Vitamin C routine

[kchoi5]

Can I use a vitamin C serum and the ordinary ascorbic acid alpha arbutin serum together? I’ve seen people say not to but some people say it’s okay to use it. Does it double the brightening effect of the vitamin C and ascorbic acid AA serum or do they cancel each other out? What’s the best way to incorporate vitamin C in a routine? Should I layer vitamin c serum with the ordinary AHA lactic acid or niacinamide serum?

[quspork]

@kchoi5 Ascorbic acid is vitamin C. You can use it along with alpha arbutin. The vitamin C goes directly after cleansing. Most people use it in the a.m. because of its antioxidant properties. You can follow with AA or niacinamide if you wish. You would not use multiple vitamin C serums in your routine. It would be a waste of product and could irritate your skin. In fact many people only use vitamin C every other day because of how long it stays active in the skin.

You *can* use it with lactic acid, but for many that could lead to irritation. I'd recommend using the vitamin C in the morning and lactic acid at night. Be sure to wear moisturizer and sunscreen.

[meou]

Generally, the advice for layering skin care is mostly to prevent the active ingredients from causing irritation - so if they don't bug your skin you CAN use them togetherly, but you don't necessarily need to be.

The Ordinary Ascorbic Acid is a Vitamin C serum so I wouldn't bother layering another Vitamin C with it as well. The actives won't cancel each other out but MORE is not necessarily better - there is an optimal % of effeciveness for an active ingredient. For Vitamin C it can be anywhere between 5%-20%. Putting too many layers of serums, moisturizers and products can actually suffocate your skin and cause breakouts. 

I personally use Vitamin C in the AM since it is an antioxidant and will help hunt out free radicals which your skin is more exposed to during the day but really you can use it in the PM as well. Saturday Skin Yuzu Vitamin C Sleep Mask is a PM overnight mask with Vitamin C as an example. 

I wouldn't recommend layering Vitamin C with AHA to start - both of them can cause skin sensitivity (the AHA more so) so it can cause redness and a bit of burning if your skin isn't sensitized to them. Niacinamide though you can use with both AHA and Vitamin C - it actually targets hyperpigmentation in a differeny way then Vitamin C so it works well for brightening. My personal routine has Vitamin C in the AM and then AHA in the evening - niacinamide I'll use in both AM/PM depending how I'm feeling. 

I hope that helps!