The Benefits of Vitamin E for Hair
Vitamin E has been used in dermatology since the 1950s to protect the skin against aging, inflammation and sun damage. Today, it is increasingly used in hair care products because of its strengthening and protective properties.
Vitamin E in a Few Words.
Vitamin E is a substance that is essential to the body, but it cannot produce it on its own. It is found in certain foods, such as nuts and seeds and fatty fish. Vitamin E is an antioxidant: it can limit the damage caused by free radicals to cells. The body stores vitamin E in the skin, both in the epidermis and in deeper layers such as the dermis, in the sebaceous glands. Vitamin E reaches the epidermis via the flow of sebum, an oily secretion that protects and lubricates the skin.
Note: Vitamin E is the name given to a family of oil-soluble antioxidants. There are in fact eight chemical forms of vitamin E, divided into two families: tocopherols (alpha, beta, delta, and gamma), the most abundant types of vitamin E in the human body, and tocotrienols (alpha, beta, delta, and gamma).
The Vitamin E Benefits for Hair.
Research shows that vitamin E for hair care purposes helps improve the overall health of the scalp and hair, both when ingested and when applied externally.
Vitamin E stimulates hair growth.
Hair loss is often caused by vitamin E deficiency. A 2010 trial suggests that the oral intake of supplements, containing vitamin E (specifically, tocotrienol supplements) help hair growth in people with alopecia. This result would be linked to the fluidity of the blood circulation increasing the supply of nutrients as well as the antioxidant properties of vitamin E.
Vitamin E slows down the aging of capillary fibers and protects them.
Antioxidant, vitamin E protects the hair from external aggressions (pollution, sun, cigarettes…) which generate an overproduction of free radicals. This phenomenon called oxidative stress is a factor linked to the deterioration of hair fibers, the appearance of white hair or hair loss. Products with vitamin E for hair care are able to neutralize free radicals to prevent them from harming the hair and to preserve a beautiful quality of hair as long as possible.
Vitamin E restores shine to devitalized hair.
For dry and dull hair, vitamin E helps the hair fiber to establish a thin film to protect it and preserve its hydration. Thanks to this action, it will also restore shine to the hair.
How to Use Vitamin E for Your Hair?
If you do not consume enough vitamin E in your diet, there are food supplements rich in vitamin E. Nevertheless, you can also apply this compound directly on your scalp, after the shower, but it must always be diluted in a carrier oil! Thus, 2 to 3 drops of vitamin E in vegetable oil of coconut can be a care of choice to stimulate the growth of hair. On the other hand, some hair care products (shampoos, masks, conditioners) already contain vitamin E, most often to protect the formulas from oxidation but also sometimes as an active ingredient.
Vitamin E is a potential scalp irritant for those with sensitive scalps. It should be used every other day to avoid irritation. As always, we recommend performing a skin tolerance test before applying vitamin E shampoo or other hair care products to your entire scalp. Apply a small amount of the treatment or your vitamin E + vegetable oil mixture to the crook of your elbow and wait 24 hours to see if there is any reaction.
Lim Ai Beoy, Effects of Tocotrienol Supplementation on Hair Growth in Human Volunteers, Trop Life Sci Res. (2010)