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Vitamin C is the active with the most studies in antioxidation and collagen synthesis. It's also the active with the worst stability reputation: pure ascorbic acid oxidises within days, loses efficacy with heat and light, and the product you buy with a clear serum may have become an ineffective orange-coloured product before you finish it. Stabilised vitamin C solves exactly this problem.
The Stability Problem Marketing Ignores
Ascorbic acid (L-AA) at 10–20% is the form with the most clinical evidence. It's also the most unstable. In contact with oxygen, light and heat, it oxidises to dehydroascorbic acid — with no antioxidant activity. The colour change (clear → yellow → orange → brown) is the visual marker of this degradation.
Stabilised forms (ascorbyl glucoside, 3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid) are precursors that skin converts to ascorbic acid. The conversion rate is lower than direct L-AA application — but the product that reaches skin after weeks on your shelf has far more functional active than a degraded L-AA serum.
The Energising Vitamin C Serum uses a stabilised form with HA — efficacy from the first application to the last, months later.
Energising Vitamin C Serum →The Three Simultaneous Mechanisms
- Antioxidant — neutralises free radicals from UV and pollution before they damage collagen
- Tyrosinase inhibitor — reduces melanin synthesis, attenuates dark spots and uneven tone
- Prolyl hydroxylase cofactor — essential enzyme for stable collagen synthesis
The Morning Protocol That Maximises the Result
- Cleanse → vitamin C (slightly damp skin)
- Wait 60 seconds
- Appropriate moisturiser
- Mineral SPF50 — vitamin C + SPF offer synergistic protection superior to either alone
For persistent dark spots, add the Brightening Serum at night. Morning vitamin C + evening alpha-arbutin: both melanin pathway mechanisms covered.
Brightening Serum →