Formulation Advice for Vitamin C, Ferulic Acid, Vitamin E, and Water

You've asked for the proportions to mix Vitamin C, Ferulic acid, Vitamin E, and water for a skin brightening formula. While these ingredients are excellent for addressing dullness and providing antioxidant benefits, creating a stable and effective mixture with just these four components and water is challenging due to their chemical properties.

Here's why a simple mixture is difficult:

• Ferulic Acid: Pure Ferulic acid is not soluble in water. It typically requires solvents like Ethoxydiglycol or ethanol to dissolve properly.
• Vitamin C (L-Ascorbic Acid): L-Ascorbic acid, a common form of Vitamin C used for its effectiveness, is highly unstable when dissolved in water, especially at neutral pH. It oxidizes quickly, losing its efficacy. Stable Vitamin C serums using L-Ascorbic acid require a low pH (typically below 3.5) and often benefit from stabilizers like Ferulic acid and Vitamin E, but this requires careful formulation beyond simply mixing in water.
• Vitamin E: While there are water-soluble forms of Vitamin E, the primary challenge remains the solubility of Ferulic acid and the stability of L-Ascorbic acid in a simple water base.

To create a stable and effective product with Vitamin C, Ferulic acid, and Vitamin E, a more complex formulation is generally needed. This often involves using specific solvents to dissolve Ferulic acid and carefully adjusting the pH to stabilize Vitamin C, along with other ingredients to create a suitable serum base.

Simply mixing these ingredients in water is unlikely to yield a stable or effective product for skin brightening. It's recommended to follow established serum formulations that address the solubility and stability issues of these powerful antioxidants. Products like the Vitamin C E Ferulic serum base are formulated specifically to ensure the stability and efficacy of these ingredients.