Sodium Ascorbate

Sodium ascorbate is a derivative of ascorbic acid, or vitamin C.

The sodium salt is created by putting ascorbic acid into a neutral or alkaline solution containing sodium ions. This simply changes the pH of the ingredient, and not the structure or the function of the ascorbic acid molecule. Therefore, sodium ascorbate and ascorbic acid can be used in exactly the same way.

You can read a more detailed article about ascorbic acid here, and most of what can be said about ascorbic acid can be applied to sodium ascorbate as well.

It is a powerful, skin-identical antioxidant with the ability to increase the formation of new collagen in the skin, and so it acts as an anti-aging and anti-wrinkle ingredient in skincare products.

Unfortunately, sodium ascorbate suffers from the same issues with stability as the regular ascorbic acid; unless carefully packaged without exposure to air or water or incorporated into liposomes, sodium ascorbate quickly degrades and turns the skincare product yellowish or brown.

The products containing sodium ascorbate won't be as acidic as those with regular ascorbic acid, but in more sensitive individuals it can still be slightly irritating.

There is not much difference between sodium ascorbate and calcium ascorbate – both are a neutralized form of ascorbic acid with similar properties, differing only in the mineral ion.