The Truth About Ole Henriksen Truth Serum

Ole Henriksen is a Danish cosmetician, famous for running a celebrity-favorite spa and skin care clinic in Los Angeles. His skin care line was one of the first to feature a vitamin C serum, the legendary Truth Serum. But is Ole Henriksen Truth Serum still the best vitamin C serum? Let’s find out, as well as how to use Ole Henriksen Truth Serum.

Table of Contents

• What Does Vitamin C serum Do? 
  • As an Antioxidant
  • As a Collagen Booster
  • As a Skin Brightener
• How to use Ole Henriksen Truth Serum
• What to Look For in a Vitamin C serum
  • The Form of Vitamin C
  • The Concentration of Vitamin C
  • Companion Ingredients
• Is Ole Henriksen Truth Serum the Truth? 
• A Recap

What Does Vitamin C serum Do?

Vitamin C is one of the hottest skin care ingredients around, because it is so beneficial for all skin types and all skin problems.

Vitamin C works on the skin in three primary ways:

As an Antioxidant

Antioxidants are healthy in the diet, because they help the body fight cell damage from free radicals.

On the skin, antioxidants do the same thing, helping to protect and defend skin cells from damage from UV rays, free-radicals, and other harmful environmental factors. 

As a Collagen Booster

The mild acids in vitamin C help promote the skin’s production of collagen and elastin, which help skin cells to be firmer, rounder, and healthier.

This promotes a more youthful, healthy complexion, and can even help to decrease the viability of scars. 

As a Skin Brightener

Vitamin C has a mild inhibiting effect on your skin’s melanin production, reducing the visibility of dark spots and hyperpigmentation without affecting the natural skin color.

In other words, whether your skin is aging, dull, hyperpigmented, loose, or scarred, vitamin C can help.

While vitamin C is a crucial part of a healthy diet, when it’s eaten, it isn’t transported to the skin, so it needs to be applied externally for skin care benefits.

Dermatologists recommend vitamin C serums, because it can be difficult to stabilize vitamin C with other types of skin care products, and because using a serum helps it penetrate the skin exactly where it’s needed. 

How to use Ole Henriksen Truth Serum

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You use Ole Henriksen Truth Serum like any other vitamin C serum.

Although Ole Henriksen Truth Serum uses a milder form of vitamin C, so irritation is unlikely, all vitamin C is acidic and may irritate sensitive skin.

It’s always best to do a small patch test on your inner arm before applying it to your face.

If a small patch doesn’t cause irritation, apply it first thing in the morning, to clean dry skin, before a sunscreen or moisturizer. 

Vitamin C serums are perishable, and should be stored in a cool, dry place away from direct light. They will degrade when exposed to oxygen, so chances are that a bottle will lose effectiveness within six months of being opened. Some people choose to refrigerate their vitamin c serums, which helps to protect and preserve them for longer. 

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What to Look For in a Vitamin C serum

Recent years have seen a huge spike in interest and research around vitamin c serums. Dermatologists recommend paying attention to these factors:

The Form of Vitamin C

Vitamin c can be formulated and stabilized in many ways.

According to the most current research, L-ascorbic acid is the most effective vitamin C formulation that actually penetrates and is used by the skin.

Other vitamin C derivatives are not as effective at penetrating the skin and providing protection.

The Concentration of Vitamin C

Most vitamin C serums indicate the percentage of active ingredients on the label.

The most effective over-the-counter formulations contain 5-20% vitamin C. 

Companion Ingredients

Antioxidants have a synergistic effect and work best together. Vitamin C along with vitamin E and ferulic acid provide greater sun protection and dramatically reduce oxidative stress in the skin. These three ingredients are often recommended together for optimal skin health and anti-aging benefits.  

Is Ole Henriksen Truth Serum the Truth?

Ole Henriksen Truth Serum is formulated with a vitamin C derivative, sodium ascorbyl phosphate, and it also contains tocopheryl acetate, a form of vitamin E. It contains skin-healthy hydrolized collagen, aloe, orange juice, grapefruit seed extract, and other beauty-boosting ingredients. 

However, possibly because Ole Henriksen’s Truth Serum was one of the first vitamin C serums on the market, it may not be the best.

We know now that other vitamin C derivatives and complementary ingredients are likely to be more effective at repairing skin and preventing further damage. 

As an alternative, we recommend Dr. Brenner’s Vitamin C Serum.

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It contains the most potent form of vitamin C, in a 20% solution, along with vitamin E, ferulic acid, and hyaluronic acid. It works faster than Ole Henriksen Truth Serum, and costs even less. 

Among these two serums, Truth Serum is gentler and may be a better choice for sensitive skin, while Dr. Brenner’s serum is stronger and may be more effective.  

A Recap

Ole Henriksen was way ahead of his time when he first launched the Truth Serum.

It’s a great way to reduce signs of sun damage and aging. It brightens and refines. This serum also protects the skin from further damage, no matter what your age or skin condition.

Today, we have more options, so look for the vitamin C serum that is best for your needs. 

Check out more vitamin C posts on our blog:

• Serumtologie Vitamin C Serum 22 Review
• TruSkin Naturals Vitamin C Daily Facial Moisturizer Review

What do you think about the Ole Henriksen serum?