Library
All Topics
Vitamin E
Chemical characteristics:
Fat-soluble vitamin; Soluble in oil; Insoluble in water.
Characteristics:
Colloidal solution, emulsion, balm, oil, hydroalcoholic solution, aerosol.
Benefits:
All types of skin, particularly dry, dehydrated, mature or sun damaged skin; All types of hair.
Provenance, origin:
Europe.
Commonly known as:
Vitamin E, Tocopherol.
Dosage required in cosmetic products:
From 0.02 to 0.3%; As a preservative: 0.02 to 0.2%; As an active: 0.1 to 0.5%.
Part of the plant extracted:
Sunflower vegetable oil (seeds) and soybean vegetable oil (sprouts).
Properties:
Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, filmogenic, repairing, preservative.
Source:
Vegetable.
Family:
Asteraceae (sunflower) and Fabaceae (soybean).
Botanical name:
Helianthus annuus (sunflower) and Glycine max [L.] Merr. (soy).
Function:
Antioxidant, masking agent, skin care agent.
Extraction process:
Extraction from vegetable oils (sunflower and soy oil).
I.N.C.I. list name:
Tocopherol.
Details
Use
Face care (shaving oil, scrubs, masks, purifying Vitamin E serum, Vitamin E cream, make-up remover, eye gels, beard shampoos, lip balms);
Body care (body balm/cream/milk, scrubs, massage oil, after-sun care, shower gel);
Hair care (shampoo, conditioner);
Hygiene (deodorants);
Preservation
Store Vitamin E care products in a tightly closed container at room temperature, away from oxygen, heat and light.
Contra-Indications and Precautions
This ingredient is safe when used in cosmetics. Vitamin E is not an irritant or sensitizer, and has no skin effects. It is therefore well tolerated by the skin.
However, too high doses of tocopherol (>0.5%) can cause irritation or sensitization of the skin. It can also accelerate the oxidation process.
Find out more
Vitamin E is an organic substance that the body fundamentally needs for its growth and functioning. It was identified for the first time in 1922. Herbert Evans and Katharine Bishop found that female rats on a low-fat diet could become pregnant, but no fetus was developed. However, pregnancies were achieved when the diet was supplemented with lettuce leaves or wheat germ. Later, in 1924, Bennett Sure showed that a compound removed from a diet induced sterility in male rats. There are eight natural forms of vitamin E: 4 tocopherol and 4 tocotrienols, of which the most active form is alpha-tocopherol and the most abundant in the diet is gamma-tocopherol. These molecules are present in large quantities in vegetable oils. They act essentially as antioxidants against free radicals produced in particular by the oxidation of fatty acids. Vitamin E is also called tocopherol, from the Greek tokos: offspring and pherein: to carry.
