For healthy summer skin, you want this vitamin

Vitamin C, also called ascorbic acid, breaks down in the sun. Therefore, it doesn’t do your skin much good to use a product with vitamin C then go out in the sun for a few hours. Instead, look for after-sun products with vitamin C and make sure it is packaged in dark bottles. The vitamin can also break down in products over time. Therefore, freshly made products with a short shelf life help ensure the vitamin is still in its active state.

Skin absorption of vitamin C

You should look for products with vitamin C and as few other ingredients as possible. Only about 20% of ascorbic acid is absorbed through your skin, so a higher concentration of the vitamin means more will make it to your skin cells. Long ingredient lists mean very low concentrations of the ingredients near the end of the list. Also, fewer ingredients means fewer chemicals for vitamin C to react with, inactivating it before it reaches your skin. (Percutaneous absorption of vitamin C)

Vitamins C and E have a synergistic effect

Look for skin products with both vitamin C (ascorbic acid) and vitamin E (tocopherol) in the ingredient label. Research shows that vitamins C and E work together in skin cells as antioxidants, to repair damage from the sun, and to stimulate collagen production by fibroblasts in the skin. In addition, vitamin C helps protect and regenerate vitamin E, amplifying the positive effects when they are together. (Synergy between Vitamins C and E)

Remember we can also get these vitamins from our diet

Research shows that these vitamins can be absorbed through our lotions to our skin cells, but if we eat a healthy diet, our skin cells should also have a good amount of these vitamins. We hear it all the time, but a diet rich in plants is the best way to make sure all our cells have the vitamins they need. We should think of the vitamins in our skincare as filling in the gaps and providing extra help, especially after a day in the sun.