Paula's Choice C15 Super Booster for oily acne-prone skin

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Questions and answers

What the research says

• A panthenol-enriched mask significantly decreased erythema and hyperpigmentation, increased sebum and stratum corneum moisture, and reduced transepidermal water loss compared to a saline dressing in 60 subjects undergoing facial laser treatment.

  Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025

• Topical dexpanthenol acts as a moisturizer, improves stratum corneum hydration, accelerates wound healing and epidermal regeneration, reduces erythema, and improves symptoms of skin irritation compared to vehicle or no pretreatment.

  American Journal of Clinical Dermatology, 2002

• A new topical panthenol-containing emollient significantly improved transepidermal water loss reduction, stratum corneum hydration, and intercellular lipid lamellae length compared with control in healthy subjects without negatively impacting bacterial viability.

  The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2017

• Topical application of 5% vitamin C cream significantly improved global clinical scores, increased skin microrelief density, and induced elastic tissue repair in photoaged skin compared to excipient control in healthy female volunteers.

  Experimental Dermatology, 2003

• Ascorbic acid 2-glucoside gel significantly reduced gingival melanin pigmentation after 4 weeks compared to placebo in 73 subjects with symmetric pigmentation.

  Journal of Periodontology, 2009

• Topical application of VC-IP cream twice daily for 8 weeks reduces periorbital wrinkles in female subjects compared to a placebo cream.

  Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2022

• Treatment with 14% ferulic acid and 12% l-ascorbic acid significantly reduced pigmentation and erythema while improving hydration and elasticity in 20 women with photoaged skin, with neither acid proving definitively more effective overall though ascorbic acid showed slightly greater skin lightening.

  Dermatologic Therapy, 2022

• Combining fractional microneedle radiofrequency with a topical antioxidant serum significantly reduced wrinkle severity by 29.9% versus 18.0%, increased elasticity by 12.9% versus 2.3%, and improved aesthetic outcomes in 31 participants compared to radiofrequency and placebo.

  The Journal of Dermatological Treatment, 2025

• Pretreatment with a topical antioxidant mixture of vitamin C, ferulic acid, and phloretin attenuated ultraviolet-induced sunburn cell formation, thymine dimer formation, matrix metalloproteinase-9 expression, p53 protein expression, and the suppression of CD1a-expressing Langerhans cells in human skin compared to vehicle control.

  Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2008

• Topical application of an antioxidant serum containing 15% ascorbic acid, 0.5% ferulic acid, and 1% tocopherol prevented particulate matter-induced degradation of extracellular matrix components, inflammation, and oxidative stress in the skin of 15 female volunteers compared to untreated controls.

  Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2025

• Dermatological products containing d-alpha tocopheryl acetate showed non-comedogenic potential with less than a 50% increase in microcomedones in 12 healthy male subjects compared to octyl palmitate.

  Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications, 2021

• Topical application of an antioxidant mix containing 15% ascorbic acid, 0.5% ferulic acid, and 1% tocopherol prevented PM and UV-induced skin barrier perturbation, lipid peroxidation, inflammatory markers, MMP9 activation, and Type I collagen loss in 15 healthy females compared to untreated exposed skin.

  Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology, 2024

• Topical application of 0.1% hyaluronic acid formulations of different molecular weights led to significant improvements in skin hydration and elasticity, with low-molecular-weight formulations also significantly reducing wrinkle depth in seventy-six female subjects compared to a vehicle control.

  Journal of Drugs in Dermatology, 2011

• Topical application of hyaluronic acid in conjunction with free gingival graft significantly reduced donor site postoperative pain until day 7 compared to normal saline, with no significant differences in graft dimensions or patient satisfaction.

  Clinical Oral Investigations, 2022

• Treatment with a hyaluronic acid-containing mouth rinse or topical gel led to significant lesion reduction, pain relief, and normalization of lesion color in adult patients with minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis, with the gel formulation showing an earlier healing onset at 3 days.

  BMC Oral Health, 2019

• Application of an alpha-bisabolol-containing cream produced a significant skin-lightening effect in pigmented skin compared to a vehicle control in the majority of female subjects after 8 weeks.

  International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2010

• The combination of allantoin, bisabolol, D-panthenol and dipotassium glycyrrhizinate reduces UVB-induced PGE2, inflammatory cytokines, and mitochondrial superoxide in human epidermal keratinocytes.

  International Journal of Cosmetic Science, 2024

Ingredients

Water, Ascorbic Acid, Butylene Glycol, Ethoxydiglycol, Glycerin, Ppg-26-Buteth-26, Peg-40 Hydrogenated Castor Oil, Pentylene Glycol, Tocopherol Vitamin E, Sodium Hyaluronate, Hexanoyl Dipeptide-3 Norleucine Acetate, Lecithin, Ferulic Acid, Panthenol, Bisabolol, Rice Bran Extract, Propyl Gallate, Sodium Gluconate, Sodium Hydroxide, Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin

Behind this fit score

Lovi calculates every fit score from the full ingredient list with brand-independent rules our dermatologists and cosmetic chemists build and review, and personalizes every pick with AI trained on the real results of millions of users. Lovi trains its fit score models on a proprietary dataset built from more than 10,000 expert-labeled products and more than 100,000 simulated examples, following an internally consistent methodology presented at Cosmoprof, AMWC, and Skin of Color Update.