Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic Welcome to our new weekly column on the YOU magazine website, www.you.co.uk Below you will find the current question and our advice, with a list of where to source the products mentioned. To look at past columns, click here. And for lots more solutions to your beauty dilemmas, visit Q&A, just click here.
August 30th, 2009: Vitamin C and Skincare
Q My friends rave about using skincare products containing vitamin C but I just wondered what sort of long-term effects they have on the skin - e.g. do they thin the skin? I have sensitive and quite fragile skin and am prone to broken capillaries and would do anything to help thicken it. In your view, would vitamin C-based products be beneficial for my skin type?
A You’ll find vitamin C in skincare for two reasons. One, it’s an effective antioxidant - so it helps ‘mop up’ some of the damage done by free radicals (triggered by smoky or polluted environments, UV exposure, etc.) If vitamin C’s used for protection, it’s very often in combination with vitamins A and E.
But much higher concentrations of vitamin C - up to 10 per cent and over - are also being squeezed into skincare. Dermatologists now believe that these larger, ‘therapeutic’ doses of vitamin C (which appears on labels as L-Ascorbic acid, ascorbyl palmitate or ascorbyl phosphate) can help repair skin and encourage collagen growth and repair - increasing skin firmness, and helping to smooth out fine lines and wrinkles. The effectiveness of Vitamin C on lines and wrinkles - usually listed on labels as L-ascorbic acid - is actually backed by a fair amount of scientific evidence.
Even as a treatment, though, don’t expect overnight miracles. As dermatologist Dr. Jeffrey Rapaport observes, ‘Vitamin C isn’t a quick fix. It’s a slow process, often taking six to nine months before you see results.’ Skincare manufacturers, by contrast, would like to persuade us that two months is all it takes to see benefits.
Will it suit your skin? Well, it’s true that in high doses, vitamin C can irritate and even burn sensitive skin, so - with your skin challenges - do proceed with caution. We suggest that you try a patch test, applying any vitamin C cream (use an in-store tester, before you buy) behind the ear.
Check 24 hours later for any signs of irritation and redness. If that’s fine, we’d still suggest that once you’ve bought the cream, you apply it to a less-visible section of the face (under a fringe, the side of the face) rather than slather it all over.
If you decide to go ahead, the following is a shortlist of vitamin C-based creams which are ‘stable’ and therefore retain the potency of this vitamin. (Some inexpensive formulas promise that they contain vitamin C, but its power is easily diminished in actual use, compared to lab conditions.)
We  . . .
Lulu Bombshell Body Sole Survivor Foot Cream and Conditioning Socks, £24
You know how beauty editors are always wittering on about slapping on a foot cream and slipping on socks? This kit - from Lulu’s age-defying range - makes that so simple: a glycerine-rich cream (a little goes a heck of a long way), scented with a hint of cooling eucalyptus, which you apply before pulling on socks which are specially infused with aloe. (The aloe lasts through plenty of gentle washes). The fruit acids have an amazingly skin-brightening effect, and - don’t ask us how - feet really do look younger, after this overnight treat.
Beauty Bible Beauty Clinic - Archive
August 23rd, 2009 - Beat Stings and Itches
August 15th, 2009 - Sunscreens
August 9th, 2009 - Good Skin Care
August 2nd, 2009 - Lash Conditioners
July 26th, 2009 - Spa Treatments
July 19th, 2009 - Organic Tinted Moisturiser
July 12th, 2009 - Hair Protection
July 5th, 2009 - Cellulite
June 28th, 2009 - Sexy Summer Scents
June 21st, 2009 - Eyeliner Tricks
June 14th, 2009 - Natural Suncare
June 7th, 2009 - Anti Ageing Skin Care
May 31st, 2009 - Natural Nail Polishes
May 24th, 2009 - Body Polishing
May 17th, 2009 - Rosacea
May 10th, 2009 - Manky Feet
May 3rd, 2009 - Makeup Makeover
April 26th, 2009 - Facial Hair Removal
April 19th, 2009 - Teen Skin
April 12th, 2009 - Swimmers Hair
April 5th, 2009 - Make-up For Damaged Skin
March 29th, 2009 - Are Sunbeds Safe?
March 22nd, 2009 - Weak, Flaking Nails
March 15th, 2009 - Puffy Eyes
March 8th, 2009 - Camouflaging Red Cheeks
March 1st, 2009 - Hair Colouring in Pregnancy
February 22nd, 2009 - Thinning Eyebrows
February 15th, 2009 - Acne
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