Vitamin C
Vitamin C is the most well-known vitamin in daily life and is also one of the indispensable vitamins in the human body. Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid, is an acidic polyhydroxy compound containing 6 carbon atoms. The two adjacent enol hydroxyl groups at the C2 and C3 positions are very easy to dissociate and release H+, so although the vitamin does not contain free carboxyl groups, it still has the properties of an organic acid.
Since vitamin C is an optically active molecule, it can be divided into left-handed and right-handed according to its optical rotation. Naturally occurring vitamin C is left-handed and can be directly used by the human body. The prototype VC we usually discuss also refers to left-handed VC (L-Ascorbic Acid), also known as L-ascorbic acid, and its scientific name is left-handed and right-handed vitamin C.
As a powerful antioxidant and multifunctional active ingredient, VC has almost all skin care effects, from anti-acne to anti-UV damage.
Whitening And Clearing Speckles Raw Materials, even skin tone. VC is a multi-channel player in whitening. First, it inhibits tyrosinase by chelating copper ions; second, it reduces skin photodamage by supplying its own electrons to scavenge free radicals, that is, strong antioxidant capacity, thereby inhibiting the production of melanin oxidation intermediates, making the skin look brighter.
Promote collagen synthesis, Anti-aging And Anti-wrinkle Raw Materials. Although everyone knows that vitamin C has more antioxidant and whitening effects, it was first discovered due to the prevalence of scurvy. The lack of vitamin C makes the human body unable to synthesize collagen. This discovery has aroused people's attention to the efficacy of vitamin C. In vitro data have shown that fibroblasts treated with 3.7ppm vitamin C have a strong effect on promoting collagen synthesis. At the same time, studies in human data have shown that the combination with collagen has a more efficient mutual promotion effect!
The group of the prototype vitamin C and its pH characteristics enable it to help maintain the acidic environment of the skin. Maintaining a weakly acidic pH environment is of great significance to healthy skin and microecology. Many topical antioxidants have an inhibitory effect on 5α-reductase. Many users who use high-concentration VC products have also reported the oil control effect. Although the mechanism is still unclear, this result feedback also shows that it is suitable for acne skin. It can not only improve acne marks, but also help improve acne.
The effect of vitamin C is fascinating, but its application has deterred many engineers. It is almost dead in the light. In an untreated aqueous solution, vitamin C loses about 50% every month. Therefore, how to maintain the stability of vitamin C in an aqueous system is still a global problem. There are several common methods to solve the application problem:
Using an anhydrous system, Ko*shi uses polyol suspension microcapsule technology, uses propylene glycol instead of water, and encapsulates high-concentration vitamin C and hyaluronic acid to effectively protect active ingredients. The problem of alcohol heating also limits sensitive people. At the same time, the moisturizing and water absorption of alcohol after opening will also absorb moisture from the air, causing the product to slowly inactivate.
Innovative dosage form, the water-powder separation method is also a common packaging method at present. Users activate the essence after receiving the product. This form not only has strict requirements on packaging and storage environment before activation, but also should be used up as soon as possible after activation to avoid inactivation; there is also a single-disposable dosage form, which has good sealing and less air contact surface, and can also delay inactivation.
The last common solution is to use VC derivatives, which are chemically modified to make them more stable and gentler. After being applied to the skin, they are reduced to VC to take effect. These derivatives remain stable for a longer time, but at the cost of their low bioavailability.