The Truth About Vitamin C: What Most Skincare Brands Don’t Explain
At Botanical Atelier, we believe skincare education is just as important as the products themselves. The more you understand how your products work, the better results you’ll see. And few ingredients create as much confusion as Vitamin C.
While Vitamin C is one of the most talked-about ingredients in modern skincare, most brands only skim the surface. Today, let’s go deeper into how Vitamin C actually works, why your skin needs it, and what most people don’t realize about how it's absorbed.
Why Vitamin C Is Essential for Skin Health
Vitamin C plays several critical roles in your skin.
First, it helps your skin build collagen. Your skin cannot properly make strong, healthy collagen fibers without Vitamin C. This is because Vitamin C is a required cofactor for specific enzymes called prolyl hydroxylase and lysyl hydroxylase. These enzymes help form and stabilize the collagen structure. Without enough Vitamin C, collagen production becomes impaired, leading to weaker skin structure over time.
Second, Vitamin C protects your existing collagen. It does this by neutralizing free radicals — unstable molecules created by sun exposure, pollution, stress, and inflammation. Free radicals damage collagen and accelerate the visible signs of aging, like fine lines and wrinkles. Vitamin C helps block this damage by acting as a powerful antioxidant.
Together, these two functions make Vitamin C one of the most important ingredients for both preventing and correcting signs of aging.
Why Getting Vitamin C Into the Skin Is Not So Simple
Here’s where things get more complicated — and where many skincare brands oversimplify.
Just because Vitamin C is applied to your skin doesn’t mean it automatically reaches the deeper layers where collagen is made. Your skin has a highly protective barrier, designed to keep most substances out. For Vitamin C to have a meaningful effect on collagen production and pigmentation, it needs to pass through this barrier. This process is called percutaneous absorption.
Different forms of Vitamin C absorb through the skin in very different ways depending on their chemical structure, solubility, and formulation.
The Different Types of Vitamin C
The most well-known form of Vitamin C is L-Ascorbic Acid. When formulated correctly, at a low pH (around 3.5), it can penetrate reasonably well into the skin. However, L-Ascorbic Acid is also extremely unstable. It oxidizes quickly when exposed to air, light, or heat. This is why many Vitamin C serums turn brown after a short time, even if the product hasn’t expired. Once oxidized, the Vitamin C loses much of its potency.
To solve this problem, scientists have developed stabilized Vitamin C derivatives that are more resistant to oxidation and gentler on the skin.
One of these stabilized forms is Ascorbyl Glucoside. This water-soluble form of Vitamin C is very stable and much less irritating than pure L-Ascorbic Acid. However, it is not active right away. Once applied, your skin’s natural enzymes (specifically an enzyme called alpha-glucosidase) slowly convert Ascorbyl Glucoside into active L-Ascorbic Acid. This makes it ideal for more sensitive skin, though the conversion process can take time.
Another form is Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, which is oil-soluble. Because it is lipid-soluble, it penetrates the skin’s outer barrier more deeply and can reach the dermis, where collagen is produced. Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate is highly stable and allows for deeper antioxidant protection and collagen support without the irritation that sometimes comes with L-Ascorbic Acid.
In short: not all Vitamin C forms are the same. They work differently, absorb differently, and serve different purposes. A smart formulation balances these forms to deliver both surface-level brightening and deeper collagen support.
Why Freshness Still Matters
While stabilized forms of Vitamin C greatly improve shelf life, freshness remains critically important.
Many mass-produced skincare products are made to survive long shipping, storage, and retail cycles. These products can sit for months or even years before reaching your bathroom. Even stabilized formulas may lose potency over time, particularly under conditions of heat, light, or prolonged storage.
At Botanical Atelier, we believe your skin deserves formulas created for maximum effectiveness — not for warehouse logistics. That’s why we formulate Vitamin C in small batches, focusing on stability and freshness. This ensures that by the time you apply your serum, the active ingredients are still potent and effective.
When Is the Best Time to Use Vitamin C?
For most people, the best time to apply Vitamin C is in the morning. During the day, your skin is exposed to UV rays, pollution, and environmental stressors that create oxidative stress. Vitamin C helps neutralize this damage and boosts your sunscreen’s protection.
Some people also use Vitamin C at night for brightening and collagen support. However, consistent daily use, whether morning or night, is what delivers real skin transformation over time.
Botanical Atelier’s Vitamin C Serum Is Coming Soon
After over a year of careful formulation and research, we are excited to bring you a Vitamin C serum designed around everything you’ve just learned.
We’re blending multiple stabilized forms of Vitamin C to target both surface brightening and deep collagen support. Our formula is designed for sensitive skin, formulated fresh in small batches, and built for real results.
If you’ve ever been confused or frustrated by Vitamin C products that didn’t deliver, this one is different — because it was built from the science up, not the marketing down.
Sign up for our waitlist to get early access and exclusive perks when we launch. Your skin deserves Vitamin C that’s thoughtfully made, fresh, and effective.
Stay tuned — it's almost here.
