Beautycounter Vitamin C Serum: My Review and Results

In this post I’m sharing my review of the Beautycounter Vitamin C serum as well as my before and after photos and results. I also share how to use it, how I incorporate it into my routine and the benefits of using a vitamin C serum.

Beautycounter Vitamin C Serum: My Review and Results

Truth be told I didn’t know a lot about vitamin C serums until recently. I had never used one before. It turns out, that was a big mistake! Beautycounter released their Counter+ All Bright C Serum a couple months ago and I have been using it daily since then and have seen huge improvements in my skin! It has decreased redness, healed blemishes, faded dark spots, increased brightness and overall improved my skin’s complexion.

Since adding the vitamin C serum into my routine I’ve found myself needing less makeup and most days go without it completely! I’m typically a Skin Twin Foundation wearer since I like a bit more coverage, but since adding the Vitamin C serum I’ve found a little Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer is all I need!

Here are my before and after photos after using the serum for 2 months:

**Disclaimer: These are my personal results and I can’t guarantee that the product will lead to the same results for you.

Beautycounter vitamin C serum before and after photos:

You can see in the before photo that I still had areas of redness, blemishes, more dark spots and pigmentation and my skin was more dull. In the after photo my redness has improved, the pigmentation and dark spots that I had have decreased, my freckles are more obvious and my skin is brighter overall.

What does the Beautycounter Vitamin C Serum do for skin?

According to the Beautycounter website the serum has many benefits including:

• Leads to glowing skin and promotes an even skin tone
• Brightens skin
• Reduces the appearance of dark spots
• Makes skin look more youthful
• Evens skin tone
• Improves skin radiance
• Helps protect against the formation of new dark spots
• Helps defend the skin from the damaging effects of environmental stressors

You can see the product page here, along with results from a clinical study which showed some amazing results!

Since using the vitamin C serum I have personally noticed:

• Decreased redness
• Less blemishes 
• Reduction in dark spots and pigmentation
• Increased brightness and overall improvement in complexion
• Has evened out my skin tone

What are the benefits of using a vitamin C serum?

According to the literature there are many benefits to using a vitamin C serum on your skin (note that these are general vitamin C serum benefits and are not specific to the Beautycounter serum) .

• Helps reduce the appearance of dark spots and helps protect against the development of new ones (reference)
• Has powerful anti-aging effects (reference)
• Decreases acne
• Helps defend skin from the damaging effects of environmental stressors such as pollution and smoke (reference)
• Helps decrease melasma (reference)
• Supports skin’s natural collagen production to help make skin look more youthful (reference)
• Helps decrease sun damage from UVA and UVB rays (reference)
• Prevents sun damage by neutralizing free radicals, an effect which is not seen with sunscreens – for those of you who are science lovers, under laboratory conditions, the application of 10% topical vitamin C shows reduction of UVB-induced redness by 52% and sunburn cell formation by 40-60% (reference)
• Acts as a potent anti-oxidant which protects the skin from oxidative stress and environmental damage (reference)
• Decreases skin pigmentation and hyperpigmentation (reference)
• Has anti-inflammatory effects which is helpful for treating many skin conditions and can promote wound healing and help prevent scarring (reference)
• Helps replenish the skin’s vitamin E levels, which has anti-oxidant effects and helps prevent against oxidative stress and maintains the collagen network in the skin (reference)

Which Vitamin C Serum is Best?

There are many vitamin C serums on the market, so deciding which one to choose can be tricky. You might assume that the higher the percentage of vitamin C, the better, but this is not always the case. If you get too high a percentage, this can be irritating to the skin, while if the concentration is too low, the product won’t be very effective. Most brands on the market use 15% vitamin C, but you need to consider how stable that type of vitamin C is. As well, many brands that claim 15% concentration don’t live up to the claim when tested.

Most vitamin C serum’s on the market use L-ascorbic acid as their form of vitamin C. Brands like Skinceuticals, Drunk Elephant, and Paula’s Choice. The problem with L-ascorbic acid is that it is not very stable. It gets oxidized when it is exposed to light (reference). This means that while the concentration starts at 15% when the product is first formulated, that percentage decreases quickly, so after being exposed to light the product becomes much less effective and the concentration of stable vitamin C in the product decreases dramatically.

Alternatively, the Beautycounter All Bright C Serum uses a total of 10% vitamin C, from two forms of ultra-stable Vitamin C. It uses 5% bis-glyceryl ascorbate and 5% tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate. These were specifically selected for their stability and effectiveness over time (reference).

