Vitamin C Serum Plus With Hyaluronic Acid, Retinol, Niacinamide, Salicylic Acid - Anti Aging Serum, Skin Clearing, Skin Brightening for Dark Spots (2 oz)

VERY STRONG. USE SPARINGLY. This product is amazing, but only if you use it the way your skin needs it!I burned my face with this multiple times before finally getting the hang of it. I resisted the urge to quit and spent a couple months figuring out what makes my sensitive combination skin happy. I have adult hormonal acne and hyperpigmentation, very pale, and I have ehlers-danlos so my skin is extremely reactive.If you're new to retinol, here's some tips:-Only apply retinol to the whole face 1 or 2 times a week-Only apply at night, never use retinol in the AM-Invest in a quality sunscreen, retinol increases UV sensitivity-Retinol products WILL make your skin PURGE when you first start using. This means any little underground blackheads and red dots will start to surface. DO. NOT. PICK. THEM. DO NOT USE EXTRACTION TOOLS. Trust me.-For bigger pimples, apply this as a spot treatment no more than once per evening. If you don't pick, they will clear up within a couple of days.-Do NOT combine this serum with other spot treatments or acne treatments like sulfur or benzoyl peroxide, or tea tree oil, etc.-Do NOT use with other cleansers or lotions with salicylic acid or retinol. This product is already a chemical exfoliant as it contains both retinol and salicylic acid.-Use water based lotions and sensitive skin cleansers while using this product. CeraVe is good, I like Burt's Bee's Sensitive Cotton Extract Cream Cleanser for washing and Burt's Bee's Sensitive Aloe water based lotion. Avoid products with fragrance and alcohol!For all over face and neck: I mix 2 drops with 2 pumps of the Burt's Bee's lotion (approved by the eczema foundation). This is called "buffering" and brings down the potency of retinol products. I buffer 1 or 2 times a week.When my hormonal acne flares up along my jawline, I put 1 drop in my hand and use my fingertip to very gently tap the product directly onto each pimple. I use this method once each night until the pimples are dried and scabbed & the inflammation is down. Then I cut back to once every other day or every 3 days until the scars fade. Do NOT pick the scabs! Just keep tapping the tiniest tiniest amount, the scabs will fall off on their own in just 2 or 3 days.My routine is this:1) remove any makeup with makeup remover as needed. Wash 2 times with Burt's Bees cream cleanser. Pat dry.2) apply Thayer's alcohol free facial toner. And let dry for about 5-10 minutes. I like the plain scent. It's extremely effective and soothing. Thayer's is pure witch hazel with aloe vera and glycerin. Make sure it's the alcohol free kind.3) apply 2-3 drops of this serum as needed, whether it's the whole face, or spot treatment only.4) Wait 20 or so minutes and finish with unscented water based lotion (if you aren't buffering with lotion already)As your skin purges and adjusts, resist the urge to scrub and exfoliate the dead skin/surfacing breakouts.If your face peels, be patient and gentle. Let the dry skin peel like a sunburn, and continue to apply lotion throughout the day as needed. If you absolutely must, use a soft wash cloth and lukewarm water to gently scrub. Rinse with cold water and apply fresh aloe vera or the Thayer's witch hazel + aloe toner immediately after.This product has made a notable difference in the texture of my skin, it has shrunk my pores, and faded my acne scars. I don't have many fine lines, but it cleared up the ones in my forehead. I don't use it near my eyes because it has tea tree oil. My hormonal acne clears up within days instead of lingering for a week or two.I hope this review helps other babies like me with angry + sensitive skin. Good luck! Don't forget sunscreen!

I have been using Vitamin C serum for a few weeks, and I really like it. My skin looks brighter and feels smoother. It helps fade my dark spots and gives my face a nice glow. The serum is easy to use—just a few drops every morning before my moisturizer. I also use sunscreen after, and I think it helps protect my skin. I didn’t feel any irritation, and it works well for my sensitive skin. I would recommend it to anyone who wants healthy, glowing skin.

This serum is a dropper-delivered liquid that is easy to use. A little goes a long way. I withheld one star because I was hoping for a more citrussy fragrance, but this serum is otherwise a winner. It has helped to balance my skin and works great under any make-up as it is light and not tight. The price is incredible for such an excellent product.

UPDATE 6/26/20: I still think this is a good product but I've moved on to my new holy grail product for controlling acne and improving skin tone...tretinoin (Retin-A)! This product changed my life and if you're struggling with your skin I highly recommend looking into it. It is by prescription only.I started using this product 3 months ago, and am currently on my second bottle. This serum is by far my MOST essential, holy grail skincare product. I wish I'd found it years ago. I am 29, Indian, and have oily skin that is prone to comedogenic and hormonal acne. I also battled cystic acne for years in the past. This is a pretty long and detailed review but I want anyone thinking about buying this product to know how my extremely positive experience has been!Before I started using this, my face was very, very congested and broken out, with extreme texture issues all over. I would wake up every morning with tiny whiteheads and/or milia, even with washing my face or showering the night before. I had closed comedones all over my face, especially on my forehead and cheeks. I had been using nose pore strips on a weekly basis since high school. No amount of physical exfoliation (think St. Ives scrub) would make my skin totally smooth. Any new, active acne would take a week or longer to go away.With this serum, I get very little new acne, and mainly only around my period or if I've been lax with my skincare or diet. When I do get a pimple, it disappears within a couple of days. The whiteheads, milia, and closed comedones are no longer an issue at all. My forehead and nose are completely smooth and the texture of the rest of my face has vastly improved. I haven't used a single nose pore strip since I started using this serum in March. I had one particularly stubborn closed comedone in between my eyebrows that had been there for several months, if not a year or longer. After ONE USE of this product, the closed comedone came to the surface (along with many others). After three days, it was completely gone. Skin tone wise, my face has brightened considerably. The skin around my mouth has always been a bit darker and it's evened out quite a bit, although I still have a ways to go.Keep in mind if you're worried this product will "make you break out". Unless you have very sensitive skin or are allergic to any of the ingredients, it's likely not going to make you break out - the congestion under your skin is just coming to the surface. It's not a pretty sight but it's the first step to transforming your skin! I personally only had to deal with this phase for one or two days.If this is a concern of yours or your skin sounds similar to mine, then time your first application accordingly (i.e. on a Friday evening when you don't have to go out that weekend). I would also start with a light application rather than using an entire dropper on your first go. It's totally normal for the areas with thin skin (like around your nose) to be slightly red and irritated the next day. Go easy on those areas until your skin builds a tolerance to it. Start with a few drops and see how your skin handles it. I counted out how many drops I use for my entire face and neck, I use 16-20 (not a full dropper). Starting out I probably used 10-12 drops.Wearing sunscreen is really important while you're using this product because like many actives, it makes you photosensitive. Sun exposure will also worsen PIH, hyperpigmentation, and acne scars, so if these are a concern for you, you should be using sunscreen anyway!I find I get much, much better results if I apply the serum before bed as opposed to in the morning (but I actually started using it AM and PM once I knew my skin could handle it). It's lightly moisturizing which is great for my oily skin and gives my skin a nice glow.Overall I'm very, very happy with this product and I pray they never discontinue making this!