The following list of news fragments was complied by Cellular Skin RX, maker of C + Firming Serum for your convenience.

Source: Cellular Skin RX

L- Ascorbic Acid (also known as Vitamin C ) 

The Active Ingredient in C + Firming Serum is L-Ascorbic Acid. It is a stable form of Vitamin C that acts as a powerful antioxidant. L-Ascorbic Acid is the only form of Vitamin C that is easily absorbed by the skin and is a key element in any anti-aging skincare regimen.

Skin is exposed to a variety of environmental insults on a daily basis. UVA/UVB radiation, smoke, air pollution and stress all contribute to the free radical/oxidation process that breaks down the collagen layer of your skin. During this oxidation process, environmental insults cause the skin to form free radicals (O1 molecules) that need to attach to other molecules to become stable (O2 molecules). These free radicals attach to the skin's collagen molecules. This contributes to the breakdown of this collagen layer. Skin starts to look old and loses its natural firmness and elasticity. L-Ascorbic Acid protects your skin from environmental damage and prevents the formation of free radicals. L-Ascorbic Acid is necessary for collagen production and helps to stimulate your skin to produce healthy collagen layers. Over time, the L-Ascorbic Acid in the C + Firming Serum will help to reduce hyperpigmentation, lighten brown spots and improve the texture and firmness of your skin for a younger-looking, more radiant appearance.

The 12% concentration of L-Ascorbic Acid in the C + Firming Serum is formulated at a lower ph to ease absorption. It is suspended in a simple stabilizing solution to maintain the effectiveness of the Vitamin C over time.

Source: The Health Report, Radio National

Vitamin C and the Skin - Broadcast Monday 30 June 1997 - Norman Swan, Dr. Sheldon Pinnell

Summary:

Research at Duke University in North Carolina has found a way of putting Vitamin C, (L- ascorbic acid), into a skin lotion. The formulation may turn out to reverse some of the changes associated with sun damage and ageing, and it could be an effective sun protector. The person behind it all is Sheldon Pinnell, who's Professor of Dermatology at Duke.

Sheldon Pinnell: Well vitamin C turns out to be the major way that the body, and for that matter the way virtually every organism on the face of the earth, both plant and animal, protect themselves from living in an oxygen rich atmosphere. In the course of metabolism in our tissues, and in the course of being irradiated by the sun, we generate something called reactive oxygen species, or free radicals, which can be quite destructive to tissues, and we have to protect against this. And it turns out that ascorbic acid is a simple molecule and it's, if you will, God's own choice for solving this problem of getting rid of these free radicals.

Norman Swan: So what have the trials shown then about the effects of this vitamin C lotion?

Sheldon Pinnell: A sunscreen protects by being between you and the sun; it's a block, if you will. What seems to happen with the vitamin C is that when the sun shines on skin there is a chemical reaction that occurs. These free radicals are generated and we believe the vitamin C protects because it's there to be an antioxidant and actually quench these chemical reactions.
Norman Swan: And how long does it stay there?

Sheldon Pinnell: Well we've measured the biological effect for protecting against light for as long as three days after application.

Sheldon Pinnell: People have used that on one side of their face and not the other side of their face, and in some small number of people there have been some fairly dramatic lessening of wrinkling on the side where they've used the vitamin C. This takes a minimum of about three months, but the careful clinical trials that need to be done using double blind technology to show whether indeed it can reverse wrinkling, have yet to be done. They're in the process of being done; it will take probably a year for us to have that information.

Source: SanMed Development Group

Antioxidant Skin Care/Topical Vitamin C Science

Topical vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) protects skin against and reduces harmful effects caused by sunlight in both the UVB and UVA bands (290-400 nm). Although topical vitamin C does not absorb light in this range, and hence, is not a sunscreen, vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) exerts its effects by neutralizing reactive oxygen species, the highly-reactive molecules produced when sunlight interacts with cell membranes and other components of skin tissue. And, unlike sunscreens, once vitamin C gets into skin, it cant be washed, rubbed, or perspired off. Research shows that topical vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) is an excellent antioxidant for skin protection and should be a useful adjunct to (but not replacement for) sunscreens. Recent scientific findings also reveal that it is the long UVAI (340-400 nm) rays that cause photoaging, and no currently available sunscreen fully protects individuals from all long UVA radiation.

L-ascorbic acid is the only form of vitamin C that can be used by the body.

Source: Better Nutrition

Topical vitamin C for more vibrant skin - Jan, 1998 Henrietta Spencer

… Unlike creams formulated with Retin A and AHAs, which work by exfoliating the older, outer skin layers, vitamin-C formulations work within the skin layers, inhibiting the production of free radicals and spurring the synthesis of collagen. Working at this cellular level, vitamin C helps "reweave" the skin fibers. As cells bind together, skin looks more smooth and youthful.

Volatile free radicals consist of molecules that speed aging by destroying collagen, the gluelike substances that, along with firming strands called elastin, make skin resilient, firm, and less prone to wrinkles. As the free radicals become neutralized with antioxidants, like those in topical vitamin-C products, skin remains more plump and elastic.

Some claim vitamin-C preparations not only prevent damage, but also repair skin. Louise Bianca, Los Angeles-based facialist, says, "Vitamin-C creams are very effective antioxidants that not only protect the skin from environmental damage, but also stimulate the production of collagen." The more we exercise, travel on airplanes, and get exposed to pollution, for example, the greater the risk of premature aging from free radicals, and the higher the demand for antioxidants.

Source: BeautiCreams.com

Topical Vitamin C FAQ Section

Increasingly, research has shown that adding topical vitamin C to skin can stimulate the production of collagen, a protein which helps form the skin's supporting structure. Normally as we age, collagen degenerates, and as a result, our skin wrinkles. Collagen is like the springs in a bed, with time and exposure to UV radiation it becomes damaged and as a result, sags. Increasingly it has been shown that topical Vitamin C actually prevents UV radiation from damaging the underlying skin structure. Research has demonstrated a reservoir effect of about 3 days where the Vitamin C concentrations are still active.

Topical vitamin C doesn't sensitize the skin to sunlight. Actually, there is some evidence that topical vitamin C has a protective effect against sun damage. Vitamin C works synergistically with the retinoic acid products such as Renova, Retin-A or Retinol. Results vary with each individual. Some may see changes as soon as two to four weeks while others may take as long as six to eight weeks. A maximum effect will occur at about six months.