Both bis-glyceryl ascorbate and tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate are effective at lower concentrations, which also means they have less potential to irritate the skin. They are also lipid-soluble, so the effects are deeper and longer-lasting in the skin. These forms of vitamin C are able to penetrate the skin, while L-ascorbic acid, loses efficacy when it comes into contact with water, making it difficult to formulate with and harder to penetrate the skin (reference). This is why you are seeing many high-end skincare brands selling do it yourself products where you mix the L-ascorbic acid vitamin C with a serum just before using. They are trying to maximize the stability of an ingredient that is very unstable and losses effectiveness quickly.

So when it comes to deciding what type of vitamin C serum is the best, I recommend checking the ingredients to determine what type of vitamin C is used in the product. Ideally you want to avoid products with L-ascorbic acid and instead choose products with either (or both) bis-glyceryl ascorbate and tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate which will be more effective and a bigger bang for your buck.

Let’s also look at cost. One of the leading vitamin C serums on the market by Skinceuticals costs $198 for 30 ml, while the Beautycounter Vitamin C serum is $90 for 30 ml. That is less than half the price! The Skinceuticals serum also uses L-ascorbic acid, and as we already discussed that form of vitamin C is not very stable. So you are paying twice the amount for a product that will lose effectiveness overtime.

Beautycounter vitamin C serum ingredients: 

Besides vitamin C, the All Bright Serum also contains:

• Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract:  The turmeric gives the serum a bright yellow color, and is a powerful antioxidant that helps even skin tone and improve the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
• Myrciaria Dubia (Camu Camu) Fruit Extract: Camu camu is another powerful antioxidant that helps reduce the appearance of dark spots and improves signs of skin fatigue.

How to use the Beautycounter vitamin C serum:

You want to use your vitamin C serum during the day, not at night. At night, a great pairing to your vitamin C serum is this Overnight Resurfacing Peel.

To use the vitamin C serum, first wash and dry your face. Then use your toner and your regular serum if you use one. Then layer the All Bright C Serum on top, applying it to your face, neck, and décolletage. Follow with your daytime moisturizer and SPF.

I personally recommend using the vitamin C serum every day. You will notice the most improvement by doing so. I find that I only need one pump, which will be enough to cover your whole face.

For my skin, which is dry and acne prone I have found the best daytime skincare regimen for me is:

• Cleanse with this charcoal bar
• Tone with this salicylic acid toner
• Apply this all over acne treatment
• Then apply the vitamin C serum
• And lastly I apply this day cream
• Most days I will also use this tinted moisturizer on top, to give some SPF protection and a nice air-brushed finish

Beautycounter’s Vitamin C Serum Safety

Another great thing about Beautycounter’s All Bright C serum is its safety. I have written a lot more about why this is so important to me before, but as someone with chronic health issues and an autoimmune disease, I will only use skincare products that I know are good for my health.

Beautycounter’s vitamin C serum is formulated without ethoxylated ingredients (including PEGs) due to their reproductive and developmental concerns. It’s also made without any dyes or fragrances. It is also free from parabens, phthalates and artificial fragrances.

Every ingredient used by Beautycounter goes through rigorous raw materials screening and testing to ensure it’s safety. Beautycounter tests every batch of their products for contaminants to ensure they are safe, and all of their products are formulated with the most vulnerable populations in mind, meaning that they are safe for everyone, including women who are both pregnant and breast feeding.

Beautycounter Vitamin C serum Certifications: 

This vitamin C serum is vegan, Leaping Bunny certified and EWG certified. It’s also gluten free!

All Bright C Serum Sustainability:

Beautycounter’s vitamin C serum comes in glass packaging, and by using glass from North America instead of plastic this saves an estimated 26% of water and fossil fuels. Glass packaging also ensures that harmful chemicals and hormone disruptors won’t leach from the packaging into the product (which can happen with certain types of plastic packaging).

Frequently asked questions:

I hope you found this helpful! Please let me know if you have other questions!

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References:

1. Vitamin C in dermatology
2. Topical Vitamin C and the Skin: Mechanisms of Action and Clinical Applications
3. Vitamin C: One compound, several uses. Advances for delivery, efficiency and stability
4. Efficacy and tolerability of a novel antioxidant formulation containing 30% of tetrahexyldecyl ascorbate, a lipid-soluble form of vitamin C