Here's How To Use Vitamin C + Retinol Together For Radiant Skin

With all of the buzzy skin care staples out there (hyaluronic acid, niacinamide, etc.), it's only natural to want to reap the benefits of them all. However, as many beauty fans know: Layering skin care ingredients is a very tricky venture, especially if you're dealing with notoriously unstable actives.

First, let's be clear on what each of these products can do. As clean cosmetic chemist Krupa Koestline explains, "Vitamin C is a potent antioxidant capable of neutralizing oxidative stress caused by pollution, UV, and other environmental stressors."

The term "retinol" refers to a compound derived from vitamin A. Technically, retinol falls under the umbrella category of "retinoids," which include all vitamin A derivatives. 

Some retinoids, like tretinoin and Tazorac, are stronger and thus require a prescription. However, you can also find gentler over-the-counter retinols that have similar skin care benefits (those are the ones we are talking about today).

So now you know what retinol and vitamin C do for the skin separately, but what happens when you combine them? Well, you might just hit the jackpot of skin care when utilizing the power of both products, but it's important to do it right. 

Board-certified dermatologist and YouTube content creator Andrea Suarez, M.D., FAAD, cautions against using the two at the same time. "The two ingredients and their respective formulations can sometimes be very irritating if used together," she says. Not to mention, layering them one after the other might render them ineffective.

As a general rule of thumb: Use retinol at night and vitamin C in the morning. "To get the most benefit from vitamin C, you want to use it during the day to protect the skin while exposed to environmental stressors such as the sun and pollution," celebrity esthetician and skin expert Shani Darden tells mbg. On the flip side, retinol can promote cell turnover while you snooze. Not to mention, it's much safer to apply retinol in the evening, as it can sensitize your skin to sun exposure.

Vitamin C and retinol are most often found separately since they are each potent actives in their own right, but some formulas do combine both steps into one. Modern advancements in skin care technology can safely combine certain forms of vitamin C and retinol, and Suarez notes that these products are specifically formulated to be applied in unison.

Vitamin C and retinol are two potent skin care ingredients that have been around forever, yet there's still some confusion in terms of layering. The bottom line? Both of these ingredients have a worthy place in your skin care routine but should be used separately.