7 Best Stable & Effective Vitamin C Serums To Add To Your Skincare Routine

Vitamin C actually comes in many forms, and you should go with the one that is the most stable. When I say stable, I am talking about how easily they oxidise due to the presence of oxygen, light and heat (we'll talk about this in a bit). Once oxidised, your vitamin C will change into a yellow-ish or amber colour and has a weird smell to it. You shouldn't use vitamin C when it's oxidised (no matter how pricey it was) as it tends to have the opposite effect on your skin — it becomes a pro-oxidant and can cause inflammation and irritation to the skin, leading to skin damage! 

To know which vitamin C serum is the best, turn the bottle and go to ingredients. If you read ascorbic acid as the primary choice of vitamin C, then keep that bottle down and move on. Ascorbic acid is the least stable vitamin C serum, it does provide an instant brightening effect though, as it helps with exfoliation; you should consider getting this one only if the packaging is correct. You can look for Ascorbyl Glucoside, which is slightly harder to oxidise, Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, a stable and water-soluble form of vitamin C. Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate and Ethyl Ascorbic Acid are also some of the most stable forms of vitamin C.

Coming to the packaging, there are only two things that you should make sure of: one, the bottle is opaque so that no light is able to enter and mess with your vitamin C serum. This is because vitamin C is photosensitive (oxidises when exposed to light). Two, the packaging is preferably an airless pump so that oxygen is also not able to mess with the vitamin C. That being said, airless pumps, according to my research, are actually quite expensive and so companies don’t usually opt for this type to reduce their cost, but if possible, it's definitely going to prolong the life of your serum.

Innisfree is one Korean brand we know and love for its amazing product range and the quality of products they have. The vitamin C Enzyme serum has an extremely stable form of Vitamin C and comes in opaque packaging. The formula also has a bunch of other antioxidants with vitamin C, which is great, as it only helps strengthen the effect of the vitamin C. I was super happy to see that they've added ferulic acid to the formula, an antioxidant that helps stabilise vitamin C and doubles its photoprotection in the formula. Other goodie ingredients like niacinamide, glycerin, panthenol are great to maintain hydration and give a soothing effect to the skin.

Form of Vitamin C: 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid

Free of: Alcohol and fragrance

Deconstruct's vitamin C serum is a simple one with a great formulation. It's for a stable form of vitamin C with ferulic acid. I feel this one is one of the best vitamin C serums for oily skin as all the ingredients have a zero rating on the comedogenic scale, meaning it won't clog your pores.

Form of Vitamin C: 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid 

Free Of: Fragrance, essential oils and alcohol

I love all of Suganda's products because I feel that Suganda as a brand stays true to the formulations and offers great products with clean and high-quality ingredients. I've personally used this product, at first it used to come in an airless pump, which I loved, but they've changed it now. It now comes in two parts, first is a powder that carries your vitamin C agent and the other is the solvent. They've done this so that there is no oxidation to the product and it remains untouched till the time it reaches you. Talking about the product itself, I personally think it works well, it's got hydrating and soothing ingredients and also lactic acid, which mildly helps with exfoliation. There's also the magic of ferulic acid to enhance the effect of vitamin C.

Form of Vitamin C: Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate

Free Of: Fragrance, essential oils and alcohol

COS-IQ's Vitamin C serum has a fairly simple formula with just two ingredients, which are vitamin C and propendiol (for moisturisation). It does come in an airless pump and an opaque bottle, so you don't have to worry about oxidisation as well.

Form of Vitamin C: 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid

Free Of: Fragrance, essential oils and alcohol

The Derma Co. has three variants of Vitamin C serum, starting at 5% vitamin C, going up to 20%, but I feel the 10% one has the best formula out of the three. It's free of any perfuming unlike the 20% variant and any icky ingredients, unlike the 5% one. This one's got a stable form of vitamin C with ferulic acid and niacinamide along with other moisturising ingredients. 

Form of Vitamin C: 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid

Free Of: Fragrance, essential oils and alcohol

The Ordinary has come to my rescue time and again when looking for a decent product that's free of all nasties. This one comes in a UV-protective packaging and is a great vitamin C serum for dry skin as well as oily skin. Its key ingredient is Ascorbyl Glucoside, one of the best derivatives of vitamin C, and almost all users have rated it a spot-on five on five after seeing results for a couple of weeks. 

Form of Vitamin C: Ascorbyl Glucoside

Free Of: Fragrance, essential oils and alcohol

I was very sceptical of Minimalist as a brand when I first was introduced to it, and now half of my skincare routine is from this brand. They've got clean products that work and are easy on the pocket as well. Their vitamin C serum has a stable derivative of the active and has ferulic acid to make it more stable along with other humectants to help with moisturising. Users have experienced visible difference in their skin after using this product and report that it has made their skin more glowing and has improved texture as well.

Form of Vitamin C: 3-O-Ethyl Ascorbic Acid

Free Of: Fragrance, essential oils and alcohol