Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm finally making my own vitamin c serums!! I'm so happy! I've been looking to purchase the right one, but christ they're expensive and vitamin c is so unstable! First off, one thing I love about this powder, other than it definitely being an ultra-fine powder, is the fact that it is SPECIFICALLY L-ascorbic acid powder. If there's one thing I've noticed about a lot of ascorbic acid powders on Amazon, it's the fact that they are Ascorbic powders. That's it. Vague ol' "ascorbic powder." I say this because ascorbic acid consists of two molescules: L (Levo meaning left) and D (Dextro meaning right) L-Ascorbic acid is the superior molecule thanks to being more beneficial to our skin! Dextro-Ascorbic acid actually has far more cons than pros and does not occur naturally. The thing about our bodies and the asymmetry of molecules is that if we can use one hand of a molecule in a beneficial manner, its opposite-hand molecule is likely to do badly for our physiology. So while L-Ascorbic acid is awesome, D-Ascorbic is not. When you have a compound that has BOTH hands of a molecule, your body will either reject the incompatible handed molecule as waste, both hand-molecules will cancel each other out making the benefits of the compound null, or your body will just react terribly to the bad-hand molecule. This is why it is important to make sure you are getting PURE L-ASCORBIC ACID and this is why I cannot trust products that won't specify what molecule of the ascorbic acid you're getting! Anyway everyone, I am on day three of using this fantastic serum I've made. I actually made it to be more of a toner than a serum so that I can use it on other parts of my body. Please start out on a gentle amount when you're new to Vit C skincare. Ascorbic acid is an acid after all! Start out too high of a concentration and you'll get some stinging discomfort. 5% vitamin C is a great concentration to start at. Ramp up your concentration by 5% every two weeks so by week 2, you're moving from 5% to 10%, week 4 from 10% to 15%, week 6 15% to 20% and STOP. GO NO HIGHER THAN 20%! Anything higher than 20% is bad! Even the famed L-Ascorbic acid has its limits! If you'd like a little recipe table for concentrations, For 5% potency, mix 1/2 tsp. of your liquid base (preferably some water to dissolve the powder and add whatever) with 9 tsp. 10%: 1 tsp. vitamin C powder + 9 tsp. of base. 15%: 1.5 tsp. vitamin C powder + 8.5 tsp. of base. 20%: 2 tsp. vitamin C powder + 8 tsp. of base. Voila! Edit 3/11/14: So now that I've worked my way up to a 20% vitamin c tolerance, I've found you don't have to follow a table and make the same amount every time. My personal tip in making these serums is to MAKE SMALL and MAKE OFTEN! I have a 1oz amber glass bottle that is just enough for my face to last two weeks. I used to throw my batch away every week to make a fresh one but found vitamin c, when properly sealed and hidden from light can last 2-3 weeks! But if that mixture changes color in any way, THROW IT AWAY, IT HAS OXIDIZED. Oxidized vitamin c is TERRIBLE for your skin; don't try it. Anyway, I actually like to use a percent calculator to make mixtures that are just enough for my container of choice, which is currently and permanently now a little 1oz bottle (I used to use jars.) I measure my mixtures by teaspoons. Since there are six teaspoons in an ounce, I work to make my mixtures accommodate that limit. Like for example, my 20% vitamin c toners consist of 1 tsp of pure LAA and 4 tsp of water (this sometimes includes 1 tsp of an optional ingredient. All depends on what I feel like putting) giving a total of 5 tsp. 1 happens to be 20% of 5 making this small amount still a whopping 20%! Play with percentages if you need to change the amount of toner/serum/lotion you make! You can make a 10% 1oz serum by using half a tsp of LAA with 4.5 tsp of water! A 5% by using a quarter of a teaspoon of LAA and using 4.75 tsp of water! Too difficult to measure? Change your total amount! Make your epidermis happy. :D