stressors in the environment and helps with that pigmentation

The newest vitamin C on the block is Silymarin CF, and it plays a key role in reducing excess sebum and lipid peroxidation in the skin. Before this one came out, acne prone patients really had to minimize their use of vitamin C. Silymarin CF is better tolerated, and there’s just enough salicylic acid, a very popular acne active ingredient, to help pores stay clean and help keep acne under control. It was actually shown in trials to benefit people concerned about blemishes and breakouts.

Patients should cleanse the skin, then apply their vitamin C serum, then layer on any other products and, of course, sunscreen.

The earlier we start patients on vitamin C, the better the patient’s skin will be, and we’ll have less sun damage by the time they pursue cosmetic treatment.

1. Ferrara F, Woodby B, Pecorelli A, et al. Additive effect of combined pollutants to UV induced skin OxInflammation damage. Evaluating the protective topical application of a cosmeceutical mixture formulation. Redox Biol. 2020 Jul;34:101481

2. Valacchi G, Pecorelli A, Belmonte G, et al. Protective Effects of Topical Vitamin C Compound Mixtures against Ozone-Induced Damage in Human Skin. J Invest Dermatol. 2017 Jun;137(6):1373-1375.

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