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CeraVe

Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum.

CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum
Serums

About this product

A vitamin C serum from CeraVe with L-ascorbic acid, formulated to brighten and even tone at a budget-friendly price.

Best for

Mature skin
Serums

The Guru Index verdict

71%

Approved

Approved · 71%
10Reviewers
8Approved
0Mixed
2Skip
#21 in Best Serums

What the gurus are saying

Gurus consistently praise the price point and accessibility for vitamin C newcomers, but texture and stability divide opinion sharply. The recurring complaint is oxidation: the serum darkens and loses potency within two to four months, requiring cool storage and frequent use. Several reviewers dislike the thick, grainy texture and feel it doesn't perform like thinner competitor serums. A smaller group values the lower 10% ascorbic acid concentration for sensitive skin, and some appreciate the added ceramides and soothing ingredients like licorice root, though concerns about oxidation causing darkening on skin of color surface as a serious caution.
Synthesized from 10 expert reviews

Key actives & flags

Vitamin CHyaluronic acidVitamin ECeramidesFragrance-free

Full ingredients

Aqua/​Water/​Eau, Ascorbic Acid 10.0%, Glycerin, Dimethicone, Cetearyl Ethylhexanoate, Alcohol Denat, Sodium Hydroxide, Ammonium Polyacryloyldimethyl Taurate, Panthenol, Ceramide NP, Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP, Carbomer, Cetearyl Alcohol, Behentrimonium Methosulfate, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Cholesterol, Phenoxyethanol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Disodium EDTA, Isopropyl Myristate, Caprylyl Glycol, Xanthan Gum, Phytosphingosine, Ethylhexylglycerin

Every take, in full

What the gurus are saying.

Every take we've logged from this product's reviews across YouTube. Click any row to watch the moment they said it.

