Formulating With Vitamin E

Formulating With Vitamin E

What is Vitamin E?

Vitamin E is one of the most famous and well used vitamins in cosmetics. Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin, and will often be listed on ingredients lists as tocopherol which is the most biologically available form of Vitamin E.

Vitamin E is a great antioxidant and free radical scavenger, and can help protect the skin from environmental damage and stress. It improves the skin's moisture barrier, helping keep it moisturised and healthy.

Vitamin E Benefits

Vitamin E is excellent for scar and stretch marks; you'll find it as a prominent ingredient in products like Bio Oil.

It is also used as an antioxidant to protect products from oxidation (note, not as a preservative). So while Vitamin E is naturally found in many carrier oils, if you want to extend the shelf life and prevent oxidation, you can actually add a small amount of Vitamin E to the bottle!

How to use Vitamin E

Vitamin E oil is typically used at 0.5% as an antioxidant in formulations but can be used at higher amounts for its skincare benefits. But don't go too high or it will make your product sticky. I recommend not going above 2%.

Solubility of Vitamin E

Vitamin E is oil soluble, and is easily incorporated into oil based products, as well as emulsions.

It can be solubilised into water based products with Olivem 300.

The pH of Vitamin E

As Vitamin E is an oil, it doesn't have specific pH considerations. Simply adjust the pH to skin levels of around 5, or to the specifications of other actives, if using.

What can you combine Vitamin E Oil with?

Vitamin E combines well with pretty much everything!

  • If it is a water based product/ingredient, you will need to use a solubiliser or emulsifier
  • It will dissolve seamlessly into oils and oil-based products, and is excellent in moisturisers and other emulsion-based products.

You can use it with all kinds of actives where applicable.

It works particularly well with ferulic acid, to stabilise Vitamin C (see this formula for more).

I actually can’t think of anything it doesn’t work with.

Kinds Of Products That Use Vitamin E

You will most commonly find Vitamin E in leave-on serums and moisturisers, although it can be found in almost any other kind of product.

I personally don’t tend to use Vitamin E in wash-off products such as body wash or shampoo, but you certainly can if you want to.

Formulations With Vitamin E

This nourishing body oil contains a beautiful combination of various plant oils for maximum moisturisation, healing and protective properties. The formula is based off of the Bio Oil Natural product.

Vitamin E-rich Body Oil 

Ingredients:

Method:

  1. Blend all the oils together in a beaker.
  2. Stir in the essential oils and bisabolol.
  3. Pour into a serum bottle and massage into clean warm skin after a shower.

If you are looking for moisturisers containing Vitamin E, then please click here.

Pretty much all of my emulsion formulations include Vitamin E!

Juliette van der Meer

Fascinated with all things Nature, Science, Chemistry and Cosmetic Formulation; slave to four cats; my sweet tooth fuels my sweet nature.

I like to constantly learn new things. I also love crime series, which is totally not a red flag :)

I graduated from Rhodes University with a Degree in Geology but later switched to Cosmetic Science and haven't looked back - proof that flipping your life around can lead to much happiness.

BSc Hons, Adv. Dip. Cosmetic Science