Vitamin C for skin

Before serums, a disease that weakens tissues

Long before being associated with radiant complexion, vitamin C is revealed by what happens when it is lacking. Scurvy, which particularly affects sailors deprived of fresh food for a long time, causes great weakness, bleeding and poor healing. The skin and gums are among the tissues that show this fragility. We don't yet know the vitamin responsible, but its effects are visible long before chemists can isolate it.

In 1747, aboard the Salisbury, surgeon James Lind compared several remedies for sailors suffering from scurvy. Those who receive oranges and lemons improve quickly. The interest in citrus fruits had already been observed before; Lind therefore does not invent this remedy. His experience remains significant for his comparative approach, even if it reveals neither the existence of vitamin C nor the mechanism which links fresh foods to the strength of tissues.

Put a name on the molecule

We had to wait until the beginning of the 20th century to move from a food remedy to an identified substance. Albert Szent-Györgyi isolated a compound then called hexuronic acid, whose activity against scurvy was recognized. Paprika then provided him with a particularly rich source for his research. This compound becomes ascorbic acid: its name keeps track of the disease it prevents.

The work of Walter Haworth sheds light on its chemical structure and opens the way to its synthesis. In 1937, Szent-Györgyi received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for his discoveries on biological oxidation processes, notably vitamin C; Haworth shares the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his research on carbohydrates and vitamin C. The molecule can now be studied directly, without relying solely on fruit or vegetable extracts.

Understand what the skin does with it

The connection to the skin becomes clearer when we understand the role of vitamin C in the production of collagen. This protein contributes to tissue resistance; without enough vitamin C, its normal formation is disrupted. The manifestations of scurvy then take on a biological meaning.

For skin care, we still need to solve a very concrete problem. Vitamin C must remain active in the bottle, then pass through the skin barrier. A 2001 study on porcine skin shows how absorption of L-ascorbic acid depends on pH and concentration. This research explains why formulation becomes central: putting a vitamin in a cream is not enough to guarantee that it will reach its target.

Clinical results, with their limits

In the early 2000s, trials compared vitamin C preparations to their active-free base. In 2002, a small study treated the two halves of ten people's faces with different formulas; in 2003, another trial followed the use of a cream on sun-marked skin for six months. This work reports improvements in certain signs of photoaging and provides a clinical basis for cosmetic uses.

The interest is then no longer limited to vitamin C alone. Researchers are also studying its associations with vitamin E and ferulic acid, particularly in the face of damage caused by UV rays. At the same time, derivatives are multiplying to respond to the difficulties of stability and tolerance.