It's all about the collagen.

For those who have always been on the lookout for the fountain of youth, the key to lesser wrinkles is collagen. And plumping up your skin to keep wrinkles at bay is what collagen does.

To aid your skin's collagen formation, Vitamin c, or ascorbic acid, is an important component in helping to promote the production of collagen in skin tissue and strengthening the structural support of the skin dermis.

This very useful vitamin is also an effective antioxidant as it protects skin cells from environmental and UV-induced skin damage skin's natural defense against free radicals, which are unstable molecules that age the skin and contributes to a dull complexion.

Neutralising the damage caused by free radicals also means you need to find yourself a good physical sunblock. However, no sunscreen formulation can block all wavelengths of sunlight and provide complete protection, particularly against UVA rays.

So using a good Vitamin C formula together with a good sunscreen will help to effectively neutralise any damage by free radicals on skin.

But getting that much-needed Vitamin C boost to help your skin glow is more than just consuming your daily dose of oranges. As Vitamin C is known to be highly unstable which rapidly oxides with exposure to air, light and heat, not all kinds of Vitamin C formulations work effectively.

According to a study by Duke University, an effective topical Vitamin C serum must have the following properties:

- It must contain pure L-Ascorbic acid.
Other derivatives of vitamin C may not have high enough concentrations to have a significant effect.

- It must contain high concentrations of L-Ascorbic acid.
A topical vitamin C serum must contain a substantial amount of L-ascorbic acid while remaining stable to be effective. When   formulated properly, a 20 percent concentration provides the maximum amount of vitamin C readily absorbed by the skin.

- It must be at acid pH.
Vitamin C must be formulated at an acid pH below 3.5 to effectively
be absorbed by the skin. As pH increases, absorption rate decreases.



Here are two powerful anti-ageing serums that harness the power of Vitamin C:

Jyunka Multi-Action Miracle Fluid

Knowing the volatility of pure L-Ascorbic acid, Japanese scientists have encapsulated the goodness of Vitamin C using the Super Nano (SNC) Qu-somes technology. The SNC Qu-some is an ultra fine particle of size 100nm (nanometres), which is used to deliver L-Ascorbic Acid to the skin by dissolving itself progressively from the outside, layer by layer, as it assimilates into the dermal tissues

A 20ml bottle retails at $322. There is a special introductory price of $248.

SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic Acid

This serum contains pure Vitamins C, E and ferulic acid to provide 8 times' skin's natural protection against environmental damage