Glycolic Acid and Vitamin C?

[VALEJHUSEY]

Can I use Vitamin C (in silicone) and Glycolic Acid on the same night?  What about also Granactive Retinoid 2% in Squalane?  Is it too much?  I dont want to use Vitamin C in the daytime because I use Niacinamide... all by The Ordinary BTW...

[treestar86]

@WinglessOne  ahh, yes that makes sense - kinda like vitamins I guess.  I just pictured a generic 'antioxidant skincare' product, lol. 😛

yeah when I first got/started using acids, I was like "yayy, this'll make my face look better so I'll wanna go show it off" lol...didn't even notice the sunscreen warning for a while.  so I started checking more, and was surprised that that one didn't have it.  so I guess you have to look at the ingredients and know something about skincare.

[quspork]

@treestar86 K-beauty considers vitamin C to be an "active" in the same category as chemical exfoliants like AHAs and BHAs because it contains an active ingredient that is one of the workhorses of a routine, as far as actually making changes to the skin. Everyone should be wearing sunscreen, so I think that's the biggest part of why it keeps getting said, but also noting that vitamin C is an anti-oxident and has a positive boosting effect on sunscreen that's why it's often recommended for morning use. 

[quspork]

@Manwitch Vitamin C is great to use in the morning. It does not break down in sunlight and actually boosts the effectiveness of sunscreen. 

@VALEJHUSEY There's no reason to not use vitamin C and niacinamide together. Some people experience a harmless flushing, but that's fairly rare. The studies about each cancelling out the other's effectiveness have been widely debunked. In regards to the other ingredients, it's mostly up to your skin and how it reacts. You can use the vitamin C (if you prefer to keep it in the evenings) with the glycolic acid, but I would recommend alternating nights between that combo and the retinoid. Either way, with all those actives, make sure you're using moisturizer both day and night and a standalone sunscreen every morning to avoid sun damage. 

If these ingredients are new to you, I'd definitely recommend introducing them slowly one at a time. Jumping in to this type of routine if you are unfamiliar with actives can lead to over-exfoliation. 

[drrragon]

@VALEJHUSEY 

there's no hard and fast rule saying you shouldn't use them at the same time.  It's just that each has the potential to cause skin irritation/inflammation and putting them together might be too much.  However, skin tolerance changes over time (just like alcohol tolerance, haha):  the more you drink, the more you can tolerate over time.

a good way to safely test this out is to phase them in gradually into your normal routine.  Start with the glycolic once a week, then twice a week, and so on.  If your skin still feels fine (no redness, burning, peeling) then continue with the glycolic and try the vitaminC once a week, then twice a week, etc.  Make sure you have a default skin routine of gentle products you can fall back to if needed.