Vitamin C Face Cream

Want brighter, tighter, and, overall better-looking skin? There's an ingredient for that: vitamin C. The powerhouse ingredient is a potent antioxidant that helps reduce skin inflammation, irregular pigmentation, and promotes healthy collagen production, explains Joshua Zeichner, the director of cosmetic and clinical research at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City. "Vitamin C is a key component to many skin-brightening regimens, as it interferes with pigment production and keeps inflammation at bay," he says. Furthermore, "[Vitamin C] may even help protect the skin from pre-cancerous changes from UV light exposure by neutralizing free radicals."

Unfortunately, very little vitamin C ever makes it to the skin, which is why it's so important to topically apply products made with the skin-care ingredient.