Vitamin E, called tocopherol on the label, is found in many cosmetics containing oils and fats. Most people know it as something that is good for the skin. And that is true. But most makers add it for another reason: to protect their oils. Below, you will read what it does in your formulation, where and when to add it, how much you need, and which oils benefit most from it.
What is vitamin E in cosmetics?
Vitamin E is an antioxidant. This is a substance that prevents other substances from reacting with oxygen. On the ingredients list, it is called tocopherol, and the official INCI name is Tocopherol.
You do not buy it as a powder or crystal, but as a clear, reddish-brown, fairly viscous oil. Tocopherol is usually supplied in a carrier oil, sunflower oil in our case. This makes it easier to measure.
Our vitamin E consists of at least 70 percent mixed tocopherols, along with a maximum of 30 percent sunflower oil. Tocopherol occurs in four variants: alpha, beta, gamma, and delta. In our product, gamma is the largest component at 50 to 70 percent, followed by delta at 10 to 30 percent. This distribution is typical of tocopherol obtained from plants.
Why do you add vitamin E to oil?
You add vitamin E to your oil to counteract oxidation. Oxidation is what happens when fats slowly react with oxygen from the air. It eventually makes your oil go rancid.
You notice that your oil has gone rancid by its smell first. An oil that smells sharp or stale when it previously smelled neutral or nutty is oxidizing. You will often then see its color change as well.
Two factors determine how quickly that oxidation occurs. The first is where you store your oil: light and heat accelerate the reaction with oxygen, so a bottle in the sun or next to a radiator goes rancid faster. The second is the oil itself. The more polyunsaturated fatty acids it contains, the more sensitive it is. That is why rosehip oil goes rancid much sooner than coconut oil, even if you store them next to each other in the same cupboard.
An antioxidant intervenes in this process. Tocopherol intercepts the reaction before it can continue, so your oil stays fresh longer. That is why it is used in so many formulations: it is one of the easiest ways to keep your oil fresh for longer.
What do you add vitamin E to?
Anywhere oil, butter, or wax makes up a large part of your formula. Three examples:
- Face, body and hair oils. The most obvious place. Your product is almost entirely oil here, so there's also the most to protect.
- Balms, ointments and sticks. Everything based on oils, butters and waxes, without water. The oils and butters are the sensitive part here, because they're fats and react with oxygen. Waxes such as beeswax and candelilla wax have a different structure and are inherently much more stable.
- The oil phase of creams and lotions. In an emulsion, tocopherol moves into the fat because it dissolves there. It doesn't dissolve in water, so it won't end up there either. In other words, you protect precisely the part of your cream that is susceptible.
If you're making something containing almost no oil or fat, such as a watery toner or a clear gel, an antioxidant for fats has little to protect. There's nothing wrong with that; it's simply a different kind of product. Note: that doesn't mean your product needs nothing. If it contains water, you need a preservative, and that's something different from an antioxidant.
When do you add it during the process?
At the end, once your mixture has cooled. Tocopherol doesn't tolerate heat well.
If you melt your butters and waxes, or heat your oils to mix everything smoothly, let your pan cool down first before adding the vitamin E. If you add it earlier, some of its effectiveness will be lost along the way, and you'll be paying for protection that isn't fully in your jar anymore when you fill it.
Stir the vitamin E in thoroughly. It's a viscous oil, so it doesn't distribute itself. If some remains stuck in a corner, it will be in your batch but perhaps not everywhere you want it to be.
How much vitamin E should you add?
Not much. In cosmetics, the usual guideline is 0.2 to 1 percent of your product's total weight. So we're talking grams per kilo, not splashes.
Where you fall within that range depends on what you're adding it for:
- To protect your oils from going rancid: 0.2 to 0.5 percent. This is the most common reason to use vitamin E, and you don't need much for that purpose.
- As a skin-conditioning ingredient: 0.5 to 1 percent. If you want to mention that on your packaging or in your online shop, you need to be able to substantiate the claim. These are the European rules for cosmetic claims, and they apply to everyone.
Calculation example
If you are working with 1 kilogram of finished product, 0.5 percent equals 5 grams of vitamin E. For 100 grams of finished product, that is 0.5 grams. A precision scale that weighs to 0.01 grams is not a luxury here but simply useful: with small batches, you are talking about tenths of grams, and you cannot estimate that.
Keep this in mind: a dosage recommendation always applies to one specific product. Not all vitamin E is equally strong.
An example. You are making a facial oil with rosehip oil, and your recipe calls for a certain amount of pure tocopherol. Our product contains at least 70 percent tocopherol, so you need approximately one and a half times as much as you would if you were calculating with pure tocopherol. If you come across a bottle containing 50 percent, you need twice as much for the same amount of active ingredient. The same protection, a different amount from the bottle.
