DermWife Reveals the Skincare Duo You Should Be Using All Year

There are some things that just go better together—peanut butter and jelly, Kim and Kanye…and vitamin C and sunscreen. If you aren’t already pairing these two together in the morning, now is the time. Layering a vitamin C serum under your sunscreen is the ideal skincare combination to use in the summertime and continue for the rest of the year.

Rain or shine, clear skies or cloudy, sunscreen every day is a must. It’s our first line of defense against the sun’s rays, which cause sunburns, skin cancer, wrinkles and dark spots. What most people do not know is that pairing your sunscreen with a vitamin C serum may actually protect your skin better.

Vitamin C is an extremely effective antioxidant. When your grandmother told you to drink orange juice to help prevent colds, she may have been right. It has proven to be useful in treating a variety of skin issues when applying it topically in the form of a serum. It has been shown to help protect the skin against UV damage, brighten the complexion, even out skin tone and improve the appearance of fine lines.

UV light from the sun is the No. 1 risk factor for developing skin cancer. It causes free radicals that actually damage our skin cells. My dermatologist husband describes vitamin C as a fire extinguisher, putting out this inflammation to protect the skin. So vitamin C can actually work with your sunscreen to protect your skin against free radicals from light that the sunscreen doesn’t block. If you are like me, sunspots are a big concern.

Of course, sunscreen is important if you have hyperpigmentation because tanning makes it worse. However, vitamin C should be your go-to lightening ingredient. It blocks your skin cells from making excess pigment, and it can help lighten the dark spots you already have. So if you have any dark spots, combining vitamin C with your sunscreen is a win-win. We all age, but we certainly can age well and try to fight off wrinkles.

Collagen is what gives your skin shape and structure, like the frame of a mattress. When collagen is damaged from aging and UV light exposure, the skin sags and wrinkles. Vitamin C comes to the rescue here as well, helping skin produce healthy collagen. Pairing it with your sunscreen treats wrinkles in two ways. The sunscreen prevents UV light from damaging collagen, and the vitamin C helps repair it.

Vitamin C may seem to be the ultimate skincare multitasker, but be careful if you have sensitive skin, because it can cause mild skin irritation. Also, keep vitamin C away from your glycolic or salicylic acid and retinol, as they can inactivate each other. For its skin protecting and brightening benefits, pairing your vitamin C serum with sunscreen is dermatologist recommended and DermWife® approved.

Follow Cori Zeichner on Instagram at @thedermwife or on her blog at thedermwife.com.