Home-made vitamin C serum w/ tablets
EDS Skin Care Forums Forum Index » Skincare Tools & Do-It-Yourself Skincare

Sat Apr 04, 2015 8:31 am

Hey guys! Been a while since I've been on the boards.

I wanted to take a crack at making my own vitamin C serum today. I only have vitamin C tablets at the moment. I've also got some old dark dropper bottles laying around I could use. I've read that people have had success using these.
I'm trying to determine the amount of tablets to use to get a 20% serum concentration. Also, how can I make sure that the pH stays <3? My understanding is that it needs to be <3 because anything above will just cause more oxidative stress.

Thanks in advance!

free skin care · Sat Apr 04, 2015 10:17 am

Do it the right way and do not use C tablets. They contain fillers, etc. which you don't want in your serum. Use 100% pure powder.

free skin care · Sat Apr 04, 2015 10:20 am

Tablets contain fillers, some of which may not dissolve well. It's difficult to determine how much active vitamin C is in a tablet and how much is a filler. The fillers may also impact pH when dissolved. Would strongly suggest you get a L-AA powder suitable for skin care. It's cheap from Lotioncrafters, Skinactives or skin essential actives.

Sat Apr 04, 2015 7:12 pm

Will do. Thanks

Sun Apr 05, 2015 6:57 am

Hey, this is the Vit C powder I plan on going with. I'm going to buy the vegetable glycerine from the store

I can't post links so heres the title of it. I found it on Amazon

BulkSupplements Pure Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C) Powder C

Also, perhaps could someone guide me on the ratios of Vit. C to water to glycerine to achieve a 20% serum solution. Thanks!

Fri Apr 17, 2015 10:47 am

Just an update, along with a question.

I've been having difficulty getting the Vit C powder to dissolve in the water. I'm using a 20% concentration recipe which calls for 2 tsp of c powder w 7 tsp of distilled water. I've tried shaking for a couple hours, sitting it over night, as well as putting the bottle in some warm water.. No joy. The only way I can seem to get it to dissolve completely is to further dilute it. More along the lines of 2 tsp of C with ~10 tsp of distilled water.
The only thing I haven't tried yet is the vodka, but I was trying to hold off on that. Any recommendations would be welcomed and appreciated. Thanks

free skin care · Fri Apr 17, 2015 8:49 pm

mcc23 wrote:

Just an update, along with a question.

I've been having difficulty getting the Vit C powder to dissolve in the water. I'm using a 20% concentration recipe which calls for 2 tsp of c powder w 7 tsp of distilled water. I've tried shaking for a couple hours, sitting it over night, as well as putting the bottle in some warm water.. No joy. The only way I can seem to get it to dissolve completely is to further dilute it. More along the lines of 2 tsp of C with ~10 tsp of distilled water.
The only thing I haven't tried yet is the vodka, but I was trying to hold off on that. Any recommendations would be welcomed and appreciated. Thanks

I'm able to dissolve it in water in a small cup that I submerge in semi-hot water. Your version of C powder may be a little harder to dissolve or not. Yea try the vodka. That should work well.

free skin care · Sat Apr 18, 2015 9:04 am

You could try grinding it up before adding the water. If you have a mortar and pestle that would be ideal to use. Or a small glass bowl and a glass jar. Put the powder into the bowl and grind it finer. Avoid using anything metal.

I've had some powders that take longer to dissolve, but never more than an hour with stirring and a warm water bath. You may also want to contact the manufacturer and see if they have any suggestions.

Sun Apr 19, 2015 10:27 am

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm going to try making a new batch tonight at 20% concentration. This time I'm going to take the Vit. C powder out of the fridge a couple hours before hand to let it get to room temperature. We'll see if that helps. I'll also do the warm water bath. If that doesn't work, I'll try the vodka. If all else fails, I'll just buy the Vitamin C powder from LC that everyone has been recommending.

Thanks!

free skin care · Sun Apr 19, 2015 12:54 pm

mcc23 wrote:

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm going to try making a new batch tonight at 20% concentration. This time I'm going to take the Vit. C powder out of the fridge a couple hours before hand to let it get to room temperature. We'll see if that helps. I'll also do the warm water bath. If that doesn't work, I'll try the vodka. If all else fails, I'll just buy the Vitamin C powder from LC that everyone has been recommending.

Thanks!

I'd keep the C powder out of the fridge. You run the chance of it picking up unwanted moisture in there. Just keep it in an area that is not too warm.

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