Vitamin C that stays
vitamin C,
and doesn't sting.
The famous one costs $182. This is $44.99.
Most vitamin C serums use L-ascorbic acid, which needs a pH low enough to sting and oxidises before you finish the bottle. NIHON uses the stable form, with vitamin E and ferulic acid alongside it.
30-night refund. Bottle empty or full.
- Sodium ascorbyl phosphate — the stable, gentler form of vitamin C
- Sodium ascorbyl phosphate — the stable form, not the one that stings
- Fragrance-free. 30ml dropper bottle. Two to three drops each morning.
Price comparison refers to a widely sold vitamin C, E and ferulic acid serum. NIHON uses a different form of vitamin C.
Why I made this one differently
Most vitamin C is L-ascorbic acid. It works — and on reactive skin it also stings, and it turns brown in your cabinet before the bottle is finished.
I chose a different form. Here's what it is, and why it's the one I use on my own skin.
Dr. María José Urbani · Physician and founder of IKI
As Seen In
Go look at your vitamin C serum.
Is it clear? Or is it yellow, orange, or brown?
That colour is oxidation. Vitamin C in its most common form — L-ascorbic acid — degrades on contact with air, light and heat. Once it turns, it is no longer doing what you paid for.
Most people never notice, because it happens gradually and the bottle still looks full.
FRESH
OXIDISING
SPENT
NIHON doesn't use L-ascorbic acid. It uses sodium ascorbyl phosphate, which is far less prone to oxidation and converts to active ascorbic acid on the skin.
Why vitamin C fails on sensitive skin
The ingredient works. The science behind it is strong. The problem is the form almost everyone uses.
THE pH PROBLEM
L-ascorbic acid needs a pH of roughly 2.5 to 3.5 to stay active. That acidity is what causes the stinging and flushing.
THE AIR PROBLEM
It degrades on contact with air, light and heat. Every time you open the bottle, the clock speeds up.
THE QUIT PROBLEM
So people either use a degraded serum without knowing, or they try it, react, and give up on vitamin C entirely.
THE PRICE PROBLEM
The C + E + ferulic formula most often cited as the benchmark retails for around $182.
These describe published research on vitamin C formulations in general, not a study of any particular product.
Three ingredients, one reason each
SAP IS THE STABLE FORM
Sodium ascorbyl phosphate is a water-soluble salt of vitamin C. It is far less prone to oxidation than L-ascorbic acid, and it doesn't need a low pH to stay intact.
IT CONVERTS ON YOUR SKIN
Once applied, it converts to active ascorbic acid. You get vitamin C's benefits without the acidity that causes the sting.
VITAMIN E COVERS WHAT C CANNOT
Vitamin C is water-soluble; vitamin E is lipid-soluble. They work in different environments in the skin, so together they cover more ground than either alone.
FERULIC ACID STABILISES BOTH
It holds the other two steady and amplifies their combined effect. In the research most often cited on this combination, adding ferulic acid roughly doubled the photoprotection factor of a vitamin C and E formulation.*
WHICH IS WHY EVERYONE COPIES IT
C plus E plus ferulic is the combination the category treats as its benchmark. NIHON runs it with the gentle, stable form of vitamin C instead of the harsh one.
*Pinnell et al., on a topical vitamin C and E formulation. This is published research on the ingredient combination, not a study of NIHON. NIHON has not been through a consumer or clinical study.
- • Sodium Ascorbyl Phosphate (Vitamin C)
- • Tocopherol (Vitamin E)
- • Ferulic Acid
Fragrance-free. Paraben-free. Sulfate-free.
NIHON — Antioxidant Serum
30ML DROPPER BOTTLEA morning antioxidant serum for skin that reacts to conventional vitamin C.
- The stable form of vitamin C — no low pH, no sting
- Vitamin E and ferulic acid alongside it
- Layers under moisturiser and SPF without pilling
- 30-night refund, bottle empty or full
Developed by Dr. María José Urbani for her own sensitive-skin patients.
- • Free shipping always
- • Lowest price per bottle
- • Edit, skip or cancel anytime
30-NIGHT MONEY-BACK GUARANTEE
The physician behind NIHON
Dr. María José Urbani
PHYSICIAN · FOUNDER OF IKI · REACTIVE SKIN HERSELF"Vitamin C is one of the few actives I'd want every one of my patients on. It's also the one they quit most often.
Not because it doesn't work. Because the form the whole category standardised on needs an acid pH to stay active, and reactive skin can't sit in that every morning.
I spent a long time not recommending vitamin C at all, which was the wrong answer. So I built the version I could actually hand to someone whose skin reacts to everything."
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Three ingredients. Nothing to pad the label.
Antioxidant serums tend to fail in one of two directions: an unstable form that's degraded before you finish it, or a gentle form at a level too low to matter. NIHON runs the stable form with the two ingredients that make it work harder.
SODIUM ASCORBYL PHOSPHATE — the stable form of vitamin C
A water-soluble salt of vitamin C. Far less prone to oxidation than L-ascorbic acid, and it doesn't need a low pH to stay intact. It converts to active ascorbic acid on the skin.
TOCOPHEROL — vitamin E
Lipid-soluble, where vitamin C is water-soluble. The two work in different environments in the skin, so together they cover more ground than either alone.
FERULIC ACID — the stabiliser
Holds the other two steady and amplifies their combined effect. It's the third ingredient in the combination the category treats as its benchmark.
Morning product. That's the whole rule.
Cleanse. Two to three drops of NIHON on face and neck. Moisturiser. Then SPF.
Antioxidants and sunscreen do different jobs — SPF blocks what it can, antioxidants handle what gets through. NIHON goes under it, not instead of it.
A note from Dr. Urbani: if you already use a night serum, NIHON is the morning half. You don't need to choose between them, and you shouldn't use both at the same time of day.
Don't just take our word
Frequently Asked Questions
Not sure NIHON is the one for your skin?
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