Vitamin E is like any other fat-soluble vitamin – excellent when consumed orally in the right dosages, but downright dangerous when the body accumulates too much. This is why supplementation with this vitamin may not be such a great idea. If you are pairing it up to help lessen or enhance the effects of some other supplement or medication, just monitor for signs of overdosing carefully, and follow the labeling dosage instructions. 

Now that we’ve talked about orally dosing with vitamin E, let’s get to the point of this particular post. We’re going to talk about using vitamin E topically on the skin for a variety of reasons. It’s actually an incredibly healing oil, and it also happens to be a great natural preservative as well (*we use it in several products for both reasons). 

And the best part of using vitamin E topically as an oil?  You can’t overdose on it! 

Vitamin E for Sunburn 

Vitamin E application for sunburned skin is, in my opinion, almost miraculous. It can really calm a sunburn overnight, and it is downright amazing what it can do as far as preventing peeling. It also happens to be a really potent antioxidant, so it has some pretty impressive (and relieving) anti-inflammatory effects traumatized skin. 

If you don’t want to apply the typically stickier textured, heavy oil, then you can definitely dilute it and then apply. But be sure you’re using an oil that is high in natural vitamin E content like Argan oil or Sweet Almond oil (found in our Intensive Moisture Cream). If you really want to go for it, pick an oil that has super high vitamin E content, and go with wheatgerm oil (although I can’t vouch for it’s skin friendliness otherwise). 

Looking for ways to help prevent sunburn? Read our blog about whether or not you can tan safely, and also about an unexpected benefit of cod liver oil (spoiler alert, it can help as an internal shield against sunburn some believe, in part due to high naturally occurring amounts of vitamins A and D). 

Radiation – Vitamin E’s Potential Use for Radiation Burns 

Speaking of sunburn, let’s talk about vitamin E’s potential use for those undergoing radiation therapy. There have been studies that show vitamin E helps to minimize damage and soothe skin that is exposed to radiation. This makes a lot of sense if you consider its protective and damage-reversing effects on sunburn since the two are fairly similar types of skin damage. 

Could This Mean Vitamin E has Topical Skin Cancer Protective Benefits? 

Could this also mean that vitamin E has anti-cancer potential when it comes to skin cancer? To me, it’s not out of the realm of possibility. If vitamin E has the ability to neutralize and soothe a sunburn, this may also mean it protects the skin from becoming damaged after a burn. 

This could have implications for cancer prevention in my opinion. Although I’m not sure any studies would be able to “prove” this theory out since there are so many factors as to why cancer develops or does not develop in any individual. 

This all-around protective property, in large part thought to be attributable to vitamin E’s ability to seek out and destroy free radicals (aka “antioxidant” capability), is the main reason we include this important vitamin in every single one of our skincare products. 

It’s Tocopherol T50, one of the best and most potent vitamin E forms that you can put on your skin. It’s a great addition to not only help prevent spoilage when a product does not use traditional chemical preservatives, but it’s also excellent for any skin type.