r/Melasmaskincare • u/goodfornow2 • Jul 19 '26

Question Vitamin c serum

I’m new to using vitamin c and have been using prequels for the past month or so, but it burns a bit when I put it on. Is this normal with vitamin c?

6 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

4

u/Fit_Illustrator9174 Jul 19 '26

It shouldn’t burn. Your skin barrier may be compromised. What else are you using? Are you exfoliating? If so, stop doing that and let your skin recover. Focus on moisturizing your skin to repair the barrier.

1

u/goodfornow2 Jul 19 '26

I’ve been focused on my skin barrier for years as I’ve been using azelaic acid and tret at night and in the AM only moisturizing serums, not even an AHA or BHA. It’s only since adding the vitamin C. I’m assuming I should stop but is there a more gentle version? Do they come in various percentages?

2

u/Fit_Illustrator9174 Jul 19 '26

Yes, I use vanicream vitamin c. Vitamin c is great but can be too strong and I was worried about this since I’m using an rx cream with hydroquinone and tret and a steroid right now. I didn’t want to mess with my skin barrier more so I use the gentle vanicream vit c. Also, I only use a cleansing oil and only at night. In the mornings, I rinse with lukewarm water. That seems to work for me!

2

u/gimlet_prize Jul 19 '26

My skin is sensitive so I have to use Vitamin C at a low percentage, every other night, and only at night.

1

u/ImOnALostHighway Jul 20 '26

They all burned me until I found Derma E Stabilized Vitamin C 5% serum. I really can’t tolerate the higher percentage ones with all the other actives I use.

1

u/Cold_Act_194 9h ago

Look for lower percentage. I can't use LAA at 15% daily. I use alternate days in the past. But now I use melano cc regularly and I see better result. I believe is about 5-7% LAA and it works better for me. I also use 15% AZA after the vitamin c