The Real Benefits of Vitamin C (And Why We Layer It Carefully)

Vitamin C earns its reputation honestly — it's one of the few ingredients that does three separate jobs at once: it's an antioxidant that neutralises the free-radical damage from sun and pollution exposure, a cofactor your skin needs to actually synthesise new collagen, and a mild inhibitor of the enzyme (tyrosinase) responsible for excess pigment production.

That third mechanism is why it shows up so heavily in our PowerBright and ProBright treatments — it fades existing dark spots while helping prevent new ones from forming, which topical brightening alone often can't do.

Where most people go wrong is stability and layering, not the ingredient itself. Vitamin C oxidises easily — a serum that's turned brown or amber in the bottle has largely lost its potency. It's also most effective applied in the morning, underneath sunscreen, since UV exposure is exactly what it's there to help defend against.

If your skin is reactive or you're already using actives like retinol, layering matters — this is the kind of detail your therapist adjusts for your actual skin at consultation, rather than a one-size routine.