Vitamin C serum can be a vital component of your skincare routine. Learn how to choose the best one for you and your bottom line.

There is a new popular skincare treatment in the fight for even skin tone—Vitamin C. This "orange juice" vitamin has several benefits that include boosting immunity, preventing heart disease, and lowering blood pressure. It is also important for tissue repair, which is why you are seeing it in a variety of skincare creams and serums. A good Vitamin C serum can help fade discolorations, even out skin tone, shrink pores, and make dull skin more bouncy and radiant. However, there are some things you should consider before choosing a serum. 

Vitamin C serums can range in price from $10 to $300. But you may want to think twice before forking out a lot of money. Vitamin C products break down fairly quickly once you open the bottle, leaving you with an ineffective bottle of expensive liquid. Marianna Casmirli, Medical Aesthetician and President of Marianna's Aesthetics & Spa, has some tips when looking for the right product.

"Vitamin C Serums vary widely in concentration, stability, potency, and absorption. Look for vitamin C in the form of L-Ascorbic Acid," says Casmirli. "That is the chirality, the direction in which a molecule spins, for best skin assimilation. Serums fortified with Ferulic Acid provide enhanced absorption as well as much enhanced stability, for extended shelf life and potency."

Pixi by Petra Vitamin C Serum, Courtesy of Christa Emmer

To get the most out of your serum, buy a smaller size and keep it in the refrigerator. Casmirli also urges you against buying serums that have a higher percentage of Vitamin C.

"Stronger is not always better," she says. "A 20 percent concentration is ideal for most skin types. However, hypersensitive skin typically cannot tolerate more than 12-15 percent.”

Studies have also shown that wearing a Vitamin C serum or skin cream with sunscreen helps improve the effectiveness of the sunscreen. Even better, Vitamin C can help undo the damage done to your skin by the rays of the sun. Use daily and you’ll be on your way to better skin!

What is your favorite skincare treatment? Share your tried-and-true methods and products in the comments!