Beauty Diary: Cult vitamin C serum hits 20 years as ‘gold standard'

News.com.au

17-05-2025

The internet is ablaze with what some have decided is the 'most exciting beauty news' in recent years.
And what exactly is that piece of hot goss?
Well, the 20-year patent on the SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic serum has just expired, opening the door for rival brands to copy its cult formula.
The buzz is largely around the product's expensive price point, which with a RRP of $249, makes it easy to understand why consumers might be keen to get their hands on a cheaper version.
But while beauty junkies collectively lose their minds at the prospect of scoring a bargain, the US brand is far from shaking in its boots – and for good reason.
'Despite there being many vitamin C serums on the market, SkinCeuticals C E Ferulic serum is the gold standard worldwide,' Dr Tania Romano, head of medical and education at SkinCeuticals, told news.com.au's The Beauty Diary.
'Dr Sheldon Pinnell, the founder of SkinCeuticals, started researching the relationship between topical vitamin C (l-ascorbic acid) and skin in the 1980s and 1990s, publishing many scientific findings in medical journals during this time (including the relationship between l-ascorbic acid and collagen formation in the skin).
'His research allowed him to formulate what we now know as C E Ferulic, which has been a game changer in the industry since its inception in 2005.'
With decades of product development and research behind the cult-beauty buy before it even hit shelves 20 years ago, many experts have argued that even with the once secret formula now available on the open market, competitors could 'never catch up'.
'It's the most studied vitamin C serum on the market, with over 50 clinical studies and peer review articles, that's why it revolutionised the category,' said Jenny Liu, a board-certified dermatologist, in a recent video.
While Australian dermal clinician Jayde, who goes by @drivenbybeauty online, explained splurging on C E Ferulic was a 'non-negotiable' as the product was 'stable' and had 'efficacy' – something not all vitamin C product's provide.
Dr Romano echoed the views of the skin experts, stating that while 'dupe culture is huge in the cosmeceutical industry, it is very difficult to copy the formulation of another brand'.
'Although many other brands claim to have created 'dupes' of C E Ferulic, it is impossible for any of these products to be identical to the formulation we have at SkinCeuticals as they would not be sourcing their raw ingredients from the same manufacturers, and their formula combinations would not be the same either,' she said.
'An example I like to use it thinking about a croissant – you can buy one from your local bakery or one from an artisan baker in France… they may both use flour, butter, sugar and egg, but the sourcing of those ingredients will be different, the process of baking the croissant will be different, the oven it is baked it will be different and inevitably the end product won't be the same.
'Dupe culture has not really affected us because people who use our products understand we invest in research, science and technology to deliver the most efficacious products for the best skin health.'
So there you have it. Case closed.