Remind me what a vitamin c serum should do?

[TwinkleToesStrikesAgain]

I've been using a vitamin c serum (medik8) every morning for 6 weeks, and medik8's Crystal retinal 3 every night (I started twice a week). I also used a day moisturiser with spf50.

What was the vitamin c supposed to do? And should I move up to a higher retinal when this tube runs out?

I'm 50, skin looks washed out, and whilst I wasn't expecting a miracle, I've noticed no difference. I've also been drinking 1.5-3.0l of water a day, I've never smoked and my diet is OK.

Does it take 6 months to see any improvement? It's no hardship to continue, just wondering if I've got it right....

I'm with you on this. Bought a vit c serum (from Aldi admittedly but their caviar cream is like clinique's) and my skin looks no different. It's also very sticky which is yucky and puts me off adding moisturiser. I am nearly 70 though so perhaps the serum waved the white flag!

Supposed to brighten and can support your skins defence when used before Spf.

The Retinol - honestly I find over the counter quite weak, if you don't have a reaction you can use Retinol more frequently. I use it most nights.

What about your Spf and moisturising? Maybe your skin is a bit dehydrated?

I'm using my Vit C Serum as further protection against UV together with cheap as chips Ambre Solaire SPF 50 face cream, a good dupe for the La Roche Posey one.

Also I use a Skin + Me daily doser for my evening actives which I love and this can make my skin more susceptible to sun damage.

So more future damage prevention if that makes sense? I just use the Boots Ingredients one which is working well for me.

Vit C will "brighten" skin and add glow, and protects from air pollution. It's the one product that I notice an immediate difference with tbh.
Retinol is a long game product and takes time to see a difference. The Medik8 one used by the OP is billed as an 'entry level" retinol with 0.03% of active ingredient. So maybe time to move up to a stronger one.

Worth reading up on the Medik8 vit C, it contains a vit C derivative which here:
incidecoder.com/products/medik8-c-tetra... is billed as being promising for mimicking what vit C does, but is as yet unproven on skin.

The best vit C ingredient to look for is L-Ascorbic Acid and should be at least a 15% concentration.

I really like the Medik8 vit c! really feel it makes my face glowy and more clear. I've been using it for maybe 6 months now and my skins never looked better. I quite like the oily texture of it too as my skins very dry. I also love the retinol and notice a difference when I use it regularly but tbh I've been really lazy with it. The 3 is quite low concentrate so perhaps move up? I think ideally once you finish a tube it's time to move to the next stage and introduce slowly.

Thanks all!

Yes I'm using thr Medik8 vitamin c so I guess I'll carry on with it (I think there were two bottles of it and I'm almost at the bottom of the first). It is my first retinal experience so I started low, twice a week anf now use daily. It sounds like I need to try the next level up before I can rule out it making no difference. It is at least reinforcing wearing spf50 for me.

As for moisturisers - I don't have dry skin per se, it's just a bit tired. I use an elemis night cream or a facial oil (rosehip mix) depending on how I'm feeling. I am trying to up my game wrt body moisturisers which I'm enjoying