Brown skin after c-vitamin administration!

[quest]

Earlier somebody asked a question about brown spots after administing c-vitamin on the skin. I have noticed this on myself as well, IF I administer it in the morning.

Since sunlight causes the degradation process of c-vitamin and to my understanding that process can cause ascorbic acid to become a free radical itself, maybe that formation has taken its place on my skin.

As a chopped surface of an apple turns brown in the sunlight after few hours (due to the oxidation c.vitamin) why not in the skin?

This "pigmentation" which is really not pigmentation, but the color of oxidized ascorbic acid will disappear after few days (after not using c-vitamin), which again in my opinion may indicate that ( tadaa!) I have managed to saturate my skin with free radicals and need to apply it only during the evenings,

[quest]

Hey, I need to add to my previous post, so that I do not scare anybody, that I am not sure how physiologically active these radicals are in the skin, as I have understood from, at least one source, that the degraded c-vitamin is fairly harmless on the skin. Yet there of course has been conversation about yellowish c-vitamin products that are harmful to your skin, but so far I have not been able to gather scientific data on whether it truly damages collagen or is just plain ineffective? Does anyone have more data on this one?

[SarahVaughter]

I am not completely sure whether your spots are due to oxidation however I am aware of vit. C's sensitivity to oxidation. That is why I wrote in our instructions:

“Apply vit. C preferably in the evening since it is sensitive to sunlight”

It is also in our instructions concerning A-Ret:

“Since Tretinoin is sun sensitive, apply before bedtime and use a high factor sun screen over the next days”

Other recommendation concerning vit. C in our instructions:

- A sealable container. It really must be possible to close it off air-tight because vitamin C oxidizes easily. It is degraded by air, light and heat. That’s why you should keep it in the fridge where it is cold and totally dark, except when you open the door, which is of no consequence. We sell small brown glass flasks, perfect to keep vit. C serum fresh.

- Prepare small quantities of vit. C serum at a time, to ensure it is always fresh and un-oxidized. You should make a new batch approximately once every 20 days.

 

Vit. C crystals themselves are nowhere near as prone to oxidation as the aqueous solution.

Vit. C serum should not be applied right before sun exposure and the best is to apply it in the evening. I will make it even more clear in our instructions.

You can try to leave vit. C serum in a transparent, open glass to see how many days it will take for it to become yellow (oxidized).

[quest]

Oh Sarah, I think you have done excellent job in the instructions to indicate the importance of applying vitamins only in the evenings!  The experiment was totally my own intentional effort. I was thinking that the end product would be inert if I let the c-vitamin fully absorbed to my skin ( in darkness for 30 minutes )and then just stay inside the house (working). Well, I was wrong. Anyway, the data I since found, does support that ascorbate free radical does not cause CELL damage (that is good) but nobody says anything about the collagen damage, that of course is in matrix.

I have another question for you, do you have any research available on green tea and skin. One dermatologist referred to it, but did not give any reference material.

[SarahVaughter]

Green tea contains antioxidants, anti-inflammatory compounds and other beneficial substances and it is soothing to use it cold on sunburned skin or you can use it cold to freshen the skin but I believe that the best for the skin is to drink it.

   There are studies that suggest that grean tea could help prevent skin cancer:

   

  https://http://www.comilac.com.tr/uploads/pdf/2PomGT.pdf