Homemade Vitamin C Serum

Homemade Vitamin C Serum Recipe

Vitamin C is all the rage, and lately it seems to be popping up in all kinds of beauty products from moisturizers, makeup, haircare and anti-aging serums.  The benefits of Vitamin C applied to skin topically are enormous.  Following are just a few.

Vitamin C is an excellent anti-oxidant which helps the production of collagen giving you flawless skin.

Vitamin C helps to lighten and brighten your skin and soften wrinkles

Vitamin C & E together can help to reduce harmful UV rays

Now commercial Vitamin C Serums can be very pricey, and the problem is the l-ascorbic acid (which is the scientific name for pure Vitamin C) is not a very stable compound, has a short shelf life and will oxidize very quickly upon contact with air or sunlight.  So you can spend all this money on a serum with huge promises, and depending on how long it has been sitting on the shelf, before you even get it home to use it, the product is already no good.

However, I have the solution.  You can make your very own Vitamin C Serum at home for a fraction of the cost of what you pay retail.

First of all there must be a minimum of 5% Vitamin C in the serum formulation you use for it to even do any good.

Secondly, the Vitamin C serum you make at home will be pure and fresh (with no fillers) as well as potent enough to work as it is intended to.

Third we will make only a very small batch that will last you no more than a week because as I mentioned above the short shelf life of Vitamin C before it oxidizes.

Okay, so since Vitamin C can cause skin irritation on some it is best to start our using a 5% Vitamin C Serum and see how your skin tolerates it before increasing the strength.

Supplies you will need are:

Small dark colored Serum bottle - The bottle must be dark colored to keep the light out as light will degrade the serum rendering it ineffective.  If you can find one with a dropper, great.
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Pure Vitamin C Powder (l-ascorbic acid) – You can purchase this at your local Vitamin Shopp or Trader Joes stores, as well as online.

Distilled Water (or Rose Water) – This can be purchased at Target, Walmart, or your localVitamin Shoppe stores as well.
Vegetable Glycerine – Again, this can be purchased online, at Target, Walmart or your local the Vitamin Shoppe or Trader Joes stores as well.

Vitamin E Gel Capsule or Liquid – These are widely available at Vitamin Shopps, Whole Foods, Trader Joes, etc.

Steps to make your Serum
Step 1 – Steralize your little bottle before using and let it dry.

Step 2 – Dissolve ¼ tsp of Pure Vitamin C Powder (l-ascorbic acid) in 2 tsp distilled or rose water completely.  Do this in the little bottle you purchased.

Step 3 – Add 1 tsp Glycerine to the mix.  (Glycerine acts as the carrier oil)

Step 4 – Puncture 1 Vitamin E capsule and add this to the mix.  This will help to keep your serum stable as well as adding the good benefits of Vitamin E oil.

Shake bottle well and store in cool dark place until ready to use.
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How to Use the Serum – Start by using it once a day or once every other day and working up to twice a day.

In the evening, after cleansing your face, but before you apply your moisturizer, apply a small pea size quantity of your Vitamin C serum to your face (avoiding the eye area) and let it soak into your skin.  (This may cause a slight stinging feeling to your face – especially the first few times you use it until your skin adapts to it).  Remember less is more.  Once the serum is absorbed into your skin, apply your moisturizer and let it work overnight.  Eventually, as your skin adapts you can use this both morning and evening after cleansing if you wish.
It is important to remember Vitamin C makes your skin photosensitive, so if you are using in the morning, be sure to follow it with a good quality Broad Spectrum Sunscreen to protect your skin against further sun damage.
The ingredients above will cost you about $20+ tax and you will have enough Vitamin C powder, rose water, vegetable glycerine and Vitamin E capsules for multiple batches of Serum.

HEALTHY BREAKFAST ON THE GO

I am always looking for healthy, low fat breakfast ideas that I can grab  and eat on the way to work.  Here is one that I especially like.

Oatmeal Breakfast Smoothie
1/4 Cup Instant Oatmeal  - Pre-cooked
1/2 Banana
1/8 Tsp Vanilla 
1 tsp of Honey 
8 oz Low Fat or FF Milk
Dash of Cinnamon
Ice Cubes


Pre cook oatmeal (using water) and refrigerate overnight.    In blender mix:


8 oz Milk
Pre-cooked oatmeal
1/2 Banana

1 tsp of Honey 

Dash of Cinnamon

Dash of Vanilla

Ice Cubes

Blend thoroughly and enjoy!

Calories:      (255 - 295) 

Milk  (Depending on whether you use 2 %, or FF)       80-120 Cals

1/4 Cup Instant Oatmeal                                                                  75 Cals

1 tsp Honey                                                                                            50 Cals

1/2 Medium Banana                                                                          50 Cals

        

DANGERS OF THE HCG DIET FAD

Lately I have been meeting a lot of people who are on the latest fad diet called the HCG Diet.  For those of you who have not heard of this diet, basically what it consists of is, restricting your calorie intake to approximately 500 calories a day and taking HCG shots or drops.  These HCG shots and/or drops are suppose suppress hunger and trigger your bodys use of fat for fuel.  


Since, I am by nature very skeptical about any sort of fad diets, once I learned of this, I was astonished that anyone could last on this diet for more than a day or two.  Cutting calories this low just does not allow you to meet your daily nutritional needs.  How could anyone eat only 500 calories a day and continue to function without passing out from sheer weakness?   I mean this is just way below anyones BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) which is the number of calories your body would burn if you stayed in bed all day.   Most all literature that I have read on weight loss states you should never eat below your BMR as that can be counterproductive to your weight loss.  Additionally, here are some of the the noted side effects of this diet.

• Headaches
• Constipation
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Hair Loss

In reality when you consume to few calories, your body not only burns fat, but also muscle mass for fuel, which can have lifelong detrimental effects on your metabolism.


After reading what the experts have to say on this diet, I just do not see what attracts so many people to it.  Therefore, do yourself a favor and before jumping on the bandwagon of this fad diet, save yourself the time, money and headaches and remember the old saying, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.  Slow and steady wins the race everytime.