All about Vitamin E: discover why it is essential

You can read everything you want to know about vitamin E in this blog article.

What is it, what does it do, and why do I want it?

I’ll explain it to you in great detail.

What is vitamin E?

Vitamin E is, as you have surely understood by now, a vitamin. It is a fat-soluble vitamin, to be precise. This means it is a vitamin that is best absorbed by the body when fat or oil is also present.

They literally dissolve in ‘fat’. This is handy, because vitamin E is found in relatively high amounts in fat-rich products such as vegetable oils, nuts, and seeds. Incidentally, our bodies do not produce vitamin E themselves. So, you only get it through your diet.

The most active component in vitamin E is α-tocopherol, which is why it is also called “tocopherol”. You will see vitamin E listed under this name on the ingredient lists of skincare products.

→ Did you know that vitamin E is the most common vitamin in your skin? It sure is. In particular, the skin layer with dead skin cells contains a relatively large amount of vitamin E. The vitamin enters the sebum via our body, and thus reaches the upper skin layer.

What contains vitamin E?

As I already wrote, our body does not produce vitamin E itself, so we have to get it in another way, namely through our diet.

Of course, you can also take vitamin E supplements, but a vitamin E deficiency is very rare in the Netherlands, so supplementation is often unnecessary. You can get all the vitamin E you need from your diet. Vegetable oils and plant-based products in particular are incredibly rich in vitamin E.

Some examples:

• leafy greens
• sunflower oil
• nuts
• seeds
• grains

Animal products contain relatively little vitamin E.

How much vitamin E do you need daily?

Women generally need less vitamin E than men.

The advice for adult women over 18 is to get 11 milligrams of vitamin E daily from food. For adult men over 18, this is 13 milligrams of vitamin E per day.

If you eat a healthy and varied diet, you can assume you are getting enough vitamin E. Dietary supplements are then unnecessary.

So, make sure you regularly eat vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, vegetables, and grains. These are excellent sources of vitamin E.

Do you suspect a vitamin E deficiency?

If your diet isn’t great, or if you’re struggling with low immunity or illness, you might wonder if you have a vitamin E deficiency.

A deficiency occurs when you don’t meet the recommended daily amount of vitamin E over the long term. Fortunately, a (serious) vitamin E deficiency is very rare.

If you still suspect a deficiency, it’s best to consult your GP or a dietician. They can perform a blood test and check if you’re getting enough vitamins and minerals.

Too much vitamin E

Instead of a deficiency, there is such a thing as a vitamin surplus. However, it is not possible to get too much vitamin E through your diet, but it is possible through dietary supplements.

If you take vitamin E supplements (on the advice of a doctor or dietician), it is important to stick to the maximum safe dose. So far, however, few side effects are known when you build up a surplus.

It is known, however, that too much vitamin E in people with a vitamin K deficiency and people taking blood thinners can lead to the inhibition of blood clotting. So, keep that vitamin E intake nicely balanced.

But if we already get enough vitamin E through our food, isn’t adding vitamin E to skincare products actually redundant?

No, definitely not. I’ll tell you why right now.

The reason cosmetic brands add vitamin E to their products is not so much for health.

After all, you absorb very little vitamin E through your skin, so eating it is a better option. No, the reason your skin benefits so much from a product enriched with vitamin E is because of its protective and strong anti-oxidative effect. Moreover, it is also an excellent preservative.

In natural products without chemical additives (hello, YIONN!), it is therefore practically indispensable.

→ You can find Vitamin E in the nourishing YIONN aftershave balm Náinn and the entire line of YIONN shaving creams: cream shave Rosir, cream shave Mandarín, cream shave Án, and the limited edition cream shave Summer Fruits (yum, with mango, raspberry, and orange).

So, vitamin E ensures that your beauty products stay shelf-stable without the need for chemical stuff. All YIONN products are free from chemical additives, so it is an essential ingredient for us.

I have also added vitamin E to our aftershave balm and shaving creams because it protects the skin against harmful external influences. And that is incredibly valuable if you shave, wax, or epilate regularly. Your skin simply needs that little bit of extra protection.

What exactly does vitamin E do in skincare products then?

Vitamin E plays an essential role in protecting your body against harmful external influences. It acts as an antioxidant that protects you against free radicals.

These are essential substances that combat viruses and infections. Free radicals are aggressive particles that attack your cells, tissues, and bloodstream, which leads to accelerated skin aging, among other things.

In addition, vitamin E also strengthens your skin’s barrier function. This significantly reduces the number of free radicals, but it also ensures that UV radiation can cause less damage and that you consequently burn less quickly in the sun.

Sounds good, right? Furthermore, vitamin E allows other skincare products to penetrate deeper into your skin, so their substances remain active for longer. What a team player!

Always test before you apply

Vitamin E is perfect for everyone! At least, if you’re not allergic to it. High standards are set for beauty products, and cosmetic brands can’t just put anything on the market.

Still, it has happened that people had a mass allergic reaction to a certain product. This has also occurred with vitamin E. In such cases, it turned out that the vitamin E was not completely pure.

So, always test the cream on a small patch of skin first when you try a new product or open a new package.

Natural or synthetic: is there a difference?

In skincare products, you can come across two types of vitamin E: natural and synthetic vitamin E.

And there is indeed a difference between the two. Synthetic vitamin E generally has a bit less effect (which is why YIONN only uses natural vitamin E).

This difference doesn’t apply to all vitamins, by the way. For instance, there seems to be little difference between natural and synthetic vitamin C.

Are you curious about the effects of the other natural ingredients you can find in our products?

I’ll explain them all for you one by one on the YIONN blog. For example, I previously wrote an article about camphor and castor oil. Two magical substances you definitely want to add to your beauty routine!

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