Vitamin C and Hyaluronic Acid: How to Combine These Skin Care Heroes for Best Results

Your skin changes over your lifetime. There are steps you can take to maximize your skin’s health and appearance. 

The right skin care routines can help maintain your skin’s texture and tone. It can even help prevent signs of UV light damage. Vitamin C and hyaluronic acid are two skin care heroes that can deliver powerful results. 

Here’s how you can use hyaluronic acid and vitamin C in your skin care routine.  

Can you use hyaluronic acid and vitamin C at the same time?

Yes, you can use hyaluronic acid and vitamin C together. You can use hyaluronic acid and vitamin C serums as part of your daily morning or evening skin care routine. And some skin care products contain both of these ingredients.  

Vitamin C and hyaluronic acid have some different but complementary effects on the skin. Some of their effects overlap, so using them together can maximize their effectiveness.

Vitamin C provides protection against UV light damage, and this helps slow the signs of skin aging. It also helps brighten skin. Hyaluronic acid adds powerful hydration. This not only helps nourish your skin, but also provides a plumping effect that can minimize the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines. 

Combining these two ingredients can give you brighter, plumper, and smoother skin.  

What are the benefits of hyaluronic vs. vitamin C?

Vitamin C and hyaluronic acid are powerful skin care products. Here’s how they work for your skin.

Vitamin C benefits

Vitamin C is a powerful antioxidant and one of the best studied skin care ingredients. 

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It helps prevent free radical damage that can develop when you’re exposed to pollution, smoke, and other toxins in the environment. Vitamin C also helps keep your skin safe from UV light damage when used with sunscreen and other SPF-containing products. It also helps repair skin damage caused by UV light and other toxins. 

Plus vitamin C promotes skin renewal by boosting collagen production. Regular vitamin C use can: 

• Brighten skin 

• Fade dark spots and postblemish marks

• Prevent and lessen the appearance of wrinkles and fine lines

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Choose a vitamin C product with a concentration between 10% and 20% for best results. Your product should come in a dark, airtight container because vitamin C breaks down easily when exposed to light and air.

Hyaluronic acid benefits

Hyaluronic acid is a glycosaminoglycan, a complex sugar that can absorb 1,000 times its weight in water. Hyaluronic acid occurs naturally in your skin and your joints. It helps keep your skin and joints lubricated so they can work at their best.

But the skin’s hyaluronic acid content drops off around age 20 and is cut in half by age 50. So using hyaluronic acid can improve your skin’s overall hydration. This makes your skin look plumper and can help smooth out fine lines and wrinkles.

Hyaluronic acid can also boost the effects of vitamin C because it also stimulates collagen production and reduces inflammation. Several studies have shown that combination products with hyaluronic acid and vitamin C can even skin tone and reduce the appearance of wrinkles.

How do you use hyaluronic acid and vitamin C together?

You can use hyaluronic acid and vitamin C together in one combined product. Or you can use them as separate serums. 

Both hyaluronic acid and vitamin C can be used in the morning or evening. You may want to use hyaluronic acid products twice a day to get the maximum hydration benefits.

But it’s best to use vitamin C products as part of your morning skin care routine so you get protection from the free radicals that you encounter during the day, like sunlight and smoke. 

You also want to use vitamin C on clean, dry skin. So it’s the first serum you should put on if you’re layering products.

Here are some examples of the order in which to use these products.

Morning skin care routine

1. Cleanser

2. Vitamin C product

3. Hyaluronic acid product

4. Moisturizer

5. Sunscreen

Evening skin care routine

1. Cleanser

2. Retinol or other skin care products

3. Hyaluronic acid product

4. Moisturizer  

Some skin care products contain both vitamin C and hyaluronic acid so you may not need extra steps. Some moisturizers and eye creams also contain hyaluronic acid so you may not need the extra hyaluronic acid step. Just remember to use your vitamin C product as a first step of your morning routine. 

What are the risks of mixing hyaluronic acid and vitamin C?

You can safely use hyaluronic acid and vitamin C together. Hyaluronic acid occurs naturally in your skin. Researchers have found that hyaluronic acid is safe and rarely causes side effects. Some people may experience temporary stinging when they apply the product.

Vitamin C doesn’t often cause side effects either. But, sometimes, vitamin C can cause temporary stinging, redness, and skin dryness. The hydrating effects of hyaluronic acid may help protect against these side effects.

But it’s important to remember that any skin care product can cause skin irritation and redness. It’s possible to develop an allergic reaction to any skin care product, even those that contain natural ingredients like hyaluronic acid and vitamin C. 

If you have sensitive skin, do a skin test before using any new skin care product on your face. The American Academy of Dermatology (AAD) recommends testing new products on a small patch of skin that’s usually covered or hard to reach so you don’t accidentally rub the product off. Apply a small amount of the product on your test site twice a day for 7 to 10 days. You should be able to use the product safely on your face if you don’t develop red, itchy, or swollen skin at your test site.

How long will it take to see results from hyaluronic acid and vitamin C?

The AAD states that it takes at least 6 weeks and sometimes up to 3 months before you’ll see maximum results from daily vitamin C and hyaluronic acid use. But you may notice that your skin feels more hydrated within a few weeks.

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Written by:

Brian Clista, MD

Dr. Clista is a board-certified pediatrician who works in private practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He previously served as a National Health Service Corporation Scholar in the inner city of Pittsburgh for 11 years.

Edited by:

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH

Patricia Pinto-Garcia, MD, MPH, is a medical editor at GoodRx. She is a licensed, board-certified pediatrician with more than a decade of experience in academic medicine.

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