How to use retinol and vitamin C together?Updated a year ago
For the best results, use vitamin C serum in the morning and retinol at night.
What does that look like in practice?When you wake up in the morning, wash your face or just splash it with water. The more water, the better! While it’s still damp, gently massage or press the vitamin C into the skin. Let it absorb completely (this can take a few minutes), and follow it up with sunscreen.
If you use any other leave-on skincare products, apply them after the vitamin C serum and before the sunscreen.
Then, at night, it’s pretty much the same process! Wash your face (and if you can, try to really soak it with water, like in the shower). While it’s still damp, apply your retinol serum. Let it sink in completely, and for even better results, wait a full 30 minutes. Then, finish off with the rest of your skincare routine.
Check out our guide to skincare routine steps if you’d like to build a full regimen that includes both vitamin C and retinol.
Note: This doesn’t apply to prescription retinoids, which can be a little irritating to the skin. With those, many dermatologists recommend applying them on top of moisturizer in order to slow their rate of penetration and reduce chances of irritation. This isn’t normally an issue with cosmetic retinoids like our Enzyme-Active Retinol Serum.