Three main factors that cause Vitamin C oxidation are light, air and heat. In this blow we will review the effect of air on Vitamin C oxidation by asking the following questions:
Does the container have an airless design?
Exposure to air, or more specifically the oxygen in air, creates havoc on ascorbic acid. Even when a container has only a small air pocket aka headspace, the oxidation of ascorbic acid is accelerated. The larger the headspace, the faster the oxidation rate of Vitamin C in the serum.
We conducted multiple experiments to understand and prevent the impact of air on Vitamin C serum . Take a look at Figure 1 below to see the effect of air on oxidation of vitamin C.
One one vial was filled completely and second vial was half-filled at the same time and stored under identical conditions in the dark. The only difference was the extent to which each vial was filled. After two months of storage, the difference in the degree of oxidation is clearly evident as shown by the color difference of the two samples.
Everything else being equal, a product packaged in an opaque airless bottle is a much better choice than one packaged in a dark or opaque non-airless dropper bottle. With an airless bottle, the product remains under a vacuum-like environment. So as the serum is dispensed, the diaphragm moves because of the vacuum and does not allow the air to enter the serum chamber. With a dropper bottle, as the serum is used the headspace continually increases and this headspace is filled with air containing oxygen that oxidizes the vitamin C. Oxidation of ascorbic acid will then continue to accelerate as the oxygen-to-product ratio in a dropper bottle increases as more of the product is dispensed.
Pro Tip: Even with an airless container, oxidation of ascorbic acid can still occur due to dissolved oxygen present in the serum during formulation and packaging. For this reason, look for information from manufacturers on whether they formulate and package their product using an inert gas envelope such as nitrogen, so no oxygen can interact with Vitamin C. If an inert gas is used during formulation and packaging, you can be assured that the oxidation of ascorbic acid is minimized while the product sits on the shelf (in an opaque container of course) waiting to be purchased.
Does the packaging protect the contents from light?
The container should at minimum be dark and optimally, totally opaque. Since light, especially UV light, accelerates the oxidation of ascorbic acid, dark or opaque containers will keep your product fresher for a longer time. So look for products with opaque packaging.
Our Vitamin C serum is formulated and packaged with nitrogen envelope during manufacturing. The serum is packaged in airless, opaque double wall bottle, so you get your serum in the best possible way!
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