Ask a Biologist: Which Anti-Aging Ingredients Actually Work?
Many skincare ingredients contain molecules that are too big to penetrate the skin cells, but vitamin C molecules are small enough to have an effect.
“My favorite form of vitamin C is Ascorbyl Tetraisopalmitate, which best penetrates the skin,” adds Park Avenue plastic surgeon Melissa Doft. Once in the skin, it slowly transforms into the active form ascorbic acid to provide myriad benefits, from reducing inflammation to healing wounds to preventing melanin production. For you science junkies, Doft says the ingredient works by inhibiting “melanin formation by reducing precursors to melanin and blocking production of free radicals.” It also blocks melanin formation induced by UVA-irradiation, reducing age-spot formations over time.