Can you Pair Vitamin C Serum with Hyaluronic Acid

You’ve probably paired many things together. Your favorite wine with a nice juicy steak. That fancy outfit including that fun crop top with your favorite pair of jeans. A neutral eye tone with wild lipstick. 

But What About Skincare? 

With skincare, it isn’t  like fashion where if you pair it wrongfully you might look silly. If you do it wrong, you risk the following: 

• Rashes
• Breakouts 
• Peeling 
• Flaking 

All of this is a YIKES. 

There are plenty of concentrated products on the market, with a laundry list of active ingredients on them. So which ones do you use? Which ones to avoid? 

This time, we’ll talk about vitamin C and Hyaluronic acid, two popular skincare items.  Hyaluronic acid is oftentimes used to keep the tissues of the skin lubricated and hydrated. In contrast, vitamin C serum peels away the dead skin cells at the surface, allowing for brighter and smoother skin. It also can speed up cell regeneration, making your skin look tighter and younger! What comes first though? Which one do you use before the other? We’ll answer those questions now, and exactly why you should do one before the other.

ALWAYS Vitamin C First

If you want beautiful, bright skin, you use that vitamin C serum first. 

Vitamin C serum naturally brightens the skins, creates elastin, and builds collagen, due to the prevalence of vitamin C, one of the strongest antioxidants out there. 

Vitamin C also does fight free radicals, preventing both internal and external damage to the body. This includes the skin. 

However, Vitamin C serum has a lower pH level due to being an acid, so it’ll absorb immediately into your skin.  It’s better to use this first before applying your moisturizer, to prevent the skin from drying out. 

You can also use alpha and beta hydroxy acids with this, but there is one caution to take: too much exfoliation will damage and over-dry your skin, creating dry and flaky, instead of beautiful and healthy, skin. 

The purest form of Vitamin C is L-Ascorbic Acid, which is also called Vitamin C_ E Ferulic Acid 20% serum.  This is one of the strongest, but is good for really deep exfoliation. 

However, this is not good for sensitive skin. It’s recommended to use a vitamin C serum that contains hyaluronic acid, since this has magnesium phosphate in it, which is not as strong as pure Vitamin C, but will still offer brightening and firming capabilities to your skin, no matter how you use it. 

Can Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid Be Combined?

YES!

They sure can be combined. 

That’s because hyaluronic acid is considered a water-based product that binds moisture to your skin and boosts your levels of moisture. 

Vitamin C products will also make your hyaluronic acid products stronger, since it’s already improved the moisture in the skin. 

However, when used together, you need to make sure vitamin C serum goes first, then hyaluronic acid to give moisture to the skin. 

After that, you can use a moisturizer to seal and create a skin barrier, followed by an SPF for future protection from the sun. 

If you go backwards, with the hyaluronic acid before the Vitamin C serum, you’re going to make your skin dry and flaky. That’s not going to help anyone. However, using the hyaluronic acid after keeps the firming and brightening components of the vitamin C serum in place, offering beautiful, brighter skin immediately! 

Tips for Putting on Products 

When putting on products, there are a few things you should keep in mind. 

First, start with the pH product that’s closest to your skin level. Natural and healthy skin skits around 4.5-5.5. Vitamin A retinols and Vitamin C shouldn’t be used together since the Vitamin C products work at a lower pH, while the Vitamin A products work at a higher pH.  You should use retinols during night time since they do cause photosensitivity. 

Another tip, use the water-based product first so that it’s fully absorbed into the skin, then the oil-based product. 

That’s because the water will seep in, and the oil does not.  Think about it: oil doesn’t dissolve, but typically water does. The oil-based products also contain more emollients, which lock your moisture in. 

So you’re keeping the water locked in. That’s why it’s important that after you use the hyaluronic acid, which is moisture-based, you cover it with the oil-based product, typically a moisturizer, to lock this in. 

Finally, you should wait about 30 seconds to a couple of minutes for the products to seep in.  That’s because if you let the products pile on up, you’re essentially wasting your time with this.  

The best way to do it is to do the following: 

1. First take a product. 
2. Massage that into the skin lightly, not too hard since it can irritate the skin. 
3. Let it dry for about 30-120 seconds, and then, you can layer the next product, and then wait again the same period of time, depending on the kind of product that you have 
4. From there, finish it off with the SPF to lock it all in! 

Hyaluronic acid is great for providing ample moisture and helping the skin stay elastic and firm. However, using it with a vitamin C serum does sometimes create the problem of which one first. After all, a lot of people usually are stumped on one or the other. 

But, by using the products correctly and carefully, you’ll be able to make your skin beautiful and glowing. Many people benefit from using both of these products, and they are great for bright, moisturized skin. 

There are plenty of different skin products out there, so don’t be afraid to use what works for you, and also, to not use anything that dries out the skin too much, or makes it oily.  That way you can have healthy and glowing skin, and also allow for you to have a wonderful, beautiful face at the end of the day!