What Are the Risks of Using These Products Together?
As mentioned, both vitamin C and retinol help your skin synthesize collagen and create new cells while encouraging old cells to die off. However, these new skin cells are very sensitive to UV rays, air pollution, and the everyday dirt the skin encounters. While you want to get rid of dead skin cells, in a way, these dead cells act like a barrier that protects the newer cells. By making your new skin cells vulnerable to these normal environmental encounters, your skin can burn much easier and become inflamed, red, itchy, and irritated.
What Are the Benefits of Using These Products Together?
While using these products in tandem can cause irritation, when applied properly, they can significantly reduce the appearance of your skin over time. It is much easier for fine lines, wrinkles, and dark spots to begin fading because of how these products speed up your skin cell turnover rate. Additionally, as new healthy skin cells begin to show, the skin’s overall texture will even out. While it may take weeks or even months to see results, you will notice your skin becoming smoother, firmer, and plumper with patience. Combining these products with persistence allows your skin to become smooth enough to reflect light, achieving that healthy glow dermatologists rave about.
How Do I Safely Use Retinol and Vitamin C Together?
So, how can you safely use vitamin c and retinol together while avoiding irritation? Luckily, the answer is simple—if you give your skin time to absorb these products, you can prevent skin damage.
Layering skin care products in the right order is incredibly important, and sometimes, that means layering some products during the day and others at night. Vitamin C should be applied during your morning routine as it’s less likely to make your skin sensitive to UV rays. Retinol, on the other hand, does make your skin more sensitive to UV rays and should be applied during your nighttime routine. If your skin is too sensitive for this process, you can try using lower concentrations of these products or alternating between uses—vitamin c one day and retinol the next.
Using these methods, your skin can reap all the benefits of vitamin C and retinol without any of the redness and irritation. Just remember to apply sunscreen to protect those new, healthy, beautiful skin cells.
