Skin Actives Vitamin C Serum...Anyone use and like it?

River Song · ‎03-15-2010

Vitamin C Serum with Ascorbic Acid (L)

Has anyone used Skin Actives Vitamin C serum that can review it? Do you like it?

I'm on the quest to purchase a Vitamin C serum that has lots of beneficial ingredients but doesn't cost an arm and a leg.

I was looking around for an alternative to the SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic serum and took a look at the Skin Actives serum and was pleasantly surprised at the ingredient deck and the price, only $15.50 for 1 fl. oz. It can be purchased pre-mixed at 15% or can be purchased as mix-your-own up to 20% (serum and C crystals are separate, you mix the two together yourself and pour into the squirt bottle in the picture above).

The pH for the 20% serum is around 2.0 - 2.5 with a shelf life of 6 months if stored in the refrigerator. I figure, if I buy the mix-myself version, I can mix half of it at a time and worry less about it oxidizing over time, plus, I have pH strips and can periodically test the pH of the serum to make sure it is below a pH of 3.5.

The ingredient list is below, it has Vit. C & E, ferulic acid, phloretin, astaxanthin, lycopene, lutein, alpha lipoic acid, and hyaluronic acid, but the percentages of the other ingredients in the serum base are not stated on the website:

15% Vit. C Premixed:

Water, Ascorbic Acid (L) (Vitamin C),Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid, Ferulic Acid, Phloretin, Pomegranate Seed (Punica granatum) Oil, Tocotrienols, Vitamin E Oil (Alpha-D-Tocopherol), Astaxanthin, Lycopene, Lutein, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Beta Carotene, Xanthan Gum, Lemon (Citrus limon) Extract, Orange (Citrus sinensis) Extract, Citrus Essential Oils, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol,Sorbic Acid.

Mix Your Own Up to 20% Vit. C:

Serum: Water, Glycerin, Hyaluronic Acid, Ferulic Acid, Phloretin, Pomegranate Seed (Punica granatum) Oil, Tocotrienols, Vitamin E Oil (Alpha-D-Tocopherol), Astaxanthin, Lycopene, Lutein, Alpha Lipoic Acid, Beta Carotene, Xanthan Gum, Citrus Essential Oils, Phenoxyethanol, Caprylyl Glycol, Sorbic Acid.

Powder: Ascorbic Acid (L) (Vitamin C), Lemon (Citrus limon) Extract, Orange (Citrus sinensis) Extract.

cassiem · ‎03-09-2010

I have tried the premixed and it really irritated my skin. I think the citrus oils were problematic for me. It also didn't absorb well for me. If you don't have sensitive skin, it may work for you.

River Song · ‎03-15-2010

On 4/12/2014 cassiem said:
I have tried the premixed and it really irritated my skin. I think the citrus oils were problematic for me. It also didn't absorb well for me. If you don't have sensitive skin, it may work for you.

Cassiem, thank you for your review! The citrus essential oils in the serum formulation are a concern of mine as I know they can be irritating ingredients. I have oily skin that is transitioning (from menopause) to normal with an oily T-zone, so I've never had sensitive skin...the buckets-of-oil were an effective barrier, lol.

I have my own C-crystals that I could switch out for their C-crystals with the added lemon and orange extracts, though. Hmmm.....

UMDTerpFan · ‎03-27-2010

I tried it and liked it. Did not have any problems with it. Ordered it twice. Currently using NCN's Vit C but may go back to SkinActives Vitamin C.

QVC lost a lot of my posts too!

River Song · ‎03-15-2010

On 4/12/2014 UMTerpFan said:
I tried it and liked it. Did not have any problems with it. Ordered it twice. Currently using NCN's Vit C but may go back to SkinActives Vitamin C.

UMTerpFan, thank you for your review! I've been debating about NCN's Vit C serum, too. The price of the Skin Actives Vit. C serum is certainly more attractive...any reason you wouldn't buy the NCN Vit. C serum again? If they perform about the same, I see no reason to pay more than absolutely necessary for a Vit. C serum.

UMDTerpFan · ‎03-27-2010

On 4/13/2014 Sweet Susie said:
On 4/12/2014 UMTerpFan said:
I tried it and liked it. Did not have any problems with it. Ordered it twice. Currently using NCN's Vit C but may go back to SkinActives Vitamin C.

