PURE VITAMIN C

1. WHAT IT DOES

   ASCORBIC ACID SUPPORTS COLLAGEN SYNTHESIS, EVENS SKIN TONE AND PROTECTS AGAINST FREE RADICALS. IT IS ONE OF THE FEW ACTIVES WHOSE EFFICACY HAS BEEN DOCUMENTED FOR DECADES. THE CATCH IS GETTING IT ONTO YOUR SKIN INTACT.

2. WHY IT TURNS
   BROWN

   IN CONTACT WITH WATER AND AIR, VITAMIN C OXIDISES. THE SERUM TURNS YELLOW, THEN ORANGE, THEN BROWN — AND THAT IS NOT COSMETIC: THE OXIDISED MOLECULE NO LONGER DOES THE JOB. AN OPENED BOTTLE LOSES POTENCY EVERY WEEK, AND NOTHING ON THE LABEL SAYS SO.

3. DRY UNTIL THE
   LAST MOMENT

   IN A FREEZE-DRIED BEAD, VITAMIN C HAS NO WATER TO OXIDISE IN: IT STAYS DRY, AND SO INTACT, UNTIL YOU APPLY IT. NO OPENED BOTTLE LOSING STRENGTH WEEK AFTER WEEK, NO STABILISER ADDED TO DELAY THE INEVITABLE. THE LAST BEAD IN THE BOX IS AS GOOD AS THE FIRST.

4. WHEN TO
   APPLY IT

   IN THE MORNING, ON CLEAN SKIN, BEFORE SUNSCREEN. VITAMIN C IS NOT A UV FILTER AND REPLACES NO SUNSCREEN — IT WORKS ALONGSIDE ONE: ITS ANTIOXIDANT ROLE COMPLEMENTS PROTECTION, IT DOES NOT SUBSTITUTE FOR IT. CONTRARY TO WHAT IS OFTEN REPEATED, IT DOES NOT MAKE SKIN PHOTOSENSITIVE. IF YOU ARE STARTING OUT, EVERY OTHER DAY IS ENOUGH: THE TINGLING OF THE FIRST FEW DAYS COMES FROM THE ACIDIC pH, NOT FROM AN ALLERGY.