The Product Beauty Editors Can’t Stop Talking About

Adding antioxidants to your skincare routine is one of the best things you can do to prevent premature aging and skin damage. Here’s everything you need to know about one of the most effective products on the market. Beauty editors swear by it and you can have mine if you pry it out of my cold dead hands.

Everyone knows the importance of using cleansers, moisturizers, and sunscreen when it comes to taking care of their skin, but what some people don’t realize is that they’re missing a crucial step that protects skin while keeping it youthful and beautiful. I’m talking about antioxidants! And oh boy, am I about to really talk about them. Buckle up, I’m about to blow the lid off of your whole skincare routine.

Antioxidants work to protect skin against environmental factors that generate damaging free radicals and prematurely age skin. The sources of damaging free radicals are unavoidable. These include UV rays, infrared radiation, pollution, and certain lifestyle choices. One of the most effective antioxidants is vitamin C, but before skincare brand SkinCeuticals came onto the scene in 1994, this information wasn’t common knowledge.

Today, thanks to SkinCeuticals’ groundbreaking research, any skincare junkie will tell you they can’t live without vitamin C-rich, antioxidant-packed products. With the right formulation and the proper usage, they work wonders to improve the health and appearance of skin, eliminating fine lines and wrinkles while promoting a naturally even skin tone and neutralizing free radicals. Even as the amount of antioxidant-filled serums, creams, and lotions increase in popularity, any beauty editor will tell you none of them compare to SkinCeuticals’ C E Ferulic.

C E Ferulic, No longer the beauty world’s best-kept secret

One reason behind the beloved 10-year-old product’s success, SkinCeuticals Global General Manager Leslie Harris explains, is that it contains 15% pure vitamin C (the optimized level proven by the brand’s Founder Dr. Sheldon Pinnell). “Vitamin C is an amazing molecule, it has demonstrated clinical benefits across wrinkles, elasticity, discoloration, and overall brightness of the complexion. In clinical testing, patients show an improvement in the appearance of wrinkles, smoothness, and brightness of complexion.”

These days, vitamin C is more mainstream than ever. Products containing the ingredient seem to be popping up in almost every skincare line. Even with this type of competition flooding the market, there has yet to be a viable competitor for C E Ferulic. I wanted to understand why no one else has been able to crack the code so I had Leslie break it down for me.

“C E Ferulic is like liquid gold and a fan favorite for a couple of reasons,” she says as we discuss the brand’s most famous and sought after product. “One is the level of science behind it. We go above and beyond in how much science we put behind all of our products. If we don’t have the science and the right kind of research, we don’t launch it.”

As I speak with Leslie, it’s clear SkinCeuticals takes their science and research very seriously, and they’re quite transparent about it too, an oddity in today’s competitive skincare world. “One of the unique aspects of our research is that we will always conduct it on live skin. The proof is in the person,” Leslie tells me. Even though I’m a hardcore skincare nerd, I’d never realized that many skincare brands conduct their research by testing products and ingredients on cultures that mimic live skin. “Our skin metabolizes and responds to things very differently when it’s a living breathing part of us. We are very strict about only doing clinical testing on live skin, all the final formulations of all SkinCeuticals products must be done on live skin. We don’t take the easy way out.”

According to Leslie, another big reason no one can touch C E Ferulic is due to its unique formula and thoughtful packaging. “The purity of ingredients and dropper bottle delivery system ensure you’re getting the optimized amount to the skin. The synergy of the ingredients C, E, and Ferulic, offers more antioxidant protection than any one ingredient alone. C and E work together and Ferulic acid stabilizes vitamin C. You have three ingredients that offer strong antioxidant protection in a streamlined and straightforward way.”

The final piece of the puzzle behind the success of this product, “Quite frankly – you see benefits from it. At the end of the day, it’s what women and men see from using the product. You can have great science, the right formulation, and strong proof, but we all want to see an improvement in our skin and that’s what you get with C E Ferulic.”

It’s true, after using 4-5 drops of C E Ferulic on my face, neck, and the top of my hands (never skip the top of the hands!) for just a couple of weeks there was a noticeable difference in my skin tone and elasticity. I also noticed that the pesky fine lines around my eyes, the lines I’ve tried and failed to Botox away, weren’t so bothersome and had started to fade away. Another aspect I love about this product is that it truly makes my face feel protected from environmental damage.

As a New Yorker, my skin is bombarded with dirt, smog, and whatever weather the day brings. There’s no avoiding it, and I’m always horrified at the amount of dirt I find on my face wipes at the end of the day. Just a few drops of C E Ferulic in the morning and I know my skin is protected. In fact, once it’s applied to the face it stays there for three days, even after several washes. “Our research shows that our formulations maintain the level of Vitamin C in your skin for 72 hours,” Leslie tells me. “This allows you to still be protected if you miss a day, but to maintain optimal free radical protection for skin, you want to use it daily.” Trust me, Leslie, I never miss a day!

Just so we’re all clear, even though they protect against environmental damage, antioxidants are not a replacement for sunscreen. “One of the best things you can do for your skin is to incorporate an antioxidant in addition to sunscreen,” Leslie says. The reason the two aren’t combined into one? It’s not a plot to get you to purchase more products, It’s purely science. “From what we know in formulating antioxidants, especially Vitamin C, is they need to be separated from sunscreen ingredients. Vitamin C needs to be formulated at a lower pH than sunscreen.” Leslie recommends that people should apply SPF of at least 30 with broad spectrum UVA/UVB protection multiple times a day. Her personal favorite is Physical Fusion SPF 50. She applies it in the morning and reapplies before she leaves the office, a good tip for everyone to follow. Another pro skincare tip from the expert, “Phloretin CF Gel is my favorite, I keep it in the fridge. Applying it is my morning ritual along with coffee.” Note to self, must try this!

Getting psyched about incorporating an antioxidant into your daily routine? Here’s some more info to help you get the most out of your new favorite skincare step.

Choosing the Right Antioxidant

If C E Ferulic isn’t for your skin type, consider Phloretin CF or Phloretin CF Gel, two more fan favorite, miracle workers!

CE Ferulic should be a faint to a light gold, but it can vary from batch to batch.

Any pure vitamin C product should be used within three months once it is opened so don’t skimp on using it! After three months, you need to toss it. SkinCeutical antioxidant serums are packaged in 30 ml bottles to ensure optimal freshness. If used every day you should have used the entire bottle by the end of three months.

SkinCeuticals products have a shelf life of 2-3 years when unopened

Head to SkinCeuticals to purchase C E Ferulic and to check out everything the brand has to offer.