DIY Topical Vitamin C Serum
For those of you who have read all about the wondrous effects of Vitamin C, here is a simple DIY recipie for a home-made serum.
DIY 10% Home-made Serum
Dissolve 1 tablet of Celin 500 mg (Vitamin C Tablet by GSK Pharma, strip of 8 tablets costs 9 bucks) in 5 ml (1 & 1/2 spoonful) of cold water. Mix well and apply on face using a cotton. Let it stay for 15 mins. Wash off.
Image by Old Shoe Woman via Flickr
You can even be innovative and add any of the follwing
1. Use Rosewater as solvent instead of plain water
2. Add 2 drops glycerin to act as moisturizer as well as retard oxidation of Vitamin C.
3. Add few drops of Vitamin E (Puncture a capsule & add, or else add few drops of olive oil or wheatgerm oil)
Points to remember
1. Use as soon as made. Vitamin C degrades rapidly in air or heat exposure. Always prepare fresh for use.
2. DO A PATCH TEST!!! before applying to face, do a patch test on upper arm. Vitamin C is absorbed rapidly into skin, and washing will not remove it. It stays there for up to 3 days, so do a patch test for sensitivity so that you are not walking around with a pink/swollen/rash/acne face for 3 days.
3. The solutions STINGS! It will sting on application as it is acidic. It is expected to. It is a sign it is being absorbed & is working from within.
Just to re-cap here are some proven benefits of Vitamin C
Image by comingstobrazil via Flickr
DIY 10% Home-made Serum
Dissolve 1 tablet of Celin 500 mg (Vitamin C Tablet by GSK Pharma, strip of 8 tablets costs 9 bucks) in 5 ml (1 & 1/2 spoonful) of cold water. Mix well and apply on face using a cotton. Let it stay for 15 mins. Wash off.
Image by Old Shoe Woman via FlickrYou can even be innovative and add any of the follwing
1. Use Rosewater as solvent instead of plain water
2. Add 2 drops glycerin to act as moisturizer as well as retard oxidation of Vitamin C.
3. Add few drops of Vitamin E (Puncture a capsule & add, or else add few drops of olive oil or wheatgerm oil)
Points to remember
1. Use as soon as made. Vitamin C degrades rapidly in air or heat exposure. Always prepare fresh for use.
2. DO A PATCH TEST!!! before applying to face, do a patch test on upper arm. Vitamin C is absorbed rapidly into skin, and washing will not remove it. It stays there for up to 3 days, so do a patch test for sensitivity so that you are not walking around with a pink/swollen/rash/acne face for 3 days.
3. The solutions STINGS! It will sting on application as it is acidic. It is expected to. It is a sign it is being absorbed & is working from within.
Just to re-cap here are some proven benefits of Vitamin C
Image by comingstobrazil via Flickr- Potent antioxidant, particularly in regard to protecting skin cells from UV-induced damage (we get exposed to UV generally through sunlight)
- Delays tumor formation after (animal) skin is exposed to extensive UV damage
- Reduces transepidermal water loss, thus strengthening skin's barrier response, increases moisture content and thereby hydration of the skin.
- Promotes collagen production and has the potential to thicken the dermis, and hence has anti-aging effects. It can combat the age linked destruction of collagen
- Reduces inflammation (I used this after a bad sun burn. It reduced the redness and also prevented tanning to a great extent)
- Ascorbic acid at levels of 5% and above has a positive effect on hyperpigmentation
- Improves the appearance of sun-damaged skin by strengthening skin's repair mechanisms
- Enhances the effectiveness of dermatologist-performed procedures such as peels and microdermabrasion
wow..uve got great information there..
ReplyDeleteThanx for sharing.. :)
Very easy n nice....a must try!!
ReplyDelete@ Zwala: You're welcome :)
ReplyDelete@ Simran: & really cheap too!! I'll give u a couple of tabs when i drop by.. try & see. :)
I do have a question - if you are using it freshly made, why to use tablets? I mean you can directly use the orange juice or if it is not available lemons are always available and the natural Vitamin C provides more benefits than just ascorbic acid....
ReplyDelete@Anonymous: Simply because when I make a solution with the tablet I can control the concentration of the final solution as I know what dilution to use. In case of lemon/orange juice, there is no standardisation - each piece may have a different amount, plus I don't know how many lemons or oranges I will need to juice to get a final 10% solution.
ReplyDeleteHence I prefer to use tablets. You are most welcome to use lemons/oranges if they suit your skin :)
Love this post & all the additional skin care tips on your blog - I’ve been pinning like crazy! Could you tell me where I could get a dark glass decanter as such to store it in? Also do I stockpile this in the fridge or in my cabinet? I discovery glycerin makes the serum very adhesive. I currently use the recipe from magnificently green and her recipe only calls for 1 tsp. of glycerin and I can barely stand the adhesiveness from that
ReplyDeletetopical vitamin c
How to make 20% vit c solution with celin tablets
ReplyDeleteHey, reiterating the question above. Could I just use 2 Celin tablets in 5 ml of water for a 20% solution? Also do I make the solution again for application at night - with the same proportions? Which would mean if I need a 20% concentration I need to use 2 Celin tablet for my morning application and 2 for the night. Would this be accurate?
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