Vitamin c serum

Majman

Here guys is the list of ingredients for Cosrx vitamin c serum  and they made use of mostly ascorbic acid and so many extracts so using L'ascorbic acid, guava leaves extract, sandalwood extract, neem leaf extract , green tea and Matcha tea extract, goji berry liquid, black seed extract, phenoxyethanol and germall plus and licorice root extract, are those yum to go?  Pardon my layman use of words but I have no chemistry background. Thanks fam!inx vitamin c serum 

Perry

What is your question?

I can say that none of the extracts listed in this formula are doing anything. If you got rid of all of them you wouldn't notice.

I also doubt the product does anything at all except maybe moisturize the skin for a few moments. 

Majman

@Perry but the Cosrx has rave reviews on their page, so what can I add to these to boost its efficacy? I'm thinking ferulic acid and vitamin e oil but how to go about adding oil to these using emulsifier is kind of daunting 

Perry

Reviews on the Internet are not reliable information. 

Anyone can write anything about anything on the Internet.

Of course Cosrx is going to have positive reviews on their website. They are in business to get people to buy their product. That doesn't mean what you see posted is true.

Anyway, I don't know what you mean by "boost its efficacy".  What specifically is the serum supposed to be doing and what do you want to "boost"?

If you are talking about skin lightening, no incorporating ferulic acid and vitamin E will not make it lighten skin 

Majman

@Perry to brighten the skin, improve and clear hyper pigmentation, boost skin smoothness and make it look even tone.

ngarayeva001

@Majman it was discussed many times on this forum. L-Ascorbic Acid is very very very unstable. I will tell you more, I did several experiments myself. In a hot temperature (I am talking 30-35C) under direct light it oxydizes in less than 3 days! It stays relatively stable in a fridge for no more than 6-7 weeks (it is my experience and many professinals would critique me for this statement) Also, to be effective it should be formulated at a pH below 3.5 and the maximum absobtion happens at about 20%. Such a product is very irritating for many people. I do not recommend you working with L-Ascorbic acid, especially if you don't have enough experience. And I can't agree with Perry more on that extracts do not do anything.

Majman

Not even goji berry liquid? 

ngarayeva001

Well, L'Oreal says goji berry extract has amazing skin benefits and quote "proved effective in down-regulating tyrosinase activity and melanin content, which are responsible for skin coloration". They give a reference to a research paper. The summary of the research paper says that it "may" have "protective skin properties". The key word here is "may". So, nothing is proven. You can't rely on the article written by a company who is definitely biased.

ngarayeva001

As I mentioned previously there are just a couple ingredients that are backed by some scientific evidence. I can list: hydraquinone (that is not allowed to be used in many countries because it's very powerful and dangerous in high concentrations), retinol, alpha-arbutine, combination of Niacinamide and N-Acetyl Glucosamine, a derivative of Vitamin C that is called Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate (I am not sure if the result is in both vivo and vitro or only in vitro). Also, AHAs contribute to skin brightening (mostly due to the peeling effect). I don't recommend you working with AHAs and retinol until you become very experienced.

Majman

Certainly @ngarayeva001 thanks 

ngarayeva001

@Majman, I don't want to discourage you from learning and trying new things. It comes with practice and we all make mistakes. The more you read and practice the better it gets. I have some experience already and for example I know how formulate with acids, but I am still not comfortable to give my products with acids to someone else. I only use them myself.

Majman

I get you @ngarayeva001 I formulate soaps using black soap for skin glowing and acne clearing and it works with actual rave reviews from real people on my skincare group so I want to progress to serums, other kinds of soaps, creams etc and I just want to beat my own past records and... I don't know.. .So far it has been depressing, no formulations I've given seem to work according to you all with some rich chemistry background and whilst I understand practice making perfect, it's best to learn from others with experience and thus take calculated risks, I'm just so dampened and sad, people are counting on me. 

ngarayeva001

@Majman one the best way of learning is to copy someone’s existing formula. Try to make it perfect and after that modify it as you want. You can make great serums without L-Ascorbic acid.