If you’ve been following me for a while, or if you’ve read my books/seen my videos, you’ll know that I’m obsessed with vitamin C in skin care. It’s one of the most powerful tried & tested anti-aging ingredients. It helps to build elastin and collagen and no girl should be without it. That being said, it’s very unstable. As soon as it’s added to a lotion or cream, unless it’s a very stable form of Vit C (unusual), it begins to oxidize, thus losing its efficacy. The best way you can get it onto your skin is to deliver it straight on in it’s dry powder form.
I’ve been fiddling around and experimenting lately with my homemade DIY vitamin C Gel + Serum and was THRILLED to find a powdered vitamind C (AKA L-ascorbic acid), which actually dissolves because the particles are small enough. Until now, I was using edible powdered C and it never dissolved completely – so now you can find this excellent powdered Vit C from Making Cosmetics.
You will need:
- 2 tbsp of aloe vera gel (find in a health food store)
- 1/4 tsp vit C powder
- 1 tsp distilled water
You can use a little plastic container, jar (anything that has an airtight lid). Simple mix the ingredients together. Keep it in a cool, dark spot and re-make it at least once a week – making sure you sterilize the container on the top shelf of your dishwasher before using it again.
You can apply your get after cleansing and toning morning and night. Follow my moisturizer. If your skin is really sensitive half the amount of Vit C that you add. You skin will tingle, especially if you do peels and/or use retinol products.
You said to add 1/4 tsp gel- did you mean Vitamin C? Wasn’t sure what the gel was?
Yes, thanks for pointing out. u r right – i meant the vit C. Have corrected it!
I love vitamin C also, it is such a great and healthy ingredient for your skin. Have you ever tried mixing it with argan oil instead of aloe vera?
I’m confused between this recipe and the vitamin C serum you have on video on Youtube. It seems like the difference is whether you use aloe vera gel or glyerin. However, the quantities are not the same across recipes (2 tbsp aloe vera vs. 1 tsp glycerin). What is the difference between these two in terms of effectiveness? It seems this one would be less potent because the non-vitamin c is in a great quantity.
In terms of effectiveness, what is the difference between this recipe and the one that uses glycerin instead of aloe vera gel? Since the ratio of vitamin c to other ingredients is smaller, is this recipe less effective than the one that has a greater concentration of vitamin c?
No, it’s not less effective. If you want to increase the amount of C, you easily can. Just see how sensitive your skin is. If it really starts to tingle after application, then maybe dial it down to smaller amount.
i have seen your YouTube video on vitamin C serum. In that you have diluted vitamin C powder with glycerin and water whereas in this article you have diluted it with aloe vera gel. So what difference does that make if we add aloe vera gel instead of glycerin ?
You can do either, however, I love my most recent recipe with the aloe gel. The difference is that the gel will be absorbed by the skin, whereas the glycerin will sit on top of it. I think I prefer the gel because its less sticky.
Hey Sophie, can I use alkaline water rather than distilled water? I went to the health store but could not find the camu camu powder and the vitamin c powder was in a little bottle costing $13.00. Does that sound right? Can you recommend a place where I can get a better value? Also, where can I get the dark bottles? Sorry for all the questions. Thanks.
Hi Prerona
Yes, you can use alkaline water. You can see in this recipehttp://www.gorgeouslygreen.com/blog/vitamin-c-gelserum/ that I show you where you can get the vit C at a much better price. You don’t need the camu camu.
hi sophie, I have extremely sensitive skin with very thin layer of face cuticle. A strong wind may make my face red and flaky for a week. Can I use vitamin C products? And do you happen to have some suggestions for me and my annoying delicate skin?
Hi Chloe
I would stay away from vitamin C if you are that sensitive. I would recommend very gentle products that contain ingredients like calendula. I would recommend Weleda products for you.
Hi Sophie, I am using the edible powdered vit C to make this serum and it’s true, it never dissolved completely. So everytime when applying, I am like scrubbing my face. Any advice on this because I still have a pack of this powder.
I am going to recommend that you finish up you C crystals or even drink them because I’ve found a better, more water-soluble Vitamin C. Go to http://www.makingcosmetics.com and buy their Vit C powder. It dissolves beautifully.
Sophie, I also make the vit. c serum from your tube video with vegetable glycerin. If I use aloe vera do I replace it with the same amount? Also I heard from a Dermatologist that vit c and e work better together, so is it possible to add vitamin e to this recipe, and if so, how much? Thank you.
Hi Sophie!
Thanks SO much for telling us about the makingcosmetics.com site–i was sadly about to give up on this serum since the edible never dissolved, but now it’s been redeemed! Anyway, thanks for answering the question of glycerin vs. aloe effectiveness, but I didn’t see an answer to the recipe calculations yet (1 tsp glycerin vs. 2 TBsp aloe)…could you please clarify? Did you mean tsp or TBsps on the aloe?
Many thanks!
Julie
Oh and also–when you say aloe gel, which brand are you using because my Whole Foods only sells aloe gel with preservatives/chemicals of some sort in it…they sell 100% pure aloe vera juice, but not gel…
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