Cellex-C The Pioneer of Vitamin C Skin Care Technology


L-ascorbic acid is the only form of Vitamin C that the body can recognize and utilize.

A product must have a pH lower than 4.0 in order to be effective and penetrate the skin.

A product must have a minimum of 10% L-ascorbic acid in order to create change in the skin (for eye area levels higher than 5% are not recommended). However, skin cannot utilize more than 17.5% L-ascorbic acid.

Water soluble (L-ascorbic acid) vs. fat / lipid soluble (ascorbyl palmitate, ascorbyl magnesium, ascorbyl phosphate and sodium ascorbate)

These are different derivative forms of vitamin C and only a small percentage of the vitamin C will be delivered to the skin. Why? Because the size of the molecule is much larger and our bodies do not recognize these derivative ingredients. In order for our bodies to utilize the derivative form of vitamin C our enzymes must attack these lipid soluble molecules, resulting in at most 30% of the vitamin C being delivered and utilized by the skin. Cellex-C delivers 100% L-ascorbic acid to the skin.

Does this mean that other topical vitamin C products do not work?

No, other products work topically on the skin as moisturizers and antioxidants. However, they cannot penetrate at the same level and therefore do not have the ability to, reverse damage within the skin or regenerate the skin.

Color Change- Oxidation is a natural occurrence that is part of all products that contain L-ascorbic acid. Even products that contain stabilized versions of vitamin C oxidize. Ex: Jan Marini, Skinceuticals.

Why does pH matter?

L-ascorbic acid must have a pH of 2.0-4.0 in order to penetrate the skin. When L-ascorbic acid�s pH is higher than 4.0 it turns into D-ascorbic acid and is unable to penetrate. Ex: Jan Marini�s C-Esta has a pH of 5.0.

We are very open about the ph levels and % of L-ascorbic acid in our products because they are very important indicators to the efficacy of products. Many lines do not readily provide this information.

What is the shelf life of L-ascorbic acid?

Testing has shown that once opened a product may lose 2% in 6-8 month, however that it is still effective and the product is still viable. (Some have stated that the shelf life of ascorbic acid is only 3 weeks and that there is none left after 3 months since the concentration drops by 10%. This is simply not accurate).

Powder or crystal forms of L-ascorbic acid that are mixed with diluents can be effective. However, formula can vary, as it can be difficult to get a homogeneous solution with this method.

The stabilization of L-ascorbic acid is relative. When L-ascorbic acid is a completely stable derivative form it is already joined with other molecule, for example: ascorbyl palmitate. It is very difficult to break those molecules apart and deliver the benefits of the L-ascorbic acid into the skin. There is no evidence for ascorbyl palmitate being anything other than a good moisturizer.

Esters of vitamin C (like magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, ascorbyl palmitate, etc) are less than one fourth vitamin C, the rest being the protective molecule. This means that you would need a significant amount of the ester to get a meaningful concentration of vitamin C into the skin.

Absorption of L-ascorbic is an active process not a passive process