PRODUCT REVIEW: THE ORDINARY ETHYLATED ASCORBIC ACID 15% SOLUTION – ONE OF THE BEST VITAMIN C SERUMS FOR FACE
THE ORDINARY | ETHYLATED ASCORBIC ACID 15% SOLUTION
This review was originally part of my blog article titled, Three Hot Facial Serums from The Ordinary That I'm Crushing On, Too! You can catch the full piece here.
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I’ve been excited by The Ordinary’s Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution for a while now, so it’s cool to see one of the best Vitamin C serums available getting the love it deserves!
Sometimes, less is more. And in the case of The Ordinary’s Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution, there’s a whole lot of punch packed into the tight formula, comprised of just two ingredients: Propanediol and Ethyl Ascorbic Acid.
It’s funny, until I started exploring clean skin care for my Clean, Green Skincare Routine, I had never even considered this particular Vitamin C serum. It’s not that I didn’t want to try it; rather, it was because I really loved The Ordinary’s Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate Solution 20% in Vitamin F. That was my daily go-to for my morning routine for the longest time.
What does Vitamin C do for skin?
There’s an excellent article on the remarkable benefits of Vitamin C for the skin from the experts on the Paula’s Choice Research Team titled, What is Vitamin C and How Does it Benefit Skin?
Vitamin C is one of the most exciting, research-proven ingredients you can apply to skin (1). This water-soluble antioxidant is a natural component of healthy skin. When we’re young, vitamin C levels in skin’s outermost two layers (epidermis and dermis) are abundant, but as we age, these levels naturally deplete. Unprotected sun exposure (UV damage) and pollution can accelerate this decline, leading to skin looking and feeling dull, uneven, and less firm than it once was (2).
Luckily, there are topical skin care solutions that can help mitigate this damage, so skin looks and feels healthier and younger longer.
Vitamin C Benefits for Skin
Vitamin C’s benefits for skin are vast, including its ability to even out skin tone and diminish the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles (3). While this powerhouse ingredient is well-known for its skin-brightening benefits, research also shows it can shield skin from the visible impacts of environmental stressors, including free radical damage (4). This synergy of mitigating problems both before and after they occur makes vitamin C a force to be reckoned with.
The form of Vitamin C in the Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% formula, Ethyl Ascorbic Acid, acts similarly to Ascorbic Acid and is similar in molecular weight to that pure form of Vitamin C. As such, it delivers quick, visible brightening of the complexion.
The texture of the Ethylated Ascorbic Acid treatment is interesting. It feels only slightly oily for about five-ten seconds; then it’s gone. It absorbs right into the skin, making it ideal for layering when time is tight — as in the morning.
But it isn’t the Vitamin C that makes that happen. It’s the Propanediol which, again, enhances the absorption of the vitamin into the skin’s upper layers where it’s most beneficial.
Perhaps more than any of my top Vitamin C picks, I love the texture of The Ordinary’s Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution. Of course, I love that it’s stabilized and packaged in an opaque glass bottle with a dropper. There’s literally zero chance that it’s going to oxidize — so you get all the goodness and none of the worry.
Hey if you’re worried about your Vitamin C oxidizing, you know what to do! Reach for the anti-venom Pycnogenol 5% from The Ordinary to reactivate your Vitamin C!
Seriously, you can’t go wrong with The Ordinary’s Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution.
SHOP THE BLOG: Purchase The Ordinary Ethylated Ascorbic Acid 15% Solution for $18 here.
