Library
All Topics
Vitamin E.
Commonly known as:
Vitamin E, Tocopherol.
I.N.C.I. list name:
Tocopherol.
Extraction process:
Extraction from vegetable oils (sunflower and soy oil).
Source:
Vegetable.
Botanical name:
Helianthus annuus (sunflower) and Glycine max [L.] Merr. (soy).
Family:
Asteraceae (sunflower) and Fabaceae (soybean).
Part of the plant extracted:
Sunflower vegetable oil (seeds) and soybean vegetable oil (sprouts).
Provenance, origin:
Europe.
Chemical characteristics:
Fat-soluble vitamin; Soluble in oil; Insoluble in water.
Characteristics:
Colloidal solution, emulsion, balm, oil, hand sanitiser, spray.
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%.
Function:
Antioxidant, masking agent, skin care agent.
Properties:
Antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, moisturizing, filmogenic, repairing, preservative.
Benefits:
All types of skin, particularly dry, dehydrated, mature or sun damaged skin; All types of hair.
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);
How to store
Keep in an airtight container, at room temperature, away from oxygen, heat and light.
Warnings and precautions for use
This ingredient is safe for use in cosmetics. Tocopherol isn’t an irritant or a sensitiser and doesn’t cause any skin reactions, so it’s well tolerated by the skin.
However, excessive amounts of tocopherol (>0.5%) can cause irritated skin reactions. It can also accelerate oxidation.
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.
