Just about everyone knows about Vitamin E. I mistakenly believed that the beautiful tissue oil my mother uses worked so well because it was a pure Vitamin E oil. It is not.
Vitamin E is an oil-soluble antioxidant. It has an amber colour and is a very sticky oil. Pure Vitamin E is therefore not fit for direct application to the skin.
Regarding Vitamin E and its function as an antioxidant, this is relevant to your skin but also in oils.
It protects our skin from the damage caused by excess free radicals (aka oxidative stress) and it slows down the oxidation of oils to prevent rancidity. This makes it a powerful ingredient to include in skincare formulations. It is not the only antioxidant used for this purpose, but it is certainly one of the most common. Formulabotanica has an in-depth article that explains how that all works. In short, some ingredients are prone to oxidation, caused by heat, light, metal ions and oxygen exposure, which makes them unstable and therefore reduces their shelf life.
The article goes into more details around some common Primary and Secondary antioxidants.
Depending on the product, it’s ingredients and purpose, a formulator may use one or a combination of antioxidants to protect the oil in their formulation from oxidising.
With that said, many antioxidants used in skincare also act on our skin. This is one of the reasons why Vitamin E is so popular, it acts in two ways and therefore eliminates the need to double up on these ingredients, leaving more “room” for other actives and “goody” ingredients.
Secondary antioxidants like Chelating agents binds to metal ions which can cause oxidation and is well placed for formulations with a high percentage of water. Carotenoids (another much less common secondary antioxidant) depending on the product may be best placed.
When we are born, our antioxidant production is at a maximum whereas ROS (Reactive Oxygen species) production is very low. As we age, this changes. ROS is an important part of cell regeneration, however, as we age and with pollution around us, the ROS production, and the reduced antioxidant production causes damage to our skin. It is therefore important to wear skincare that will protect you from the elements.
Wear sunscreen. It is such a small thing that makes such a big difference. We won’t be going into the benefits of sunscreen here, however, I’m sure you have a voice inside you saying “yes, that is a good idea” right now.
The point is, buying a product specifically because it promotes its Vitamin E content does not mean you are getting more bang for your buck. You are better off looking at what else it contains as an antioxidant (like Vitamin E) with any product containing oil is a given (from a good manufacturing practice perspective)
Look for the actives in the product and then do an internet search to the value that an active brings to your skincare routine.