How to Best Use Vitamin C for Hyperpigmentation?
Vitamin C is a prominent player in the skincare world, and for good reason. As a powerful antioxidant ingredient, vitamin C has impressive range of skin benefits when applied topically via a face serum or cream. Top amongst those benefits is vitamin C’s ability to help visibly reduce pigmentation on the face. If you’re looking for a skincare formula that can help fade pigmentation, even out your skin tone or provide an overall brightening effect, vitamin C is likely well-suited to your needs.
However, the world of skincare can be complex and it can be difficult to know where to start with a new ingredient. We’ve put together this guide to vitamin C for hyperpigmentation to help take the guesswork out of adding this powerful antioxidant ingredient into your skincare routine. Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about using vitamin C for pigmentation. We’ll cover what it is, how it works and how to start using vitamin C.
Introducing vitamin C for hyperpigmentation
The vitamin C found in skincare is essentially the same substance found in your morning orange juice, but the skincare version is synthesised in a lab and also goes by the scientific name of l-ascorbic acid.
Vitamin C is known for its powerful antioxidant properties that can help protect your skin at a cellular level. Put simply, our skin is constantly exposed to environmental stressors including UV rays and pollution. This in turn leads unstable molecules called free radicals to wreak havoc on our skin. Antioxidant ingredients like vitamin C have the impressive ability to neutralise free radicals, with the added bonus of helping reduce pigmentation.
The benefits of vitamin C
Aside from being a powerful antioxidant, vitamin C also has benefits for different skin types and concerns. Here are some of the key benefits of vitamin C:
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Helping plump the complexion
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Promoting an even skin tone
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Helping refine skin texture
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Minimising excess sebum production
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Helping fade hyperpigmentation
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Minimising the appearance of lines and wrinkles
You can read our guide Does Vitamin C Help Acne Prone Skin for further details on that particular benefit, but the focus of this article is on vitamin C for pigmentation. It’s fair to say that overall brightening, evening out skin tone and targeting dark spots are vitamin C’s most notable benefits.
What is hyperpigmentation?
Hyperpigmentation is a technical term for dark pigmentation on the face. This can take several forms, including but not limited to age spots, sun spots, post-inflammatory pigmentation and melasma – a hormone-related condition that often causes pigmentation on the forehead. Hyperpigmentation is not harmful on its own, however it can be an aesthetic concern for those wishing to achieve an even skin tone. However, while not harmful in themselves, sun spots and age spots can also be a sign of excess UV exposure.
What causes hyperpigmentation?
The causes of hyperpigmentation depend on which type or types you’re experiencing. As the name indicates, sun spots and age spots are caused by excess sun exposure over time. Post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation tends to come after blemishes or other inflammation, and melasma is also known as ‘mask of pregnancy’ due to its hormonal causes.
However, it’s important to note that vitamin C for dark spots can target and brighten hyperpigmentation regardless of what has caused the spots or dark areas. It does so by blocking the melanin formation process.
Your CeraVe vitamin C routine to help visibly reduce hyperpigmentation
For those looking to reduce pigmentation on the face, our vitamin C serum is expertly formulated to help visibly reduce hyperpigmentation. Our CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum for Anti-Ageing is enriched with 10% pure vitamin C to visibly brighten and even out your skin tone. Apply this serum to freshly cleansed skin in the morning for optimal antioxidant and brightening effects.
This vitamin C serum can provide powerful skin benefits on its own, but including it as part of a regular skincare routine will help maximise the visible benefits for your complexion. We recommend pairing your vitamin C serum with a facial moisturiser and our CeraVe Eye Repair Cream during the day. If you have dry skin, you can also layer this serum with our CeraVe Hydrating Hyaluronic Acid Serum.
In the evening, switch the vitamin C serum out for our CeraVe Skin Renewing Retinol Anti-wrinkle Serum and CeraVe Skin Renewing Night Cream. This allows you to get the benefits of both vitamin C and retinol without any unwanted interactions. Read our guide Retinol and Vitamin C: Can You Use Them Together? for more details.