More is not better
Using a higher dosage gives you little extra benefit but does cost money. There are also indications that an antioxidant at very high concentrations can actually do the opposite and accelerate oxidation. And practically speaking: with a reddish-brown oil like this, a high dosage can change the color of your finished product, and you will see that in the jar.
Always check the documentation for your own bottle
These percentages are a rule of thumb for the industry, not a prescription for one specific product. The dosage recommendation on the specification sheet that comes with your bottle therefore always takes precedence over an internet figure.
Which oils need vitamin E the most?
Oils with a high content of polyunsaturated fatty acids. They react with oxygen the fastest, so that is also where you notice the difference most quickly.
- Rosehip seed oil, also known as rosehip oil. The best-known example in the industry. It is very high in unsaturated fatty acids, making it one of the most oxidation-sensitive carrier oils available.
- Hemp seed oil. Also rich in polyunsaturated fats, and therefore quickly sensitive to air.
- Grapeseed oil. Light, high in linoleic acid, and widely used in facial products.
On the other hand, there is jojoba. It is actually not an oil but a liquid wax, which makes it very stable. You do not need to add much to it. The same largely applies to highly saturated fats such as coconut oil: they naturally stay good for a long time.
Frequently asked questions
What do alpha, beta, gamma, and delta tocopherol mean?
Those are the four variants in which tocopherol occurs in nature. So there are not four different substances: it is one substance of which nature produces four closely related versions, and in plants they usually occur alongside one another.
Which variant is the largest depends on the plant the tocopherol comes from. In our case, it is gamma, at 50 to 70 percent, followed by delta at 10 to 30 percent. That distribution is typical of tocopherol from a plant source, which is why specification sheets often use the term "natural mixed tocopherols".
Alpha is the variant you encounter in the food industry. When a supplement or nutrition table refers to vitamin E, it means alpha. That is a different story from cosmetics, where you use the substance to protect your oils, not to give someone vitamins.
For your label, it makes no difference. All four fall under the same INCI name, Tocopherol. So you do not need to specify which variants are included.
How do you store vitamin E yourself?
Cool, dark, dry, and tightly sealed. That applies to every oil, but it matters even more here.
Vitamin E is an antioxidant, which means it readily reacts with its surroundings. That very property makes it useful in your formula and vulnerable in the cupboard. If you store it incorrectly, some of its effectiveness will already be gone before you can use it.
- Keep it out of the light. Light breaks down vitamin E, so store it in a dark cupboard, out of sight and not on the workbench or in the sun.
- Put the cap back on immediately. Oxygen is the problem here. The less time the bottle is left open, the better.
- Store it in a cool place at a steady temperature. Your supplier's specification sheet states which temperature should be maintained. The colder you store it, the more viscous the oil becomes, so measuring it out requires a little more patience.
- Keep water and condensation out. Moisture in the bottle does the quality no good.
Is vitamin E a preservative?
No, and that difference is important. An antioxidant protects the fats in your formula from oxygen. A preservative protects your product from microorganisms.
Vitamin E does nothing against bacteria, yeasts, and fungi. If your product contains water, you also need a preservative. If your product consists only of oils, butters, and waxes, you do not: without water, microorganisms have little to work with.
Does vitamin E extend the shelf life of my product?
It can extend the shelf life. Exactly how much depends on your recipe, your packaging, and how you store it.
If you want to put a longer shelf life on your label, have a shelf-life or stability test carried out on your own finished product. Adding vitamin E is not proof in itself. It takes some effort, but you get something in return: with such a test, you know exactly how long your finished product will last.
Does vitamin E help with oil that has already gone rancid?
No. Tocopherol works proactively, not retroactively.
You cannot reverse what has already oxidized, and the odor will not disappear either. So add it to a fresh batch. If you are unsure about an oil that has been sitting for a while, it is better not to use it. Otherwise, you will put your time and other raw materials into it and end up with a batch you are not happy with.
Is natural vitamin E better than synthetic vitamin E?
For most makers, the difference lies in the origin and in what you can tell your customers about it.
Natural tocopherol is extracted from plant oils and therefore consists of a mixture of the four variants. The synthetic variant is made in a laboratory and consists of one form, alpha. You can often tell from the composition on the specification sheet which one you are dealing with.
If you work with a natural or plant-based brand story, the natural variant is the logical choice. Not because the synthetic one is unsafe, but because you want to be able to tell your customers where your ingredients come from.
Can I add vitamin E to oil I have just bought to keep it fresh for longer?
We advise against that, tempting as it may be. It changes the composition of a raw material, while the certificate of analysis and product specification you receive from us describe the oil as we delivered it.
If you maintain a product information file, you will quickly have a discrepancy on your hands that is difficult to explain during an inspection. It is better to include it in your own formulation. That way, you properly account for it in your ingredient list and documentation.
The documentation is always included
With our vitamin E oil, and with every other raw material you order from us, you receive a certificate of analysis (COA), a safety data sheet (SDS), and a product specification for each batch. You can find them in your customer account.