March 29, 2023

Ingredient Spotlight | Vitamin E in skincare

Vitamin E is one of the best antioxidants for your health and can boost your immune system, prevent stroke-induced brain damage and work wonders on your hair, skin and nails. As one of the most researched and well-known ingredients in skincare, it's often overlooked in favour of other ingredients, but this workhorse antioxidant does more than its fair share to keep your skin looking great. What does Vitamin E do for skin? Vitamin E is actually a naturally occurring part of human skin and helps our body defend itself from pollution and environmental stresses. As time progresses, our skin's Vitamin E content decreases. This decrease is sped up by environmental damage, especially sun exposure. Luckily, it is possible to replenish this with skincare products. Vitamin E can be delivered successfully to the skin in any form, from serums to facial masks to moisturisers. Scientific studies suggest that Vitamin E in skincare products can benefit the skin in numerous ways:

It protects the skin from environmental pollution
It protects against UV radiation (although it cannot be considered a sunscreen)
It has excellent moisturising capabilities
It contains powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant action
It enhances the penetration of other ingredients into the skin

Does the type of Vitamin E matter? The most common forms of Vitamin E used in skincare are labelled in ingredients lists as 'tocopherol acetate' or 'tocopheryl acetate'. 'Tocophe rol acetate' is derived from natural sources (such as vegetable oils) while 'tocophe ryl acetate' is synthetic. Some studies suggest that natural Vitamin E is more effective, but both synthetic and natural Vitamin E have antioxidant properties in skincare. In fact, synthetic tocopheryl acetate can be more stable, allowing us to blend it into better skincare formulas. At the end of the day, it doesn't matter whether your chosen Vitamin E product has synthetic or naturally derived antioxidants. Both types will give you an antixoidant boost for healthier, brighter skin.