A good vitamin C serum is worth its weight in skin-improving gold. This Vital-C Serum from The Body Deli is a skin-repairing potion which stimulates collagen and elastin while reducing the visible effects of hyperpigmentation. It has a powerful antioxidant effect on skin, and smells as great as it looks.
Ingredients: antioxidant micro-clustered water, jojoba oil, meadowfoam seed oil, coconut oil, fresh cells of pomegranate, pumpkin & carrot, guar gum, xanthan gum, rovisome vitamin C as magnesium ascorbyl phosphate, alpha lipoic acid, DMAE, coenzyme Q10, retinol palmitate, allantoin, squalane, evening primrose oil, alpha-tocopherol, beta fructan, beta-glucosamine, chamomile, citric acid, essential oils of mandarin, sweet orange, ylang-ylang, leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate.
| Extremely Safe | Reasonably Safe | Proceed with Caution | Insufficient Data |
Retinol palmitate** is a controversial ingredient. It is regularly used in skincare products because of its anti-aging and anti-acne effect on skin. The trouble with retinol palmitate is that some studies have shown that it can create damage if applied to skin that is then exposed to sunlight. In general, retinol palmitate is an ingredient to avoid using during the day. Although I do not believe this serum alone will cause me to experience skin lesions or vitamin A toxicity, I choose to use this product only at night. Personally, I’m not a fan of heavy-duty retinol use on skin, but in the case of this particular product, I feel safe using it. The rest of the ingredients are truly innocuous and meticulously chosen.
Sometimes the ingredients alone don’t tell the whole story of a product. How the ingredients are processed and how we use the product must be taken into account if a product is to be considered truly safe and effective.
Radish root ferment filtrate is a natural preservative which was developed after scientists discovered that animals infected with SARS had a better chance of recovery if they were fed kimchi. Kimchi, if your tastebuds aren’t familiar, is a traditional Korean fermented food. Researchers then discovered that if they isolated the bacteria used in kimchi (leuconostoc), let it ferment with radishes, then isolated the antimicrobial peptide, they were left with an non-irritating cosmetic preservative. Leuconostoc/radish root ferment filtrate is used effectively by a variety of popular brands such as Dermalogica and Peter Thomas Roth. Nutritionally, fermented foods have a world of benefit to offer your body; who knew they could also benefit your face?
But of course, let’s not forget the star ingredient: Vitamin C. The Body Deli has used rovisome vitamin C as magnesium ascorbyl phosphate. There’s a good deal of disagreement over what is the ideal form of Vitamin C to use in skincare. But what is clear is that some Vitamin C is cheap and unstable, and most likely loses its potency before it’s slathered on your face. The liposome encapsulated Vitamin C used here in the Vital-C Serum is reasonably stable and potent, with the added benefit of being less irritating than other C products.
The Body Deli cares about how their ingredients are processed. They know it’s not just what’s in a product that matters, but also how a product is made. The Body Deli has considered how the temperature that ingredients are exposed to affects their nutritional content.
The Body Deli loves raw ingredients: “Our method for creating our bio-active raw products is to add our actives and raw superfoods to a temperature below 110 degrees, this is important because this maintains the integrity and potency of the micronutrients.”
The Vital-C Serum from The Body Deli is $48 for a 1oz bottle. Or if that’s too much of a commitment for you, try out the 10 ml mini size for $18.
*Products get makeovers too. Be sure to check if this product has been recently re-formulated before using it yourself.
**Retinol and retinyl palmitate are different. Retinyl palmitate is the ester of retinol (vitamin A) combined with palmitic acid. They work similarly on the skin, although retinyl palmitate is generally considered less irritating to the skin. The Body Deli has listed their ingredient as “retinol palmitate” although it is technically known as “retinyl palmitate”.
