Vitamin C Skin Freshening Cleanser


Vitamin C is great for skin care and a favorite in skin care products for skin lightening, brightening, and products that help maintain an even skin tone.

I'm actually quite a fan of all the fabulous things vitamin C has to offer. But there's a bit of a hitch.

Ok, it's a rather huge hitch.

Fresh vitamin C looses power, so in order for it to be beneficial for topical application, it needs to be stabilized.

I've used stabilized vitamin C (INCI: Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate, L-Acscorbic Acid) in several products and despite the positive results I've gotten with my (few, modest) case studies (links below) vitamin C is gosh darn tricky to work with. The pH is a problem, air exposure is a problem, incorporation into any kind of emulsion wreaks all kinds of havoc with the viscosity, and I could go on (and on), but I think you get the picture.

Keep it Simple

Let's get back to basics and put together a bucket-of-worms-free mix of vitamin-C rich ingredients that will cleanse and freshen the skin.

For this refreshing face wash, you'll need
  • 5 gr Powdered Amla
  • 7 gr Powdered Orange 
  • 7 gr Powdered Rose Hips
  • 20 gr White (Illite) Clay (kaolin)
  • 3 gr Yellow Illite Clay



Method

Weigh out the ingredients
Transfer to bowl
Mix ingredients
Transfer to final container



I recommend using a PET bottle for your mixture. The not too wide opening of a bottle allows for easy dosage and less chance of water getting into your mixture.

The Water Thing

As there is no preservative in this mixture, it is vital that you keep it dry and that absolutely NO MOISTURE is introduced to it. (I know I don't need to keep reminding you regular readers about this, but anyone who just popped in may not be aware and might appreciate the heads up).

Let's Use it!

This face cleanser work with water, or you can mix it with the mallow gel we made not long ago.  Here are a couple of links:
How to use this cleanser with water
How to use this cleanser with your own cleansing gel
How to make your own cleansing gel

Enjoy!

A bit more about What Vitamin C has to Offer - both Internally and Topically

On this blog - skin lightening with vitamin 
Wikipedia on Vitamin C
National Institutes of Health on Vitamin C
Oregon State University - questions about vitamin C answered
Double Blind Study Using Topical Vitamin C to repair Photodamage on skin
Vitamin C in Dermatology

Comments

María said…
This weekend will be the moment to try all this, because I have all the ingredients and my face definitely needs a mask (and epilation, but let's put that aside...)
LisaLise said…
Prepare yourself Mariá - you're going to love it. I've been using it every evening and it's beautiful...
TinaCPH said…
Your post brings me right back to high school where I did a study on how fast vitamin C was broken down in an open bottle of OJ. Amazing how things you haven't thought of in years all of a sudden come back to you :-)
Love the blend and like María I think the weekend is the time to try - my skin could use a little TLC.
God weeekend!
-and e-mailing you in on my weekend list too :-)
LisaLise said…
Hi Tina .-yay!! I look forward!
Jo said…
Ahh Lise, every so often I look at your blog and I get caught up. I have just ground some dried orange peel, ground some rose petals (I don't have rosehips) searched out my amla and various clays to experiment as my 2nd cleanse for the next few nights!
It smells lovely.
Thank you
LisaLise said…
HI Jo - enjoy!!
Agnes said…
Hi Lise, I was wondering if I am to substitute rose hip powder with rose hip botanical extract, how much of botanical extract would I need? Would it be the same amount as just powdered rose hips? Thank you
LisaLise said…
Hi Agnes - I've seen the botanical extract at different concentrations-- so I'd start by asking my sulier for recommended dosage,then adjust from there :)
LisaLise said…
Sorry for the typo -- I meant supplier
Agnes said…
Hi Lise-ok, thank you. I will reach out to them..:-)
Unknown said…
Hi! I really love your blog and your passion for botanical skincare. I would like to formulate an all natural vitamin c serum using oils only. Could you please help me with it cuz i am getting really confused about all the formulation recipes I find online? Thanks in advance
LisaLise said…
HI Unknown - Thanks so much for your comment. I am happy to help with formula specific questions such as this in a consultation. Please visit LisaLise.com and look for 'consultations' for more information.