DIY Vitamin C Serum with Hyaluronic Acid

Anyone dedicated to the well-being of their skin has had this thought for at least one time over the years: why not make my very own serum for my skin? After all, finding the right combo for my skin is quite a challenge and my wallet gets thinner every day buying all these beauty products.

Is it a good idea to make your own DIY skin serum?

Well, for one thing, it’s sure a lot cheaper to make your own DIY skin serums. Additionally, you can use only the ingredients that you know that work for your skin. You may also try to create your very own recipes, just as long as you stay informed and keep it always on the safe side.

Why use vitamin C and hyaluronic acid in the first place?

If you’re not familiar with the two ingredients, here’s a little heads up:

  • Vitamin C

This is probably the most powerful vitamin that you can use for your skin against the aging process. The powerful antioxidant sustains the collagen production in skin, brightens your skin complexion and evens out your skin tone too. It’s an amazing ingredient that speeds up the healing of damaged skin and various wounds. This isn’t just a supposition as there are so many scientific studies that highlight all of these benefits.

  • Hyaluronic acid

When you’re new to skin care, you may not know that we’re actually born with a lot of hyaluronic acid in our skin. After all, we all praise the “baby skin” and it’s the hyaluronic acid that plays a big role for that perfect appearance of the skin. One of the big downsides of aging, is that we start losing the hyaluronic acid as we get older.

Hyaluronic acid is the main ingredient in the famous injectable fillers that are adding volume to your lips, but also smooth out wrinkles and fine lines.

Another good thing about hyaluronic acid is that it may work perfectly when applied topically. It softens and moisturizes the skin, no matter the skin type. It also protects the skin from UV damage. You can combine it with various ingredients for refreshing the look and feel of your skin.

Aren’t the commercial serums good enough?

Some may argue that it’s useless to make your own DIY serum including the two ingredients as there are so many commercial serums out there that work just fine.

  • The oxidation issue

Truth be told, the most efficient topical form of Vitamin C is L-ascorbic acid, which is quite unstable when exposed to liquid (and serum is a liquid). It breaks down very fast and loses its powers.

Here’s some news to you: vitamin C is prone to oxidation which means it becomes useless pretty fast. Once it’s oxidized, it turns orange and is no good for anything. This is why many vitamin C serums are dyed orange or come in dark glass bottles. How to tell if the vitamin C in your serum is useless if the serum is orange already?

  • The concentration matter

Additionally, vitamin C works only in concentrations at or higher than 10% and the highest absorbency happens at 20% concentration. Not only very few serums out there actually list the concentration of Vitamin C, but even fewer of them are a sure thing when it comes for the oxidation of vitamin C.

  • The ingredients you don’t really need

Many of the commercial serums out there include all sorts of ingredients that you don’t really need. Some of these ingredients may even damage your skin, whereas the parabens may raise the risk for developing breast cancer tumors later on.

  • The price

Let’s not forget the price which has a big say for many. Even though a little goes a long way, you’re still going to have to constantly pay the extra buck for getting the high quality ingredients within the serum.

How to make a DIY vitamin C with hyaluronic acid serum?

As long as you’re patient and get the right ingredients, you shouldn’t have any problems when making your own DIY vitamin C serum.

Here are the steps to follow:

  1. Grab pure L-ascorbic acid Vitamin C powder

It’s important to get this type of powder and you shouldn’t pay more than $15 for it.

  1. Buy hyaluronic acid serum

You should get a serum that only contains hyaluronic acid. However, you can also make your very own serum for somewhere around $25. It’s going to serve you well for a year or so.

  1. Prepare the quantities

For this serum, you’re only going to need 1 4oz. amber glass bottle with a safe lid, 10 grams of hyaluronic acid (powdered) and 100ml (7 table spoons) of distilled water. Keep in mind that the distilled water has to be very cold.

The steps you need to take:

  • Pour 1 gram of hyaluronic acid powder and water into your bottle. Secure the lid tightly and shake it very well for 30 seconds or so.
  • Put it in the fridge and shaker every 5-10 minutes for 2 hours. It’s supposed to be enough for the ingredients to completely dissolve and turn into a gel.
  • Mix 1/8 tsp of vitamin C powder with 1/4tsp of hyaluronic acid serum in your palm until vitamin C is fully dissolved. Do it every morning and in the evening.

You’re going to obtain a hyaluronic acid serum with a 20% Vitamin C concentration. It may take around 30 seconds until you’re done with the mixing. However, you can make a bigger batch based on the same proportions and store the mix in your fridge for a week or so.

You may apply the serum daily on your face, neck, back of your hands and upper chest. As the serum is quite powerful, it may lead to some skin sensitivity in which case you should lower the concentration of vitamin C powder in the mix. It’s better to use it any now and then in this kind of situations.

Don’t forget to follow this serum with a good sunscreen because vitamin C breaks down from the UV light.

One last tip for the road

Keep in mind that L-ascorbic acid gets unstable in time, due to air and water. You need to discard it after one month of use. You should expect it to turn yellow, which is a sign that the oxidation process has already on the go, becoming useless and unsafe for your skin.

Further reference:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5579659/