UMTerpFan, thank you for your review! I've been debating about NCN's Vit C serum, too. The price of the Skin Actives Vit. C serum is certainly more attractive...any reason you wouldn't buy the NCN Vit. C serum again? If they perform about the same, I see no reason to pay more than absolutely necessary for a Vit. C serum.

I liked NCN's Vitamin C too. I would repurchase it. It is more expensive but it also contains glutathione. I don't know whether one makes any more difference in the way my skin looks versus the other so I would have to experiment. But of the vitamin C's I've tried, these two are the most reasonable cost and as effective as some of the other more expensive brands I tried, at least IMHO.

QVC lost a lot of my posts too!

River Song · ‎03-15-2010

On 4/16/2014 UMTerpFan said:
On 4/13/2014 Sweet Susie said:
On 4/12/2014 UMTerpFan said:
I tried it and liked it. Did not have any problems with it. Ordered it twice. Currently using NCN's Vit C but may go back to SkinActives Vitamin C.

UMTerpFan, thank you for your review! I've been debating about NCN's Vit C serum, too. The price of the Skin Actives Vit. C serum is certainly more attractive...any reason you wouldn't buy the NCN Vit. C serum again? If they perform about the same, I see no reason to pay more than absolutely necessary for a Vit. C serum.

I liked NCN's Vitamin C too. I would repurchase it. It is more expensive but it also contains glutathione. I don't know whether one makes any more difference in the way my skin looks versus the other so I would have to experiment. But of the vitamin C's I've tried, these two are the most reasonable cost and as effective as some of the other more expensive brands I tried, at least IMHO.

Thank you for responding back!

I just placed an order today with NCN for their Vit. C serum, Formula 7 serum and GHK-Cu EGF Formula 1 serum. I have lots of freckles/sunspots/acne scars to fade so I'm going to give it a go with NCN products.

Also, I discovered that Lotioncrafter has a DIY kit to make a dupe of the SkinCeuticals 15% CE Ferulic serum. The price is phenomenally inexpensive for the amount the kit makes. So, if the NCN Vit. C serum doesn't work out, I'm going to try the DIY version. The directions on how to make it seem straight forward enough but it brings me back to Chemistry Lab in college, lol.

UMDTerpFan · ‎03-27-2010

On 4/16/2014 Sweet Susie said:
On 4/16/2014 UMTerpFan said:
On 4/13/2014 Sweet Susie said:
On 4/12/2014 UMTerpFan said:
I tried it and liked it. Did not have any problems with it. Ordered it twice. Currently using NCN's Vit C but may go back to SkinActives Vitamin C.

UMTerpFan, thank you for your review! I've been debating about NCN's Vit C serum, too. The price of the Skin Actives Vit. C serum is certainly more attractive...any reason you wouldn't buy the NCN Vit. C serum again? If they perform about the same, I see no reason to pay more than absolutely necessary for a Vit. C serum.

I liked NCN's Vitamin C too. I would repurchase it. It is more expensive but it also contains glutathione. I don't know whether one makes any more difference in the way my skin looks versus the other so I would have to experiment. But of the vitamin C's I've tried, these two are the most reasonable cost and as effective as some of the other more expensive brands I tried, at least IMHO.

Thank you for responding back!

I just placed an order today with NCN for their Vit. C serum, Formula 7 serum and GHK-Cu EGF Formula 1 serum. I have lots of freckles/sunspots/acne scars to fade so I'm going to give it a go with NCN products.

Also, I discovered that Lotioncrafter has a DIY kit to make a dupe of the SkinCeuticals 15% CE Ferulic serum. The price is phenomenally inexpensive for the amount the kit makes. So, if the NCN Vit. C serum doesn't work out, I'm going to try the DIY version. The directions on how to make it seem straight forward enough but it brings me back to Chemistry Lab in college, lol.

Well I didn't do chemistry lab in college, I'm an accountant and that wasn't a requirement, thank goodness! But thanks for the info on the DIY kit at Lotioncrafter. Another Vitamin C that many people on this board rave about is Paula's Choice Resist C-15 Super Booster. I just ordered a sample of it to try. FYI, I've had some good results for freckles and sun spots with SkinActives Twilight Repair cream which is a vitamin A cream, and their Be Kind Rewind cream which is a UV repair cream. They are pretty inexpensive in comparison to Perricone, PTR or any of the other major brands, all of which I have tried. I also use SkinActives AntiAge cream, have been a repeat purchaser of these three creams and their Collagen serum. So those may be options for you to try. The thing that impressed me initially with the brand is that the founder is a chemist and trained under a Nobel Laureate so her credentials are pretty significant IMHO.

