• Cosmetics This is the easiest and most effective beauty routine to keep the skin cared for
  • Entrepreneur The Spaniard who wants to revolutionize the beauty routine with her own facial devices

Skin care and beauty tips have become the most searched and commented topics on social networks. And not only among the female audience. So much so that the creators of content related to cosmetics and treatment already influence as much as the facialist in the aesthetic center, the beauty counselor in perfumery or the beauty journalist in magazines did in the past.

Although its role is far from the scientific rigor of a dermatologist and the advice of the pharmacist next door, in most cases, the consumption of videos on Youtube, Instagram and TikTok to learn more about the beauty routine is now one of the primary sources where young people go to learn about active ingredients, ingredients and experiences with certain products.

From cosmetic firms, all these trends or trend topics are taken into account. Because, between crazy things and dances, there is also a lot of creativity, working assets and market opportunities. L'Oréal Paris, for example, has calculated that the most successful terms are retinol, niacinamide, hyaluronic acid and vitamin C, one of the star assets that practically all brands point to and that is always on the basis established by doctors specialized in the skin.

The golden rule of applying antioxidant during the day to give off luminosity. "If we talk about #vitaminc, it accumulates 2.9 billion views, while #vitaminac has 766.8 million views. Revitalift Clinical, a line we recently launched, has generated 19.5 million views around the hashtag #espuradiferencia in one month," explains Cristina Eguren, member of the committee of dermatologists of L'Oréal Paris, who have carried out this data collection.

WHY IS VITAMIN C OF INTEREST?

"Vitamin C is the antioxidant active ingredient par excellence, the best known and the best. In the INCI (international nomenclature of cosmetic ingredients) we can find it as ascorb acid, provides luminosity, is depigmenting, so it reduces the appearance of spots, and is anti-aging for its ability to promote the synthesis of collagen and hyaluronic acid, "says beauty expert Elisabeth Álvarez in her new book, Guide to intelligent beauty (Ed. Plataforma Actual).

The dermatologist at L'Oréal Paris adds: "Antioxidants help to counteract the oxidative damage generated by free radicals that are generated when exposed to pollution, solar radiation, stress, excess fat and that damage the functioning of cells and, therefore, the skin. That is why it is so interesting to introduce active ingredients such as vitamin C into the routine."

There are pure forms and derived forms of vitamin C. The derivatives, say these experts, are highly recommended, and appear under the name of ascorbyl palmitate. They are milder and less potent but also less irritating. "The interesting thing about pure forms is that they are more effective, but to maintain that effectiveness it is important to stabilize the formula well so that the skin reaches the concentration of vitamin C that is declared," says Eguren.

BETADINE AND VITAMIN C CHALLENGE

There are many cosmetic products on the market that contain vitamin C and highlight as main claims (claims) its antioxidant effect. So in Tik Tok many users have begun to make a challenge in which they add Betadine to a glass of water, the mixture turns brown and when adding a cosmetic product with vitamin C, the mixture becomes colorless again. So depending on the success of the challenge, it is intended to confirm the effectiveness of vitamin C. To what extent is it comparable?

"Vitamin C acts as an antioxidant counteracting this effect of oxidation and cell damage, for that reason it would be very clear with the Betadine test if a vitamin C is pure," says the dermatologist.

Vitamin C ampoules from Martiderm, a Spanish firm. EM

This challenge is actually based on a method of chemical analysis, called iodometry, in which an antioxidant substance such as vitamin C is mixed with a solution of iodine (oxidizing substance) to determine the effectiveness of the antioxidant capacity of vitamin C. "Once vitamin C exerts its function, the iodized substance becomes colorless. So the faster the color change, the more pure vitamin C (ascorbic acid) there will be in the product," says Belén Carbó, biotechnologist and global trainer specialist at MartiDerm.

But it's not something we can extrapolate to all B vitamins, says Raquel Gonzalez, a cosmetologist and director of education at Perricone MD. "There are stable derivatives that do not interact with iodine, present in more and more cosmetic products. They are derivatives with less negative reaction in the skin and more stable, which take much longer to oxidize. These derivatives are many, such as tetrahexyldecyl ascorbado, vitamin C glycoside or vitamin C phosphate, "he points out.

Dr. Perricone.EM's specialized vitamin C range

As for those who say it doesn't react because it doesn't have the right pH levels, it's not completely correct either, adds Sonia Ferreiro, a cosmetologist and biotechnologist at Byoode. "It's not binding. When it reacts it is because vitamin C in the form of ascorbic acid has hydroxy groups [oxygen atom and hydrogen atom] that interact with Betadine, but vitamin C derivatives have them replaced by other molecular structures that do not react with iodine. Although vitamin C is pH dependent, we cannot speak of the reaction with iodine as something linked to the effectiveness of the product." Therefore, in the opinion of the experts, there is a lack of rigor in this type of visual tests.

ITS EFFECT ON THE SKIN

Beyond marketing and gimmick translated into sales, in the opinion of experts, it is a very interesting ingredient that has become fashionable for its properties and its result on the skin: loss of luminosity, irregular tone, visible pores or first lines of expression.

While it is true that the viral test is not decisive, vitamin C is a cosmetic active that all beauty specialists advise. "Throughout the day, we are exposed to a multitude of external agents that generate free radicals in our skin, such as solar radiation, pollution, stress, tobacco, a bad diet ... As a result of the damage to the cells, the synthesis of substances that degrade collagen is increased, a protein that helps maintain the firmness and elasticity of our skin, and whose absence influences the dryness of the skin, the early appearance of wrinkles and expression lines, "says Carbó.

Our body has natural antioxidant systems, which are able to neutralize the negative action of free radicals through the transfer/release of electrons. "However, when these free radicals accumulate in our body, oxidative stress is generated, and consequently, premature aging. Therefore, the application of a cosmetic product with antioxidant agents such as vitamin C is the main strategy to prevent aging associated with these external agents," he adds.

CONSIDERATIONS

Aqua Bomb Brightening Cream Vitamin C.EM

The molecule is photosensitive and degrades with sunlight. If the pot were not opaque, the vitamin C inside would degrade. For this reason, many brands use the ampoule format or topaz glass, which allows to formulate products with high concentrations of pure vitamin C in an oxygen-free atmosphere and protected from the action of the sun's rays. In addition, it should be combined with a sunscreen.

"A good day routine should include a cleansing with products that respect the moisture of the skin and the barrier function: a contour of specific areas according to needs (bags, dark circles, wrinkles ,...), a product that provides us with internal hydration with a serum or ampoule with antioxidant action (with active ingredients such as vitamin C), a cream that provides external hydration with repairing ingredients and a sunscreen with an SPF equal to or greater than 30 ", concludes Carbó.

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