It can feel like a minefield to find the right skincare products for your concerns, especially when it comes to ageing. That’s why the CF team is constantly on the lookout for skincare expert-backed hacks to simplify the process.
The latest one, which our beauty editor – alongside countless dermatologists and aesthetic doctors – has tried (and loved) is a wrinkle-reducing skincare trick that really is rather simple.
First of all, we all know by now (or at least we should), that wearing an SPF all-year-round is a non-negotiable for skincare. After all, the sun’s UV rays (come rain and shine) are responsible for the vast amount of premature skin ageing that will eventually showcase on our faces.
However, there’s also a simple way to make your sunscreen work even harder to protect your skin, which is likely to help you keep deep-set wrinkles at bay for longer.
That expert-backed wrinkle-reducing skincare trick: layering a vitamin C serum under your SPF each morning.
Why should you layer vitamin C under your SPF?
“SPF blocks UV rays but not perfectly, and free radicals (the little guys who prematurely age us) are inevitably created,” reveals the skincare insider and co-founder of Skin Diligent, Tule Park. “Some studies show that when a non-photosensitising vitamin C is used under sunscreen, it boosts the product’s antioxidant (free radicals-quenching) capacity. So, it’s like a second line of defence.”
Speaking at a recent beauty launch, the leading aesthetic doctor Dr. Sophie Shotter agrees: “research all but confirms that when we apply sunscreen we are often not getting the full advertised protection, because we’d have to use such a lot of the product to do so, and the SPF breaks down over time. However, if we layer at least a 2% vitamin C serum underneath our SPF, the antioxidant properties of vitamin C can boost your protection up to four-fold.”
“Vitamin C, specifically L-ascorbic acid, is one of the most effective antioxidants we have available within skincare, and that means it helps to protect the skin against excessive oxidative stress,” details the dermatologist and dermatological surgeon Dr. Emma Craythorne. “That leads to a reduction in the appearance of pigmentation and wrinkles over time, as well as an overall brightening effect for your skin, especially when used in conjunction with sunscreen.”
The one drawback of vitamin C is that some skin types can find it a little irritating, particularly because the most potent form – Ascorbic acid – must be kept at a pH below 3.5 for effective penetration. Luckily, Dr. Craythorne has an easy solution: apply your vitamin C serum and then, after waiting a couple of minutes, gently rinse your face with water. Don’t worry, by this time, the active vitamin C should have been absorbed by your skin, but you will be washing off the potentially irritation-causing carrier ingredients.
Finally, a word of warning: this simple wrinkle-reducing skincare trick isn’t an excuse not to reapply your SPF, as broad-spectrum protection from your sunscreen is still the number one way to keep signs of premature ageing at bay. Your vitamin C serum should just be on hand to give that protection a boost.
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Lead photo credit: Unsplash!
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