Had a client's face turn bright red from a new serum last week

I was doing a facial in my treatment room and used a new vitamin C serum I'd just gotten. Within maybe 2 minutes, my client's cheeks and forehead got super flushed and warm. I immediately rinsed everything off with cool water and applied a calming aloe gel I keep on hand. The redness went down after about 15 minutes, but it was a real scare. I think the concentration was way higher than what I'm used to. Has anyone else had a reaction happen that fast with a new product?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylorlewis24d ago

Was it a pure L-ascorbic acid serum? Those can cause flushing if the pH is too low.

emery_miller2024d ago

What pH should it be?

nancy35110d ago

That pH point is really key. A super low pH, like under 3.0, can make even a good vitamin C serum feel like a chemical burn on some skin types. It's not always about the strength of the vitamin C itself, but how acidic the whole formula is. In my experience, a super fast reaction like that often points to the pH being off for that person's skin barrier at that moment. Always good to patch test new serums on the inner arm first, even for us pros.