Vitamin C Serum 20% Pure L-Ascorbic Acid, Ferulic Acid, Vitamin E and Hyaluronic Acid for Face and Eyes 1oz. by Dr. Brenner

Product Information

NOTE: I just finished my 3rd bottle and when I was using it 7 days a week on face and chest the bottle lasted me exactly 3 months. For fun, we decided to also test 1 anhydrous ascorbic acid serum just as a comparison: The Ordinary’s 8% Ascorbic Acid + 2% alpha arbutin serum in propanediol (a popular solvent and molecular cousin to propylene glycol). In a non-aqueous base, the stability should be much better.

Based on color alone, Timeless is the clearest serum. But I am not entirely sure that just because it is clear that that means that it hasn’t oxidized. One reason for this is that my Timeless bottle formed crystals around the opening and if I wasn’t careful to wipe those off every time, I rubbed crystals on my face (which hurt). So even though the serum didn’t change color over time, it did crystallize, which I believe is a sign of oxidation. Paula’s Choice and Skinceuticals also get bonus points for including an additional pH balancer to help set the pH of the formulation to be just right (which can increase the concentration of the active ingredient and its benefits, Samuels, 2010). I will note that I stopped keeping both the Timeless and Skinceuticals serums in the fridge after month 2 and neither have changed color (it is almost month 4, and both are almost empty). Price point matters…and it doesn’t matter: It’s definitely ok to use Skinceutical’s CE Ferulic. Those guys have been manufacturing this formula the longest and there’s a sense of insurance in the efficacy and your product experience. It’s also definitely ok to use the cheaper Vitamin C dupes as well - as long as they arrive in a relatively fresh state.At SkinCarisma, we've done our best to identify as many ingredients as possible but note the fungal-free label may not be 100% accurate due to the complexconditions and combination of ingredients that malezzeria can thrive on. In fact, any vitamin C-based serum is best to be in the mornings as it helps protect the skin against sun damage when applying an SPF after the serum. Since it’s a water-based product, it should come before any other heavier treatments, and definitely before the oil-based ones.

It naturally occurs in our skin’s oil (the sebum), which acts as a natural shield that moisturizes the body. The skin on the face needs more vitamin E to stay hydrated and healthy. Tocopherol is actively used in a lot of skincare products because of these properties. Ferulic Acid

Timeless says this serum includes 20% vitamin C, doesn’t state anything about the percentages of vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, or ferulic acid included in this formula. My Dad the Chemist’s review of SkinCeuticals vs. Dr. Brenner vs. Timeless vitamin C serum the same key ingredients (Vitamin E and ferulic acid) to increase the effectiveness of the Vitamin C contains lots of additional ingredients with added skin benefits, like exfoliating pumpkin ferment and the antioxidant pomegranate extract At the start of 2017 I started using Paula’s Choice Resist C15 and loved it. I went through two bottles and then I became curious how other vitamin C serums would perform (I am guilty of the “grass is always greener” mentality). Timeless reached out to me and asked if I wanted to try their serum, and I immediately said yes. I started using Timeless and about 2.5 weeks later a friend of mine on IG (@refresh_byhilary) sent me the Skinceuticals CE Ferulic serum (her friend mail blew me away with her generosity!). So at that point I started a split-face comparison where I always applied Skinceuticals on one side of my face and Timeless on the other. I did that consistently for 2 months. (Note: It was hard to split my nose up so there was a lot of overlap on my nose–just keep that in mind when evaluating the before and after photos. ALSO, keep in mind Skinceuticals had 2.5 less weeks on my face than Timeless). Overall thoughts on each Timeless Vitamin https://amzn.to/3J9YIfBC Serum

The "golden ratio" is 15% L-Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), 1% Vitamin E (Tocopherol), and 0.5% Ferulic Aced with a pH level between 2.5 - 3.0. Skinceuticals CE Ferulic is also fungal acne safe. UPDATE!! I wasn’t able to test this properly because I foolishly opened it before I started testing the other products and I ended up having to throw this out because it had oxidized too much (not the products fault, I had it open long past its expiration date) Timeless’s list does not include several ingredients that are used in Dr. Brenner’s and SkinCeuticals’s products: ethoxydiglycol, glycerin, triethanolamine, laureth-23, and phenoxyethanol.One thing to consider about the Timeless formula is that it has a really low pH (2.4) that may cause stinging and irritation for some people. I didn’t personally experience any immediate irritation, but I did have some sensitivity form over time. Also, I had my dad use it and he had a reaction from it (where his skin under his eyes turned bright red and was sensitive to the touch for almost two days). Some people won’t experience any irritation, but this is just something to keep in mind if you have sensitive skin or a compromised skin barrier.\ These include: Amodimethicone, Behenoxy Dimethicone, Bis-Aminopropyl Dimethicone, Cetearyl Methicone, Cetyl Dimethicone, Cyclomethicone, Cyclopentasiloxane, Dimethicone, Dimethicone Copolyol, Dimethiconol, Methicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Phenyl Trimethicone, Stearoxy Dimethicone, Stearyl Dimethicone, Trimethylsilylamodimethicone. The EU Allergen Free label is for the 26 ingredients identified by the EU SCCS and products will be only flagged if a suspected ingredient is on it's ingredient list. It is possible for cosmetics to contain one of the suspect ingredients without it appearing on the ingredient list due to it not reaching the concentration threshold to disclose it and cosmetic manufacturers choice to not disclose it.

There has been some healthy controversy surrounding them due to a few studies finding paraben presence in breast tumours and breast tissue. However, the majority of the scientific community have deemed these findings non-conclusive due to the limitations of these studies. I’ve heard good things about two dupes of SkinCeuticals Vitamin C E Ferulic acid serum: one from Dr. Brenner and another from Timeless. Like SkinCeuticals, these two dupes use the same form of Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid, which is the active form of vitamin C. The real power comes from combining Vitamin C with Vitamin E and ferulic acid, which has been shown to dramatically enhance the effectiveness of Vitamin C. This is a really popular alternative to C E Ferulic. Although it is still on the pricey side, Drunk Elephant’s Vitamin C serum is still much less expensive than the coveted C E Ferulic serum. C-Firma has: The Vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid), Vitamin E, & Ferulic acid combination is what has been validated through decades of research spearheaded by Dr. Sheldon Pinnell. In their studies, they discovered a synergistic effect when using Vitamin C & Vitamin E, and the combination of the two provides antioxidant, free radical quenching benefits from both UVA & UVB exposure.Bottom Line: If this and Paula’s Choice Resist C15 were the same price, I would choose Skinceuticals because they have done efficacy and stability testing. But since the Paula’s Choice formula is so close to the overall formulation and effects, the products just seem far too similar to the Paula’s Choice Resist C15 for me to justify the cost difference. As a result, please note this is only an experimental label that can be best used to possible identify problematic products you have used in the past. It is in no way a perfect identifier nor a predictor in whether or not it will exacerbate or cause fungal acne. It will continue to be worked on as more information and research comes to light. Dr.Brenner's came with the glass bottle wrapped in plastic. The bottle was just as opaque as Skinceuticals, and I was also able to see the serum line quite clearly. Many formulas might throw in an additional active so it’s not such a blatant dupe. We wouldn’t factor this into our purchasing decision and definitely don’t recommend basing purchasing decisions on the amount of additional actives these serums come with. In fact, if it comes with a baker’s dozen additional actives, it might even be a red flag. the higher percentage of l-ascorbic acid means it is a little stronger than C E Ferulic so you may want to avoid this if your skin is on the more sensitive side