QVC lost a lot of my posts too!

River Song · ‎03-15-2010

On 4/16/2014 UMTerpFan said:
On 4/16/2014 Sweet Susie said:
On 4/16/2014 UMTerpFan said:
On 4/13/2014 Sweet Susie said:
On 4/12/2014 UMTerpFan said:
I tried it and liked it. Did not have any problems with it. Ordered it twice. Currently using NCN's Vit C but may go back to SkinActives Vitamin C.

UMTerpFan, thank you for your review! I've been debating about NCN's Vit C serum, too. The price of the Skin Actives Vit. C serum is certainly more attractive...any reason you wouldn't buy the NCN Vit. C serum again? If they perform about the same, I see no reason to pay more than absolutely necessary for a Vit. C serum.

I liked NCN's Vitamin C too. I would repurchase it. It is more expensive but it also contains glutathione. I don't know whether one makes any more difference in the way my skin looks versus the other so I would have to experiment. But of the vitamin C's I've tried, these two are the most reasonable cost and as effective as some of the other more expensive brands I tried, at least IMHO.

Thank you for responding back!

I just placed an order today with NCN for their Vit. C serum, Formula 7 serum and GHK-Cu EGF Formula 1 serum. I have lots of freckles/sunspots/acne scars to fade so I'm going to give it a go with NCN products.

Also, I discovered that Lotioncrafter has a DIY kit to make a dupe of the SkinCeuticals 15% CE Ferulic serum. The price is phenomenally inexpensive for the amount the kit makes. So, if the NCN Vit. C serum doesn't work out, I'm going to try the DIY version. The directions on how to make it seem straight forward enough but it brings me back to Chemistry Lab in college, lol.

Well I didn't do chemistry lab in college, I'm an accountant and that wasn't a requirement, thank goodness! But thanks for the info on the DIY kit at Lotioncrafter. Another Vitamin C that many people on this board rave about is Paula's Choice Resist C-15 Super Booster. I just ordered a sample of it to try. FYI, I've had some good results for freckles and sun spots with SkinActives Twilight Repair cream which is a vitamin A cream, and their Be Kind Rewind cream which is a UV repair cream. They are pretty inexpensive in comparison to Perricone, PTR or any of the other major brands, all of which I have tried. I also use SkinActives AntiAge cream, have been a repeat purchaser of these three creams and their Collagen serum. So those may be options for you to try. The thing that impressed me initially with the brand is that the founder is a chemist and trained under a Nobel Laureate so her credentials are pretty significant IMHO.

Thank you for your comments on the Skin Actives creams because I was just looking at all three of those! I will eventually purchase the Collagen Serum and the Restoration Cream.

If the Formula 7 serum from NCN doesn't help with my skin discoloration, I'm going to also try the Skin Brightening Cream from Skin Actives.

I've been doing weekly low-level Radiance peels from MUAC and figured the Collagen Serum and Restoration Cream would be good to use after a peel since they both have EGF and collagen and the cream has GHK (good for healing).

I've also been using retinol and Retin-A for a while and decided to hold off on the Vit. A cream until I use up my tube of Retin-A. Honestly, I've used retinol and Retin-A for five years and I don't see much of a difference between the two, at least on my skin. I know some ladies swear by Retin-A but I'm 'meh' about it.

But, I would like to get either the Vit. A cream, the Anti-Aging Cream or the UV Repair Cream for DH. He is outside in the sun a lot for work and even though he wears sunscreen and a hat, I think a decent moisturizer loaded with anti-oxidants would be good for his skin. Plus, the packaging isn't too feminine and girly.

I have not tried the Paula's Choice Resist Vit. C serum, so can't give a review. I did try a skin lightening gel from her, it did absolutely nothing but make my skin sticky and I noticed that it is no longer for sale on her site, lol.

kirbysgirl · ‎03-09-2010

SweetSusie,

I have the mix your own c serum from skinactives; not sure how I feel about it. I used the entire allotment of provided powder so perhaps a bit much for my skin which tends to be sensitive. I also find it to be a bit sticky although I would happily tolerate that if I felt that it was beneficial.

I plan to use it much more regularly now that the weather's warming up and I feel like my skin can tolerate a bit more.

However, I have used the Collagen Serum (day) for years and highly recommend it. I've also used the Every Lipid Serum (night) for quite a while and recommend that too....