Benzoyl peroxide and vitamin C
Keep them apart
Use them at different times of day with Vitamin C in the morning and benzoyl peroxide at night, because they cancel each other out. Benzoyl peroxide oxidizes and destroys vitamin C so neither ingredient can work properly. The shopper can separate them by using vitamin C in the morning and benzoyl peroxide at night.
Comparing 2.5%, 5%, and 10% benzoyl peroxide on inflammatory acne vulgarisThe Roles of Vitamin C in Skin Health
Benzoyl peroxide products
- Proactiv Renewing Cleanser
- Clean & Clear Persa-Gel 10
- Differin Daily Deep Cleanser
-
Neutrogena
Clear Pore Cleanser/Mask
€3.95
- Proactiv Repairing Treatment
- Paula's Choice Clear Daily Skin Clearing Treatment
- Galderma Epiduo Gel
-
Galderma
Benzac AC 5
€16.64
-
CeraVe
Acne Foaming Cream Cleanser
€10.95
- Galderma Benzac AC Mild Strength 2.5% Acne Gel
-
PanOxyl
Acne Foaming Wash
€20.20
- PanOxyl Acne Creamy Wash
Vitamin C products
-
Olay
Super Serum
€27.38
-
Charlotte Tilbury
Charlotte's Magic Cream
€100.00
-
RoC
Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream
€33.34
-
Paula's Choice
1% Retinol Treatment
€57.00
- Summer Fridays Jet Lag Mask
-
Mad Hippie
Vitamin C Serum
€52.95
- Eve Lom Renewal Treatment Oil
- ZO Skin Health Exfoliating Polish
-
CeraVe
Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum
€25.85
-
Eucerin
Anti-Pigment Dual Serum
€34.99
-
RoC
Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Serum
€30.97
-
iS Clinical
Cleansing Complex
€58.00
Questions and answers
Can you use benzoyl peroxide and vitamin C together?
No, you should keep benzoyl peroxide and vitamin C apart in your routine because benzoyl peroxide oxidizes and deactivates vitamin C. Instead, use vitamin C in the morning and benzoyl peroxide at night.
Which goes first, benzoyl peroxide or vitamin C?
Keep benzoyl peroxide and vitamin C apart by using vitamin C in the morning and benzoyl peroxide at night, because combining them oxidizes and inactivates the vitamin C.
Are benzoyl peroxide and vitamin C good for sensitive skin?
Keep benzoyl peroxide and vitamin C apart in your routine because benzoyl peroxide oxidizes and deactivates vitamin C. Use vitamin C in the morning and benzoyl peroxide at night to avoid this reaction.
Research on benzoyl peroxide and vitamin C
Stability, transdermal penetration, and cutaneous effects of ascorbic acid and its derivatives
Effects of ascorbic acid on gingival melanin pigmentation in vitro and in vivo
Ascorbic Acid Treatments as Effective and Safe Anti-Aging Therapies for Sensitive Skin
Efficacy of ethyl ascorbyl ether-containing cosmetic cream on blue light-induced skin changes
Moisturizing potentials of ascorbyl palmitate and calcium ascorbate in various topical formulations
Liposomal formulation of a vitamin C derivative: a promising strategy to increase skin permeability
Treatment with Ascorbyl Glucoside-Arginine Complex Ameliorates Solar Lentigos
Behind this pairing advice
Lovi checks every pairing 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.
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Co-founder, Medical Director
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetologist, aesthetic products developer
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Co-founder, CEO and CTO
PhD in computer science, 3x US patent holder, ex-Google, ex-Yandex
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Dr. Sofía Perea Pérez, MD, MSc
Medical Board
Aesthetic medicine practitioner, MSc in Longevity and Anti-Aging Medicine
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Medical Board
Specialist dermatologist, MBBS, MD, IFAAD
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Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, SCS, IFSCC member
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Medical Board, Medical Advisor
Dermatology MD
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Elina Nazarenko, MD
Medical Board
Dermatology and diagnostic consultant
-

Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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