Everything You Need to Know About Vitamin E

You may have seen vitamin E on the ingredients list of your favourite beauty products – masks, oils, moisturisers and everything in between. It’s the most common skincare ingredient to maintain healthy skin, being found in both cosmetic products and daily food intakes. But what exactly is vitamin E and why do we need it?

What is vitamin E?

Vitamin E is known to be a fat-soluable vitamin that works as an antioxidant to maintain the beauty and health of your skin. As an antioxidant, this helps prevent oxidative damage to cells by fighting off free radicals. In doing this, vitamin E helps to protect the skin, leaving it moisturised and nourished.

There are eight different forms of vitamin E, with tocopheryl acetate and tocopherol being the most commonly found in skincare. If you see the technical term “tocopherol” on the ingredients list of your favourite beauty product, it’s simply vitamin E.

By actively consuming foods filled with vitamin E or incorporating the ingredient into your skincare products, you’ll be benefiting from its many antioxidant properties. It only takes 15 minutes for the vitamin to be released into the skin, and continues to benefit the skin for 72 hours.*

What are the skin benefits of vitamin E?

Helps to moisturise the skin

Vitamin E helps to prevent water loss from the skin and to retain the skin’s natural moisture. As the vitamin protects the cell membranes, which forms a barrier around cells, it helps to keep skin staying hydrated, healthy and moisturised.

Anti-aging

Vitamin E is a great anti-aging powerhouse; it will protect your skin from sun damage and promotes collagen production to improve skin elasticity. In turn, this allows for healthy skin-cell growth and the reduced appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.

Reduces the appearance of scars

Free radicals can make it harder for scars to heal; vitamin E speeds up the process of the skin’s regeneration, so damaged skin cells are replaced by new ones. By applying vitamin E, it softens up the affected area and can lighten the scar in a few weeks, eventually diminishing after months.

Anti-inflammatory

Vitamin E is shown to have natural anti-inflammatory activities in tissues; it can help to soothe and calm any sore, irritated areas of the skin.

Any other of skin issues

Because of its antioxidant properties, vitamin E can also be used to treat a number of different skin conditions, such as acne, psoriasis, eczema and the aging affects from sun exposure. Applying vitamin E oil on the skin if you have psoriasis – a condition where the skin can turn red, dry and flaky – can bring improvements to the troubled areas and can repair the damage. Vitamin E can also bring down the inflammation of eczema and can relieve the itchiness and dryness.

How to choose vitamin E products

Vitamin E, or tocopherol, used in products that absorb into your skin will result in higher benefits, so finding overnight creams, serums or oils is best. However, rinse-off products such as cleansers with vitamin E will enhance antioxidant properties on the top layers of the skin too. Make sure that when choosing a product, you check the ingredients list for vitamin E’s technical term: tocopherol or alpha-tocopherol.

Check Out The Body Shop’s Vitamin E Skincare Range

Check Out Superdrug’s Vitamin E Skincare Range

If you’d like to find out more about our Platinum Vitamin E range, or order a sample, click here.

*reference available