Surely by now, you’ve heard about the miracle skin-care vitamin that is vitamin E. But what is all the hype about? If you stick around to learn about how vitamin E takes care of your skin, you’ll find out that all the talk is definitely not misplaced.
Here are some reasons why Vitamin E is good for your skin:
Antioxidant
Vitamin E is the common name for the compound tocopherol which is a fat-soluble antioxidant that can be found in various food sources and in human skin. Being an antioxidant, it is part of vitamin E’s responsibility to protect your body from damage-causing free radicals. If left alone, free radicals will cause the deterioration of cells leading to skin conditions mostly related to aging such as wrinkles, lines, and age spots.
Although vitamin E can be normally found on the skin, external factors causes an increase in free radicals, and thereby a decrease in your vitamin E levels. Therefore, with adequate vitamin E levels, your body is protected from these harmful free radicals.
Protection From Sun Damage
The sun is infamous for its emission of harmful UV rays. Aside from increasing the body’s free radical levels, UV rays are photo-carcinogenic, and can cause sunburns, which in turn causes long-term degenerative cell damage. With topical application of vitamin E, especially if used with vitamin C, you can counter all the harmful effects of UV rays since vitamin E reduces sunburn cells formation, fights free radicals, and offers photo-protection.
However, vitamin E itself does not work like a sunscreen. It simply counteracts and minimizes the cell damage caused by UV rays. This is also why you’ll find vitamin E in various skin products such as lotions, moisturizers, and sunscreens.
Moisturizing
Topical application of vitamin E is known to help the skin reduce water-loss by locking in moisture to the skin. Dryness and wrinkles is also one effect of sunlight exposure, and vitamin E is known to counteract these harmful UV ray effects. Also, unlike chemically-loaded lotions and moisturizers which can strip off the skin’s natural moisture in the long run, vitamin E will keep your healthy and natural skin oils intact while increasing the moisture content of the skin.
Vitamin E can be found in various food sources such as vegetable oils, nuts, and leafy green vegetables. Unprocessed food offers the healthiest and highest content of vitamin E but food derived from vitamin E sources can also provide an amount of vitamin E. Of course, there is also the option of using vitamin E supplements to meet your desired tocopherol levels.
Various skin products such as creams, lotions, and moisturizers, have also been incorporated with vitamin E. Topical application of vitamin E is good for treating sun-caused damage on specific parts of the skin.
