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Brightening Vitamin C Face Primer

A while ago I created a post titled Everything to Know About Vitamin C & 7 FREE Vitamin C Serum Formulas + Ecocert / Natural Recipes. As the title says I shared 7 formulas in that post. I don’t believe that post/video got the attention it deserved. I will be reposting 5 of the 7 formulas, that way you are able to search for them more easily. I will also be reposting those 5 formulas on YouTube for search purposes as well. 


This first formula is called the Double C Serum by lotioncrafter.com. I first shared this formula years ago, but decided to make it again for this video all about vitamin C. I think this Double C Serum by lotioncrafter.com works beautifully as a makeup primer. So I will be marketing this formula as a “Brightening Vitamin C Face Primer”. If you try this formula, let me know how you liked it.


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L-Ascorbic Acid / Ascorbic Acid 

L-Ascorbic Acid is the chemical name for Vitamin C. So when looking for Vitamin C in a products ingredient list you would look for L-Ascorbic Acid, not Vitamin C.

The same goes for us home crafters. If you want the most natural form of Vitamin C, look for L-Ascorbic Acid, but there is a catch. Yes, this ingredient is too good to be true! It is so freakin unstable. L-Ascorbic Acid hates oxygen and it hates light. Which last time I checked, is literally everywhere. So this makes L-Ascorbic Acid an extremely hard ingredient to formulate with. This is why vitamin C serums on the market that contain L-Ascorbic Acid are extremely expensive. It’s because they are difficult formulas to formulate and a lot of trial and error goes into creating these stable vitamin C formulas. Often times you also need to add in a lot of other additional ingredients to keep the L-Ascorbic Acid stable. For example, other antioxidants like Vitamin E and Ferulic acid can help keep L-Ascorbic Acid stable. Along with the addition of chelating agents, a dark bottle that light can’t enter, and an airless pump bottle to dispense the product to prevent further oxygen from entering the product. You will know your L-Ascorbic Acid has destabilized when it starts to turn into a yellow, orange, or a brown color.


Formulating w/ L-Ascorbic Acid at Home

So for all these reasons I just mentioned, I haven’t shared a formula using L-Ascorbic Acid. But today I want to, but first, lets talk a bit more about how to formulate with L-Ascorbic Acid. I purchased mine from lotioncrafter.com so I will be sharing their formulating guidelines.

  • L-Ascorbic Acid easily dissolves in water. Sparingly soluble in absolute ethanol (2g/100ml), and insoluble in fats and lipids(oils).

  • Typical use rate: 1-4%

  • pH when dissolved in water is 2.2 - 2.5 (this is why you can’t just dissolve L-Ascorbic Acid in water and apply it directly to your face. It will burn because the pH is too low. You need to raise the pH in order to safely apply it to your skin.)

  • L-Ascorbic Acid is most stable when it’s in an anhydrous or silicone base as opposed to a aqueous base. 

  • Ferulic Acid and Vitamin E are said to help boost the stability of L-Ascorbic Acid


Since I am not a chemist and since Ascorbic Acid is so hard to formulate with, I wanted to try some example formulas provided by lotioncrafter.com. So lets take a look at their easiest “stable” vitamin C formula.



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Double C Serum by: LotionCrafter

83% LotionCrafter EL40 INCI: Dimethicone (and) Dimethicone Crosspolymer


Directions: (Provided by lotioncrafter.com) This is not my formula or my directions!!


According to lotioncrafter.com “Our Double C Serum combines water soluble ultra fine L-Ascorbic Acid powder with oil soluble Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate in an anhydrous (water-free) silicone base for high potency and stability.

Based on a study by Drs. Fitzpatrick and Rostan published in Dermatological Surgery, March 2002 (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11896774?dopt=AbstractPlus), using 10% Ascorbic Acid and 7% Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, a lipid soluble analog. These are combined in an anhydrous polysilicone gel base which acts as a “dermal patch” releasing the water soluble acid slowly and the lipid soluble analog rapidly.”


So even though L-Ascorbic Acid is water soluble, as you can see, it can still be formulated with in an anhydrous silicone base. This also allows for much better stability of the L-Ascorbic Acid.




Thoughts on Double C Serum by: LotionCrafter;

I noticed I am not reaching for this serum often. If I don’t wear makeup that day, I really don’t want to put this on my skin. I think it’s because it’s a silicone base, which feels heavy on the skin when I don’t want to wear makeup. On days that I do where makeup, it doesn’t bother me at all. I also notice that when I rub it into my skin, I do feel the vitamin C powder. It isn’t abrasive and after rubbing it in for a few seconds it goes away and it doesn’t effect makeup going over top, so it doesn’t seem to be a problem. Overall, I think this makes a great makeup primer. If you like silicone base primers, then I think this formula would make a great primer.



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I am an affiliate with https://aromantic.co.uk/ meaning I earn money when you click on their links and purchase their items.

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I am an affiliate with bulkapothecary.com and some links may be affiliate links.






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