Vitamin C Serum 20% Pure L-Ascorbic Acid, Ferulic Acid, Vitamin E and Hyaluronic Acid for Face and Eyes 1oz. by Dr. Brenner

Product Information

All in all, I think the Paula’s Choice ingredient list and formula is a closer match to Skinceuticals than the Timeless one. Serum Color and Subsequent Oxidation the same key ingredients (Vitamin E and ferulic acid) to increase the effectiveness of the Vitamin C

It looks like both dupes are formulated with a higher percentage of Vitamin C than SkinCeuticals uses (20% vs. 15%), perhaps because they do not want to infringe on the patent. It could also be because they are worried about the potential for ascorbic acid to oxidize in the presence of water. According to this article, L-ascorbic acid is highly likely to oxidize to dehydro ascorbic acid (DHAA) when it is exposed to light. When it oxidizes, it turns from colorless to a pale yellow color. However, a pH of <3.5 can help keep Vitamin C stable and able to work effectively on the skin. I solemnly swear to research skin care and beauty products, ask my dad (the chemist) for advice, and share those findings with you! Learn Morealpha tocopherol(Vitamin E) – an antioxidant which works synergistically alongside Vitamin C to make it up to 8x more effective in the skin The Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid), Vitamin E, & Ferulic acid combination is what has been validated through decades of research spearheaded by Dr. Sheldon Pinnell. In their studies, they discovered a synergistic effect when using Vitamin C & Vitamin E, and the combination of the two provides antioxidant, free radical quenching benefits from both UVA & UVB exposure.

Most people will find no issues with sulfate, however if you find your skin doesn't like sulfates then free feel to avoid them by looking out for the sulfate-free icon on Skincarisma. Vitamin E helps stabilize and provide a boost in the benefits of ascorbic acid. It helps aid in UV protection but becomes unstable when exposed to UV and air. Dr.Brenner's came with the glass bottle wrapped in plastic. The bottle was just as opaque as Skinceuticals, and I was also able to see the serum line quite clearly. Dropper Bottle or Airless? From the study, you can see that the quality of each of these can vary. That means there really isn’t one that’s better than the other here. Just be sure to diligently go through the product and store it the way it likes to be stored :)At the start of 2017 I started using Paula’s Choice Resist C15 and loved it. I went through two bottles and then I became curious how other vitamin C serums would perform (I am guilty of the “grass is always greener” mentality). Timeless reached out to me and asked if I wanted to try their serum, and I immediately said yes. I started using Timeless and about 2.5 weeks later a friend of mine on IG (@refresh_byhilary) sent me the Skinceuticals CE Ferulic serum (her friend mail blew me away with her generosity!). So at that point I started a split-face comparison where I always applied Skinceuticals on one side of my face and Timeless on the other. I did that consistently for 2 months. (Note: It was hard to split my nose up so there was a lot of overlap on my nose–just keep that in mind when evaluating the before and after photos. ALSO, keep in mind Skinceuticals had 2.5 less weeks on my face than Timeless). Overall thoughts on each Timeless Vitamin https://amzn.to/3J9YIfBC Serum I think they all have a similar consistency and absorb equally well. When I was doing the split face comparison I couldn’t tell a difference between how they felt once I applied the Timeless and Skinceuticals on my skin. Smell So we decided to put a few of these formulas to the test to see if there were any tips we could provide in sussing out and finding the “better” dupe. What Vitamin C Knowledge You Need Going Into this Test Don’t forget about your chest and hands when applying vitamin C. Having a serum that is affordable may make you more likely to be generous with your application, and that is a good thing. An important reminder when looking at these pics is that Vitamin C does a lot more than help with pigmentation. But the collagen-building effects of vitamin C can take up to a year to become visible, and it’s not really easy to know if something is providing great antioxidant protection (other than your skin not getting worse over time). So hyperpigmentation is just one piece of the puzzle.** After 2 months of using the Timeless Vitamin C Serum 5-6 times a week After 2 months of using the Skinceuticals CE Ferulic Serum 5-6 times a week Consistency & Absorption

My before pictures are from when I applied the Vitamin C serums for the first time on each side. My after pictures are 1 month after daily morning application of the Vitamin C serums. Paulas's Choice claims that this a 15% Vitamin C formula, 1% Vitamin E, and 0.5% Ferulic Acid at pH of 3.1. Paula's Choice is not fungal acne safe due to the hydrogenated castor oil. Timeless’s list does not include several ingredients that are used in Dr. Brenner’s and SkinCeuticals’s products: ethoxydiglycol, glycerin, triethanolamine, laureth-23, and phenoxyethanol.

Smell Evolution: Smell evolution is part of the Vitamin C experience, but we’ve smelled some that just isn’t right. If your ham-smelling serum takes on a expired meat broth odor, it might actually be expired. The combination of CE Ferulic has decades of research supporting its benefits as a true antioxidant serum that quenches free radicals and minimizes UV erythema. It also has been shown to help with collagen production, prevent collagen degradation, and provide skin brightening effects. I enjoyed using this serum (which was gifted by the brand). It had barely any smell, applied nicely and it didn’t contribute to excess oil on my skin. For the first month, I didn’t experience any irritation or dryness despite its low pH. After about a month, I started to notice little jagged crystals sometimes made their way on my skin, and that is when I saw that crystals were forming around the opening of the product (I’m not entirely sure if there were any in the actual product or if they transferred to the dropper when I was applying it). When that happened it wasn’t pleasant but it also wasn’t a deal breaker, I just had to be sure to constantly wipe the top of the bottle to remove them before using it. However, I did start to wonder whether that was indicating the serum was oxidizing, even though the color wasn’t changing. (More on that below). I also noticed that the side that I applied the Timeless serum was starting to become slightly more sensitive to wash cloths and acids, so that made me start to think that the low pH of the serum might be causing some sensitivity. Nonetheless, I did see improvement in pigmentation (at an almost equal amount as the Skinceuticals side). Both Timeless and Paula’s Choice are certified cruelty-free, but I couldn’t find any information on a cruelty free designation regarding Skinceuticals, so I am assuming they are not cruelty-free. NuFountain is missing the Vitamin E in their formula and their Ferulic acid content is not disclosed. They also claim that it is at a pH of 2.5–3. NuFountain is fungal acne safe.

The problem with this, however, is that once mixed with water and exposed to light and oxygen l-ascorbic acid starts to degrade (oxidize) and become less effective. I like how transparent Dr. Brenner is about the percentages of actives included in its formula, as well as the percentage of sodium hyaluronate. SkinCeuticals does not reveal the percentage of sodium hyaluronate included in its formula, so in this regard, Dr. Brenner is actually delivering more information than the original source. If you look at SkinCeuticals’s and Dr. Brenner’s ingredient lists side by side, they actually list the same 12 ingredients. The difference is that SkinCeuticals contains a lower percentage of vitamin C (15 percent as opposed to Dr. Brenner’s 20%) and sodium hyaluronate appears earlier in the ingredient list for Dr. Brenner’s product, but in the last spot on SkinCeuticals’s list. Strictly from an ingredient standpoint, I agree with my dad the Dr. Brenner’s Vitamin C looks like a more appealing option if you’re looking for a promising SkinCeuticals Vitamin C dupe.Sunday Riley CEO Rapid Flash Brightening uses a Vitamin C derivative and You.Skincare offers a serum with a blend of Vitamin C derivatives, just to name two products. We would consider all of these red flags. More than two red flags…it might be time to let that bad boy go: I have never been able to spot any visible improvement whenever I started using any brand of Vitamin C on my skin.