If you want to incorporate antioxidants into your skincare routine, look no further than SkinCeuticals.

No matter where you are in your skincare journey, from beginner to bona fide expert, you’re probably well aware of the importance of incorporating an antioxidant into your regimen. That’s because antioxidants for skin have so many benefits. Whether it’s targeting inflammation (which is often the source of pimples, blemishes and redness) and signs of premature aging (such as fine lines and wrinkles) by restoring your collagen supply or protecting your skin from the sun’s harmful UV rays by preventing skin’s natural inflammatory response to sun exposure, antioxidant ingredients in skincare are really able to do it all.

That said, not all antioxidants are created equal. Because antioxidants are such an important part of your skincare regimen, it’s crucial to turn to products you know you can trust. Enter SkinCeuticals, the antioxidant authority. You may have heard of SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic, an iconic serum formulated with vitamin C and ferulic acid, two effective antioxidants, that has had a cultlike following for almost two decades. Launched in 2005 after a staggering 40 years of academic research, SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic is often regarded as the gold standard of vitamin C serums. Why did it take four decades to perfect? Well, not only is SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic precisely and carefully formulated to neutralize damaging free radicals caused by environmental factors—thus resulting in brighter skin, a more even complexion and a reduction in fine lines and wrinkles—but it comes with tons of clinical studies that can back up its claims.

Safety, shelf life and stability

Developed by Dr. Sheldon R. Pinnell, SkinCeuticals’ founding scientist (and dermatologist, professor and skincare chemist), SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic is the product of decades of research and more than 200 published scientific articles about topical vitamin C, antioxidants, collagen synthesis and photodamage in peer-reviewed dermatology journals. Now, research is key when developing any skincare product, but it’s especially important in the development of vitamin C serums, due to the ingredient’s unstable nature. Vitamin C is a reactive ingredient, and in the presence of oxygen, it will chemically react, making it no longer effective at providing skin benefits. However, since 2007, SkinCeuticals has held a patent for stabilized ascorbic acid (vitamin C) composition, which means that we have discovered how to stabilize vitamin C in a way that no other brands have. All SkinCeuticals antioxidant products adhere to the Duke Parameters, which means they are made with pure L-ascorbic acid, the preferred form of vitamin C in skincare, formulated in potent concentrations between 10% and 20% and feature an acidic pH between 2.0 and 3.5, which is ideal for skin.

We also test all formulations across a broad range of environmental conditions (like temperature, light conditions and light exposure) for a set period of time to ensure that our antioxidant ingredients in skincare remain stable and effective for 36 months unopened and up to six months after opening. While L-ascorbic acid may discolour over time, the actual oxidation that occurs is minimal, so you’ll still get safe and effective delivery of the antioxidant into your skin.

Better yet, all SkinCeuticals formulations must pass strict safety and tolerance testing on human skin. We go above and beyond industry requirements to ensure that 50% of our test panels have sensitive skin so we can guarantee that our antioxidant ingredients, such as vitamin C and ferulic acid, are well tolerated by all skin types. After our testing, all of our products are further clinically tested via independent professional or physician evaluation, and those results are compared to patient self-assessment results for the most comprehensive and thorough understanding of how SkinCeuticals’ products work in real life.

Antioxidant synergy

Aside from our quality-control testing surrounding the shelf life and stability of SkinCeuticals antioxidant products, there’s also the fact that vitamin C and ferulic acid naturally work well together, with ferulic acid acting as an extra stabilizer for vitamin C. SkinCeuticals’ thorough research on antioxidant synergy has shown that specific combinations of antioxidants, when effectively formulated, perform synergistically to not only provide superior antioxidant protection but also optimize stability. This is exactly the case with vitamin C and ferulic acid, which is why we have continued to use that combination of antioxidant ingredients in skincare products like SkinCeuticals CE Ferulic for normal or dry skin, SkinCeuticals Silymarin CF for oily skin, SkinCeuticals Phloretin CF for combination skin and SkinCeuticals Serum 10 AOX+ for sensitive skin. In fact, when ferulic acid is used at 0.5% (which is the level we use in all of our antioxidant skincare products), the product becomes four times (!) more protective against the harmful effects of UV radiation, making this ingredient combination a must-have in any skincare regimen.