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"The seventh ingredient in here is ascorbic acid and it's in a pipette and there no other antioxidants to stabilize it. So, for me, this is one to avoid even though it contains no fragrance because it can oxidize which can then darken hyperpigmentation and skin of color and lead to premature aging. So for me, this product's a no."
Approved
"This is going to run you about $24 to $30 depending on which retailer you are purchasing it from. It is 10% L-ascorbic acid, so a slightly lower concentration than your average vitamin C product. And what I really like about it is the consistency. It's sort of like a thicker gel. And a lot of vitamin C serums are very watery, which makes them great for layering, but it can also make them kind of messy. Aside from that L-ascorbic acid, it also has those skin barrier supporting ceramides that CeraVe is super well known for. I would have to say this is one of my absolute favorite budget friendly vitamin C serums. It's very fairly priced. It's good for travel. It still has the most proven form of vitamin C, L-ascorbic acid, at a slightly lower concentration. So if someone does have slightly sensitive skin, but still wants to be using the most proven form of vitamin C, it's an excellent option."
Top Pick: budget friendly vitamin c serum
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"CeraVe is great for cleansing or moisturizer. I don't really like a lot of their other actives and things like that. Like CeraVe's vitamin C serum, I don't love. I didn't find it to be elegant feeling or anything like that."
All 3 takes from No BS Beauty
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"I don't know how they call this a serum it is thick it's grainy it does not have any of the same properties as the geek and gorgeous. It's just thick and it's expensive and it just is not nearly as elegant or effective as the geek and gorgeous in my opinion."
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"CeraVe is great for cleansing or moisturizer. I don't really like a lot of their other actives and things like that. Like CeraVe's vitamin C serum, I don't love. I didn't find it to be elegant feeling or anything like that."
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"I didn't love the texture of the CeraVe Vitamin C Serum and it's not really a serum, it's more of a lotion. It kind of irritated my skin a little bit, but it seems to work well for a lot of other people."
Approved
"I also love their vitamin C serum that's affordable, has 10% ascorbic acid."
All 10 takes from Dr. Daniel Sugai
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"CeraVe has 10% eloscorbic acid, three essential ceramides, and hyaluronic acid to help hydrate the skin. It's pretty affordable in the $25 to $30 range, and I'd have to say that it is a very good option to start off with. My critique would be that it does oxidize pretty quickly. So you need to use this within the first three months. Otherwise it turns into a dark syrupy color and it's not very pleasant to apply to your face. Sometimes that dark syrupy color doesn't blend in well into the skin anymore and it kind of pills with your sunscreen."
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"I also love their vitamin C serum that's affordable, has 10% ascorbic acid."
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"CeraVe vitamin C serums are about 20 bucks that's a great start with 10 ascorbic acid."
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"The CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum does glow up my skin, it does help reduce dark spots and brighten the skin by reducing the dark spots and when light hits your face it will reflect back at the viewer, so just having that luminosity, that increased luminosity really does help brighten the skin. It's like twenty to twenty-five bucks and it's one fluid ounce which is pretty standard but very affordable. But the only critique I have to say with this one is that you have to use it within two to four months otherwise it will oxidize pretty quickly. It becomes like this dark syrupy orange, which you don't want to put on your face. It's not dangerous to use but I'm sure the potency goes down quite a bit. Vitamin C is a great antioxidant that will help neutralize free radical damage from the sun, so I always say use this in the morning because you want to have all those antioxidants in your skin to help prevent free radical damage throughout the day. But it does not replace sunscreen."
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"CeraVe makes a vitamin C serum that's like 20 something bucks that one's very affordable. If you have sensitive skin, if you have rosacea, you want to try to take it easy and maybe start with something very affordable like that one. It's 10% ascorbic acid."
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"If you are unsure if you can tolerate ascorbic acid, this is 10% pure vitamin C or ascorbic acid. You got panthenol which is a vitamin B5 and that has moisturizing and hydrating benefits as well as hyaluronic acid and the three essential ceramides. This is a nice start, but I feel like you got to use it in like three to four months because it oxidizes and changes color quite readily. That's my critique for vitamin C is that you're spending all this money on it, you got to use it right. So use it every morning, and once it starts changing color, the efficacy might be dipping. Keep it in a cool area, you can even put it in a skincare fridge if you want, but just keep it in a cool area away from the sunlight. It's still affordable in the grand scheme of vitamin C serums."
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"It's 10% pure vitamin C or ascorbic acid with panthenol, which is a vitamin B5 and has moisturizing and hydrating benefits, as well as hyaluronic acid and the three essential ceramides. This is a nice start, but I feel like you got to use it in three to four months because it oxidizes and changes color quite readily. That's my critique: you're spending all this money on it, but you got to use it right. Use it every morning, and once it starts changing color, the efficacy might be dipping. Keep it in a cool area, you can even put it in a skincare fridge if you want, but just keep it in a cool area away from the sunlight."
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"CeraVe's vitamin C serum is 10% ascorbic acid. If you have sensitive skin or rosacea, you can consider just a basic intro to the vitamin C world. Start with CeraVe's $23 intro vitamin C serum and see if you can tolerate the ascorbic acid itself. You definitely have to keep it in a cool area. Some people keep it in their skincare fridge which is fine but not necessary."
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"If you want to go for an intro vitamin C serum that's quite affordable and about 25 bucks, CeraVe's vitamin C serum has 10% ascorbic acid. When you look at ascorbic acid, I'd say about 10 to 20% is usually where people want to shoot for. 15% I think is a great compromise. I think 20% can be a little irritating for my patients, and so 15% is nice. Just use a few drops in the morning and then go ahead and put your moisturizer on and your sunscreen."
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"This is 10% ascorbic acid, which is the active form of vitamin C. It's a nice introductory vitamin C serum with hyaluronic acid and your three essential ceramides. It's about $22 to $25 depending where you get it. The critique I have though is if you don't use this within 2 to 4 months, this can oxidize quite quickly and it turns from a nice yellow color to a darker orange to even a brown syrupy color. If you don't use this up quickly, you can keep it in a cool place, maybe even in your skincare fridge, but a cool place will suffice. Use it as a thin film once a day before your sunscreen. I'd say this is a great choice if you're not sure if you can tolerate ascorbic acid and you want to get into the vitamin C game."
