Yuzu Is the Brightening, Mood-Boosting Ingredient Your Skin-Care Routine Has Been Missing

You can’t go wrong when incorporating antioxidants into your skin-care routine, and one that dermatologists love is vitamin C. That’s because it’s a powerful ingredient that protects our skin from environmental aggressors, keeping it firm, even, and healthy. Give your routine a summery, citrusy boost by getting a dose of vitamin C through yuzu, an East Asian citrus with three times as much vitamin C as a lemon.

“Yuzu has antioxidant and clarifying properties,” explains Shirley Chi, MD, a board-certified dermatologist in Southern California. And antioxidants protect the skin from oxidative stress caused by exposure to ultraviolet rays. Basically, sunlight creates reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the skin, which are oxygen molecules with unpaired electrons that scavenge healthy cells and snatch up their electrons, causing chaos in the skin that can lead to premature signs of aging like fine lines and wrinkles, hyperpigmentation, and loss of firmness.

In addition to brightening your skin, yuzu skin-care products can also help brighten your mood. Citrus is “refreshing, brings energy, and has an uplifting, cleansing effect,” says certified aromatherapist Caroline Schroeder.

One downside of citrus is the potential for skin sensitivity. “With yuzu, you have to be careful about possible allergic reactions since it is a citrus fruit,” says Dr. Chi. “Citrus fruits are the second most commonly reported food to cause skin allergy!”

If you’re down to give it a try, shop eight yuzu skin-care products below.

8 yuzu skin-care products to brighten, smooth, and protect your skin

Eminence Organic, Skin Care Yuzu Solid Body Oil — $56.00

Drench your skin in moisture with this solid body oil. Warm a dollop between your hands and luxuriate as it spreads like butter, covering your complexion in vitamin-rich yuzu and camu camu to leave you with a radiant glow. Plus, it has gently exfoliating poly-hydroxy acids (PHAs) and tropical oils to enhance hydration.

Waso, Yuzu-C Glow-On Shot Serum — $45.00

This serum boosts the antioxidant powers of yuzu with a vitamin C complex to brighten, firm, and smooth skin. All this goodness is suspended in a blend of grapeseed, rosehip, and sunflower oils to hydrate and soften.

Saturday Skin, Yuzu Vitamin C Sleep Face Mask — $29.00

Slather on this brightening face mask before bed and let a blend of yuzu, retinol, and niacinamide do the work. This powerhouse combo increases cellular turnover, smoothing fine lines and boosting radiance as you sleep.

Erborian, Yuza Sorbet Cream — $56.00

This vitamin C moisturizer was designed to create a second-skin veil over your skin to seal in moisture and keeps environmental pollutants out. It’s powered by a lightweight blend of yuzu, licorice root, and honey.

Savor Beauty, Yuzu Lemonade Peel — $80.00

Give your skin a renewing peel in 30 seconds with this powerful treatment. It uses yuzu to brighten and tone skin, salicylic acid to exfoliate skin and unclog pores, and Kakadu plum (which contains super high levels of vitamin C) to brighten and promote cell turnover.

Tula Skincare, Signature Glow Refreshing Brightening Face Mist — $34.00

Whether you’re just waking up or out and about, this refreshing face mist will give you an energizing boost while treating your skin. It uses a blend of yuzu and strawberry to brighten skin. Plus, it’s got probiotic extracts to lock in moisture and soothe inflammation, beetroot prebiotics to balance skin, hyaluronic acid and kiwi fruit water to hydrate and brighten, and lingonberry to protect from pollution and blue light.

Espa, Yuzu Ginger Cleansing Sorbet — $34.00

This cleansing sorbet melts away makeup, SPF, dirt, and grime while nourishing your skin. It’s got yuzu to refresh and revitalizes, ginger to soothe, mango to deeply purify, and a blend of almond, moringa, pomegranate, and sea buckthorn to replenish.

Nudeskin, Citrus-C Mask & Daily Moisturizer — $39.00

Use a light layer of this stuff as a daytime moisturizer or lay it on thick before bed as a sleeping mask. It’s got fermented yuzu oil to brighten and protect and turmeric to clear and energize skin. It’s super moisturizing and has a velvety texture that will leave your skin feeling cared for.