La Roche-Posay’s anti-aging vitamin C serum is on sale

In anti-aging skin care, collagen is essential. Products like retinol and peptides aim to rebuild this protein that gives skin its firmness and youthful bounce.

But if you’re only focused on building collagen but not also protect That’s something you’re missing, says dermatologist Geeta Yadav, MD. And there’s one particular ingredient you definitely want to use (besides sunscreen, of course) to lock in all that fresh collagen: vitamin C.

When I recently talked to her about the best affordable anti-aging products, she pointed me to her favorite nighttime retinol. After all, topical retinoids “are one of the few ingredients shown in clinical studies to soften fine lines, refine texture, and even skin tone over time,” she says.

But she was quick to recommend a daytime companion that helps increase the effectiveness of retinol: La Roche-Posay vitamin C12 serum.

“It’s my daytime counterpart to a nighttime retinol,” she explained. “It targets a different part of aging: daily oxidative stress from UV rays and pollution that silently breaks down collagen and leaves skin looking dull and uneven.”

In other words, retinol helps rebuild collagen, but vitamin C is needed to help defend those gains against the collagen thieves we encounter daily.

Vitamin C “acts as an antioxidant, neutralizing unstable free radicals that your skin produces when exposed to sun and environmental stress,” says Yadav. “If left unchecked, these free radicals break down collagen and contribute to a dull, uneven complexion.”

In addition to helping neutralize free radicals before they can cause damage, vitamin C also “directly contributes to collagen production and helps interrupt excess pigment,” she says, “which is why it’s associated with brighter, more even-toned skin.”

The formula contains 12 percent pure vitamin C, which is the ascorbic acid you’ll see on the label. Yadav recommends this particular concentration because it is strong enough to be effective, yet still tolerable even for sensitive skin. And she specifically recommends the La Roche-Posay brand because of its strong track record in skin science.

Reviews say the serum applies smoothly and absorbs quickly without stickiness, and a few drops in the morning are enough to protect your skin. Best of all, Yadav says, it pairs well with sunscreen, which is “the most anti-aging topical you can use.”

“Sunscreen blocks a lot of UV, and vitamin C helps eliminate free radicals that still get through,” she explains, “so layering it under your morning SPF gives you protection on two fronts.”

And if you’re worried about anti-aging, you want all the help you can get.

While most anti-aging conversations focus on building collagen, it is equally important to protect all that collagen you’ve built, says Yadav. And to protect against pollution and UV rays that degrade collagen, La Roche-Posay’s Vitamin C12 serum is this dermatologist’s choice.

Buy it now and keep reading to discover other anti-aging treatments that experts have recommended to us.

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