Ingredient
Vitamin C
A morning antioxidant for uneven tone — powerful, and fussier than its reputation suggests.
Also on labels as: L-ascorbic acid · Ascorbyl glucoside · THD ascorbate
What it is
An antioxidant that may help with uneven tone and sun-driven marks, and that supports the skin's own defence against daylight. L-ascorbic acid is the best-studied form and the least stable: it degrades in light and air, which is why a good one comes in opaque or airless packaging.
Who it suits
Skin with dullness or sun-driven pigmentation and a barrier in good shape. Not the first active to try if your skin stings easily — start with niacinamide and come back to this.
Strength and how to start
10% to 15% L-ascorbic acid in the morning. Above 20% is more irritation for no more benefit. If L-ascorbic stings, a derivative — ascorbyl glucoside, THD ascorbate — is gentler and slower. Replace it when it turns dark orange: that colour is the product telling you it has oxidised.
Pairs with
This is the pairing that matters. Vitamin C under sunscreen is the point of using it in the morning.
Fine together despite the old myth. Simplest as C in the morning, niacinamide at night.
Be careful with
Not dangerous, just uncomfortable and unnecessary. Vitamin C is a morning ingredient and retinoids are a night one; keeping them apart is the whole solution.
Exfoliating acids, same application
Layering two low-pH actives is a reliable way to end up stinging. Alternate days or alternate times.
In Bangladesh
Heat and humidity shorten the life of an L-ascorbic acid serum, and a bathroom shelf in Dhaka is one of the worst places to keep one. A fridge genuinely helps here in a way it does not in a cooler climate.
Common questions
Does vitamin C make skin fairer?
No. It may help fade marks and sun-driven pigmentation — the darker patches that were not there before. Your natural skin tone is not a mark, and no topical ingredient changes it. Anything promising that is making a claim it cannot keep.
Morning or night?
Morning, under sunscreen. It works with daily sun protection rather than instead of it.
Mine turned orange. Still usable?
It will not hurt you, but it has lost most of its activity. Light orange is on its way out; dark orange or brown is finished.
Products coming at launch
We are not selling yet. When we open in early 2027 we will stock products built around this ingredient — with the source of every batch recorded. Leave your number and we will tell you once.
This article is general information, not medical advice. Skincare products are not medicines. Speak to a dermatologist about persistent or worsening skin conditions.