Antioxidant Serums | Vitamin C & More

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Antioxidants FAQs

What does an antioxidant do for my skin?

Antioxidants deal with the damage daylight and pollution do to skin during the day. That damage builds up quietly and shows years later as dullness, dark patches and fine lines.

An antioxidant will not undo what is already there. It slows down what happens next. Vitamin C is the best known one. Vitamin E, ferulic acid, resveratrol and niacinamide do a similar job in different ways, which is why so many formulas combine them.

Which antioxidant should I start with?

A vitamin C serum in the morning is the usual first step.

Medik8 C-Tetra is an easy place to begin. SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic and Obagi Professional-C Serum 15% are the two people come back for year after year. Reform Skincare Vitamin C 20% Serum is the Irish option.

If you would rather not start with vitamin C, SkinCeuticals Resveratrol B E and ZO Skin Health Daily Power Defense are both antioxidants without it.

Should I use it in the morning or at night?

Morning, before your SPF. That is when your skin is dealing with daylight, so that is when an antioxidant earns its place.

Cleanse, apply the antioxidant to dry skin, give it a minute, then moisturiser and SPF.

A few are made for night instead. SkinCeuticals Resveratrol B E and Dermalogica Biolumin-C Night Restore are both night ones. The label will tell you.

Can I use an antioxidant with retinol?

Yes. Keep them apart rather than layering them. Antioxidant in the morning, retinol at night.

That way you get the benefit of both without asking your skin to handle two strong actives in one go. If anything stings or starts to flake, drop the retinol back to every second or third night and leave the antioxidant where it is.

Does an antioxidant replace SPF?

No. They do different jobs and you want both.

SPF stops a large share of UV before it reaches your skin. An antioxidant handles the free radical damage from whatever gets through, plus pollution and visible light, which SPF does not cover.

Antioxidant first, SPF last.

How long before I see a difference?

Brightness and evenness tend to show first, somewhere between four and twelve weeks of daily use. Pigmentation takes longer than that.

Most of what an antioxidant does is prevention, so a lot of the benefit is what you never see.

One thing worth knowing. Vitamin C fades with light and air. If a clear or pale serum has turned deep orange or brown it has oxidised and will not do much, so keep the lid on tight and store it out of the sun.