Vitamin C and polyvinyl alcohol
Keep them apart
Apply them at different times of day, using vitamin C in the morning and polyvinyl alcohol at night, because alcohol makes vitamin C less effective. High levels of alcohol dry out the skin and cause the vitamin C to break down too fast before it can brighten the face. You can switch to a low-alcohol or alcohol-free base, or wait a few minutes between applying them.
Vitamin C products
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Olay
Super Serum
SAR 189.75
-
Charlotte Tilbury
Charlotte's Magic Cream
SAR 203.95
-
RoC
Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Night Cream
SAR 165.54
-
Paula's Choice
1% Retinol Treatment
SAR 325.00
-
Summer Fridays
Jet Lag Mask
SAR 247.03
-
Mad Hippie
Vitamin C Serum
SAR 166.32
- Eve Lom Renewal Treatment Oil
-
ZO Skin Health
Exfoliating Polish
SAR 328.15
- CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum
-
Eucerin
Anti-Pigment Dual Serum
SAR 90.00
-
RoC
Retinol Correxion Deep Wrinkle Serum
SAR 173.28
-
iS Clinical
Cleansing Complex
SAR 241.37
Polyvinyl alcohol products
- Olay Cleansing Melts
Questions and answers
Can you use vitamin C and polyvinyl alcohol together?
Keep vitamin C and polyvinyl alcohol apart in your routine because combining them may cause skin dryness and speed up vitamin C oxidation when high alcohol or solvent systems are present.
Which goes first, vitamin C or polyvinyl alcohol?
Keep vitamin C and polyvinyl alcohol apart in your routine, as high alcohol or solvent systems may accelerate oxidation and cause skin dryness.
Are vitamin C and polyvinyl alcohol good for sensitive skin?
Keep vitamin C and polyvinyl alcohol apart in your routine because high-alcohol formulas may accelerate vitamin C oxidation and cause skin dryness, making them less ideal for sensitive skin.
Research on vitamin C and polyvinyl alcohol
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. Sof铆a Perea P茅rez, 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
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Victoria Derkova, MS
Medical Board
Cosmetic chemist, cosmetic development technologist
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