Vitamin E Oil On Your Eyelashes?

You may have seen the latest Instagram and Facebook posts about the benefits and uses of Vitamin E oil, and it is easy to say that they are very convincing. There are countless beauty gurus spreading the word about Vitamin E oil and how it is beneficial for promoting hair growth and skin care. But do you really know what Vitamin E oil is made of, or why it is beneficial? Let me explain!

Vitamin E oil is made of the chemical tocopheryl acetate. This chemical is actually not a natural chemical; it is made in labs by combining two other chemicals. When you combine tocopherol and acetate, you get tocopheryl acetate … fairly simple!³ Tocopherol is actually natural and can be taken from vegetables. Acetate, however, is not natural and comes from acetic acid. A simple household item that actually contains acetate is vinegar.⁴ If you have ever tasted vinegar, you know that it tastes VERY sour. The only reason manufacturers add acetate is so that the lotions and oils can have a long shelf-life; it is cheaper than trying to sell natural tocopherol because it lasts longer.⁵

Products containing Vitamin E oil, or tocopheryl acetate, can be sold either as a topical form or an oral form as pills. The topical form is actually much more useful than taking the pills. When you apply tocopheryl acetate onto your skin, it goes straight into the extracellular lipid matrix of your skin.² Because this chemical dissolves in lipids, or fat, it gets straight to work when its absorbed.² You probably also know that UV light from the sun is horrible for our skin; it causes skin damage and makes the skin look wrinkled and aged. Tocopheryl acetate absorbs the energy from UV light, protecting our skin and reducing the appearance of aging.²

Products that contain tocopheryl acetate are amazing to use for the skin and hair. For our hair, vitamin E encourages growth, reduces pre-mature greying, gives the effect of lustrous hair, and relieves split ends.¹ Products such as shampoos and conditioners containing tocopheryl acetate can be found very easily, but vitamin E oil can also be directly applied to the hair.¹

In the picture below, I am showing my sister’s eyelashes. She has had short, thin lashes her entire life. For about a year now, she has been using vitamin E oil on her lashes about once a week, every week. The lashes have grown thicker and healthier ever since!

Picture of my sister's eyelash growth after a year.

References:

¹ Med-Health.net. 2017. Vitamin E for Hair. http://www.med-health.net/Vitamin-E-For-Hair.html (Accessed March 10, 2017)

² Michels, A. J. 2012. Vitamin E and Skin Health. Oregon State University. http://lpi.oregonstate.edu/mic/health-disease/skin-health/vitamin-E (Accessed March 3, 2017)

³ National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Compound Database; CID: 86472, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/86472 (Accessed March 3, 2017)

⁴ Study.com. 2017. What is Acetic Acid? – Uses, Structure & Formula. http://study.com/academy/lesson/what-is-acetic-acid-uses-structure-formula.html (Accessed March 10, 2017)

⁵ Tocopheryl Acetate. Eye Serum. http://www.eyeserum.com/ingredients/tocopheryl-acetate/ (Accessed March 23, 2017)