Antioxidants are critical ingredients in making skin look younger and healthier. Vitamin E, a component of wheat, corn, nuts and green vegetables, is one of the most readily available antioxidants. Free radicals, which are unstable cells in the body, play a role in aging, according to the National Institutes of Health. When applied to the skin as an oil, vitamin E's antioxidant properties neutralize these rogue cells, protecting the skin and body from further damage.
Anti-aging
Free radicals destroy the skin's elasticity, causing wrinkles and sag. Vitamin E oil is absorbed by the skin, nourishing the connective tissue below the skin and eliminating the rogue cells. Dr. Brian Abelson writes that healthier connective tissue generates elastins and collagen, leading to firmer, tighter skin without wrinkles.
Acne
The Acne Resource Center reports that vitamin E assists the skin in its recovery from acne scarring and reduces the appearance of scars on previously infected skin. Vitamin E also stabilizes the body's retinol, or vitamin A, level and regulates it throughout the body. Low levels of retinol can lead to increased acne production and the build up of acne scarring.
Healing burns
Vitamin E helps the skin heal from burns. The vitamin is given orally or intravenously to burn victims to stimulate cell growth, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. When a new layer of skin forms, vitamin E oil can be applied topically to strengthen skin cells and the underlying tissues.
Repairing sun damage
DoctorYourself.com, a natural medicine and healing website, recommends vitamin E oil as a healer for sun-damaged skin. Puncturing a vitamin E capsule and applying the oil to the skin once or twice daily provides vital nutrition to the burned area and aides the health process. For larger-scale sunburns, puncture multiple capsules and supplement the contents with pure olive oil. The olive oil acts as a moisturizer and vehicle to spread the vitamin E across the affected area.
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