Approved
"Even though I don't get along with vitamin C serums because they tend to irritate my skin, I did like the CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum. They're an L'Oreal brand with lots of R&D. They also threw in some caffeine, so caffeine in a serum is an interesting ingredient because a subset of people who have puffiness get a good depuffing effect from topical caffeine, especially coupled with a cold temperature like a chilled moisturizer or a cold applicator. It's got licorice root which is anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, soothing, and may help with hyperpigmentation like post-inflammatory hyperpigmentation. You've got hyaluronic acid and ceramides."
Approved
"Save makes products that are formulated with ceramides and other technology that really helps nourish the skin and protect your skin barrier, which is so important when you have vitamin C because that ingredient in and of itself can be irritating. One of the best drugstore picks, 10% is a great concentration. You don't need to go crazy."
All 5 takes from The Budget Dermatologist
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"Save makes products that are formulated with ceramides and other technology that really helps nourish the skin and protect your skin barrier, which is so important when you have vitamin C because that ingredient in and of itself can be irritating. One of the best drugstore picks, 10% is a great concentration. You don't need to go crazy."
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"10% CeraVe"
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"The other key ingredients in this product are ceramides which help reinforce that skin barrier and the other great thing about this is it's a lot more affordable. This one is actually $29.99 so quite a bit more savings. I really love this one for sensitive skin people it's not crazy expensive. I've used this a lot personally in the past feels very nice this is definitely a must."
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"This has 10% pure vitamin C serum. I really like this product. I'm loving this package because it is opaque so it will protect it against the light breakdown of it. It's an airtight container that also can protect it from air getting to it to break it down. The vitamin C ingredient is really obviously the hero ingredient here. The other supporting characters in this product would be ceramides, which is very classic of the CeraVe brand and I love especially for the under eye area because ceramides can really reinforce your skin barrier and help it stand up to these stronger actives like vitamin C or retinoids. This also has hyaluronic acid in it."
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"This is one of the greatest products at the drugstore. I have been using this for years. It has 10% L-ascorbic acid in it. I recommend this for somebody who's ready to start a vitamin C serum, they've never tried it, they don't know if it's going to work for their skin, maybe they have a little bit of sensitive skin. This is such a great product to get your foot in the door and see if this vitamin C category is right for your skin. I love this one because this formulation has ceramides in it, so it's also nourishing to the skin. It can offset a little of that irritation that can come along with L-ascorbic acid. This is going to be my absolute number one top pick for beginners or people that are ready to kind of reset and try vitamin C for the first time."
Approved
"In terms of drugstore vitamin C serums, one of my favorites is the Vichy vitamin C serum as well as the CeraVe vitamin C serum. If you have vitamin C, I always tell patients to store it in a cool dark place. You want to keep it potent. You don't want it to be exposed to sunlight."
Approved
"This vitamin C serum retails for roughly $29.99 to $30 in drugstores. It does contain the active form ascorbic acid at 10% concentration along with vitamin B5, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid. I recommend this one for a few reasons: number one, it does contain a lower concentration but still an effective concentration of ascorbic acid, so it's going to be less irritating than some of the higher concentrations like 15% or 20%. Two, it's formulated in a rich, creamier serum that is not watery, so it's less acidic and therefore usually less irritating and causes less burning sensation on the skin. The serum is also developed in a way where it's more for dry and sensitive skin, and like all the products I mentioned today, it's also fragrance-free. Texture-wise, it is pretty lightweight. I find that it is pretty comparable to other vitamin C serums, maybe slightly more nourishing and moisturizing, but I certainly have not had any issues."
All 3 takes from Dr. Jenny Liu
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"The CeraVe Skin Renewing Vitamin C Serum is one of the more affordable options that exist."
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"This vitamin C serum retails for roughly $29.99 to $30 in drugstores. It does contain the active form ascorbic acid at 10% concentration along with vitamin B5, ceramides, and hyaluronic acid. I recommend this one for a few reasons: number one, it does contain a lower concentration but still an effective concentration of ascorbic acid, so it's going to be less irritating than some of the higher concentrations like 15% or 20%. Two, it's formulated in a rich, creamier serum that is not watery, so it's less acidic and therefore usually less irritating and causes less burning sensation on the skin. The serum is also developed in a way where it's more for dry and sensitive skin, and like all the products I mentioned today, it's also fragrance-free. Texture-wise, it is pretty lightweight. I find that it is pretty comparable to other vitamin C serums, maybe slightly more nourishing and moisturizing, but I certainly have not had any issues."
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"CeraVe vitamin C serum retails for $18.49 and this is quite a steal. It contains 5% THD ascorbate, a lipid soluble vitamin C that is more stable than traditional pure ascorbic acid but also has been proven to work effectively as an antioxidant and helps with brightening benefits and collagen support. This one is a great option for those who have more sensitive skin as well for those that may be more sensitive to pure vitamin C. THD ascorbate is actually my go-to vitamin C derivative that I recommend that has been well studied. This also contains ceramides and it comes in a great airless pump that basically helps to keep the vitamin C stable. It has a white milky color and that is because THD ascorbate itself sometimes can be colorless or white. The airless pump really reduces the need of additional preservatives so great if you have dry and sensitive skin or prone to irritation caused by pure vitamin C."
Approved
"You can use a vitamin C serum like this one by CeraVe. This is very lightweight, non-sticky, does not cause acne, and it feels very moisturizing on the skin. So just two to three drops on the whole face should be good."
Approved
"This is the CeraVe Vitamin C Serum. Most importantly is the packaging. It's 10% L-ascorbic acid, but this packaging will hold up with different light and as oxygen and air gets exposed to it as you're using it. This is actually the same kind of packaging that a lot of medication comes in, so I really like the stability of this packaging."
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