RoC's Vitamin C Serum is one of the most popular products sold by the brand. It's used to brighten and tighten the skin, and the brand claims that 94% of users experienced "instant luminosity."
But does RoC Vitamin C Serum contain research-backed ingredients to improve skin quality? Does it contain any questionable additive ingredients? How do real users rate and describe its effects? And which retailer sells RoC Vitamin C Serum for the best price?
In this article we'll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in RoC Vitamin C Serum based on existing clinical studies, to give our take on whether or not it's likely to improve skin quality.
We'll feature unsponsored customer reviews of the brand, and provide a cost comparison to show which retailer sells this product for the best price.
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in RoC Multi Correxion Revive and Glow Daily Serum are shown above.
This formulation does contain a number of research-backed active ingredients.
3-O-ethyl ascorbic acid is a derivative of vitamin C, and was shown to have skin-whitening effects in a 2021 clinical trial.
We prefer vitamin C to such novel derivatives because vitamin C is well studied in dermatology, and is clinically shown to have anti-aging effects and skin-protective effects.
Troxerutin may help protect the skin from damaging effects of UV rays according to a clinical trial published in the International Journal of Molecular Medicine.
Castor oil is clinically shown to naturally exfoliate the skin, as we documented in our Jones Road Miracle Balm review article.
Cistus monspeliensis (misspelled Cistus monspeliensis in this ingredient list) "may inhibit skin aging through mitochondrial regulation" according to a 2022 clinical trial.
There are some inactive ingredients in this serum that we consider to be questionable from a health perspective.
Fragrance was analyzed in a 2021 medical review, and the researchers concluded that “[the] risks clearly outweigh [the] benefits.”
Limonene, linalool and citral are additional fragrance ingredients.
Yellow 6 is a synthetic dye that was shown in a 2012 medical review to be frequently contaminated with carcinogens.
Overall, we consider RoC Vitamin C Serum likely to have anti-aging effects and somewhat likely to have skin-whitening effects.
However, we don't currently recommend this product because of the inactive ingredients discussed above.
Questionable Clinical Claims
RoC Skincare claims that 100% of their products are clinically proven to work, as shown above.
However, we can't find any clinical trials on RoC products on PubMed, one of the largest research aggregators in the US.
Further, we can't even find any full clinical trials published on the RoC website.
We urge the brand to clearly publish the full clinical trials to back this claim.
The only clinical research we can find cited on RoC's website is on product pages, with results such as "97% saw smoother skin."
We recommend that consumers entirely disregard claims of clinical efficacy based on company-funded research that's not published in peer-reviewed journals, especially when the company fails to even clearly publish the full trials they reference in their promotional materials.
The potential for bias is simply too high in our opinion for such research to have any value to consumers.
When we cite clinical studies on Illuminate Health, we're citing clinical studies published in peer-reviewed journals.
Real People Try RoC Vitamin C Serum
A TikTok creator named Rocio Soria had a positive experience with RoC Vitamin C Serum, and includes before-and-after images:
@rocio.roses Good skincare doesn’t have to be super expensive! The @RoC Skincare Revive + Glow Serum is one of my favorite products to brighten & tighten my skin👸✨& it’s under $25!!!🤩 #rocpartner #rocskincare #vitaminc #vitaminctips #drugstorevitaminc #skintok #skincare ♬ original sound - Rocio Soria🌺
A TikTok creator named "glamzilla" claims to have experienced instant luminosity from RoC's serum:
@glamzilla I put the @rocskincare Revive + Glow Daily to the test. #RoCPartner #VitaminC #glowingskin ♬ original sound - GLAMZILLA
Where to Get the Best Price
Roc Vitamin C Serum is sold at a variety of online retailers. Here's a price breakdown for a one-time purchase at the time of publishing this article:
Ulta: $34.99 (plus shipping, link)
Brand website: $32.99 (plus shipping, link)
Target: $26.99 (plus shipping, link)
Amazon: $22.21 (free shipping, link to official Amazon listing)
RoC Vitamin C Serum is currently around 40% cheaper on Amazon than the brand's website when factoring in shipping fees.
Real Customers Review RoC Vitamin C Serum
Amazon is a better resource for honest customer reviews than a brand's website in our opinion.
RoC Vitamin C Serum has been reviewed over 8,000 times on Amazon, with an average review rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars at the time of publishing this article.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser is written by a user named "Amruth" who gives the product a 5/5 star rating, and claims it's had a number of positive aesthetic effects:
"First and foremost, the results are impressive. It has visibly improved the texture and tone of my skin, reducing wrinkles and brightening dark spots. My skin looks and feels rejuvenated."
The top negative review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named "Elizabeth glatz" who gives the product a 1/5 star rating, and dislikes how small the serving size is:
"When I opened the package, the bottle of serum was slightly above half full. I paid full price or this product and expected the bottle to be filled completely wth the serum. I love this product. I will never buy online again. I will go to the store for this particular purchase."
RoC Vitamin C Serum currently has an average review rating of 4.6 out of 5 stars on Google.
RoC Skincare has failed to respond to any of the customer complaints on the company's Better Business Bureau (BBB) page at the time of updating this article, which is a red flag about the brand.
Our Clean Skincare Picks
There are skincare products containing ingredients shown in clinical trials to be effective for reducing wrinkles and improving skin quality.
Annie Mak Vitamin C Serum is our top anti-aging serum.
It contains hyaluronic acid which was described as a "skin-rejuvenating biomedicine" in a medical review due to its ability to reduce wrinkles and signs of facial aging.
HYDRAGLOW by CLEARSTEM is our top moisturizer pick.
It features bakuchiol as an active ingredient which was described in a 2014 clinical trial as "clinically proven to have anti-aging effects."
Bulletproof Collagen Powder is our top skin supplement.
Collagen supplementation was shown in a medical review published in the Journal of Drugs in Dermatology to reduce visible signs of skin aging as well as improve skin elasticity and skin hydration.
All of the products recommended in this section are entirely free of ingredients that we consider to be unhealthy or unsafe.
Pros and Cons
Here are the pros and cons of RoC Vitamin C Serum in our opinion:
Pros:
- Should have anti-aging effect
- May have skin-brightening effect
- Serum contains a large number of research-backed active ingredients
- Affordable
- Positive online customer reviews
Cons:
- Brand makes questionable clinical claims
- Uses vitamin C derivative
- Contains fragrance
- Contains separate fragrance ingredients
- Contains Yellow 6
- Brand website charges for shipping
