Vitamin E for Scars: Effects and Benefits
Some scars are simply reminders of good stories from useful adventures or may even add character to your face or other places of your body. But many people remain a little insecure about their scars and want to diminish how severe they are, especially in the first years after obtaining them.
While there isn’t a miracle cure for scars that we know of yet, some skincare companies now claim that vitamin E can be used for scars – even to the point of removing scars entirely. Is this true, and what are the effects and benefits of using vitamin E for scars?
Let’s dive in.
What Does Vitamin E Do?
Vitamin E is technically not a single vitamin but a group of fat-soluble vitamins that have antioxidant effects and other benefits.
Antioxidants, in a nutshell, are special compounds that help support the skin’s overall health, texture, and appearance.
Vitamin E is a very potent antioxidant, meaning it can have a variety of benefits for skin health and tone. Vitamin E may help minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles, improve skin firmness, and offer skin brightening benefits.
Does Vitamin E Help Diminish Scars?
Yes and no.
Yes, vitamin E may help diminish the appearance of scars over time and even be beneficial to prevent the onset of additional scars or aging lines… but only because of its other effects on overall skin health.
No, vitamin E cannot all make scars vanish entirely, nor can it prevent you from getting scars if your skin is seriously damaged. Let's unpack this with a little more detail.
Essentially, vitamin E’s antioxidant effects have several major benefits on your skin, including:
- Resistance to discomfort or irritations is a key factor in scar creation and wrinkle creation as you get older.
- Improved hydration, which prevents your skin from drying out as easily. This is important because dry skin is more likely to accrue scars and wrinkles as it gets older.
- Improved skin barrier protects the skin from bacterial issues, excessive dryness, and damage. This is something that even probiotics can’t necessarily do, as probiotic supplements target the gut microbiome rather than the skin barrier’s biome.
Vitamin E does not directly:
- Eliminate scar tissue
- Replace scar tissue with young, perfect looking skin
In this way, vitamin E may be said to help with scars, but only in the sense that it’s a helpful skin ingredient overall.
So, Does Vitamin E Have Any Benefits for Scars?
Yes!
Scars on your skin form when that tissue heals improperly after being injured. Many individuals only accrue scars when their skin is damaged because of an accident, a sporting injury, or a similar event.
Scar tissue never really fully heals, although it does become a little less severe and fades into the background of your skin over time. That’s why scars look more severe or dramatic when you first get them, but they become a little less noticeable after several years.
Vitamin E skin benefits may also lead to scar improvements in a few key ways:
- Firstly, vitamin E helps your skin to become and stay moisturized. This improves your skin health over the long term so that any new skin cell turnover will be healthy. In other words, your skin’s scars won’t become worse thanks to vitamin E.
- As your skin ages, it may do so more gracefully because of the above-mentioned moisturization effects and the reduced irritations vitamin E provides. Wrinkles and scar deformation occur when your skin doesn't have enough vitamins and minerals.
As vitamin E is an essential vitamin for skin health, your skin may accrue fewer wrinkles over time, so your scar tissue also won't warp.
Again, Vitamin E can’t fix your scars totally. But, when combined with good skincare practices overall, it may lead to noticeable improvements or, at the very least, prevent scars from getting worse.
Hope Health’s Nourish serum contains vitamin E to help minimize the appearance of fine lines while improving overall skin tone and texture.
What You Should Use for Scars on Your Body and Face
What if you have one or more scars that are particularly severe or that you just can’t get over? In that case, you can use vitamin E and other skincare ingredients to lessen their severity and help accelerate how quickly they fade into the background of your skin.
You should use a facial cleanser, exfoliating agent, moisturizer, and face serum for starters. All of these skincare ingredients combined will:
- First, cleanse your skin and prevent the onset of acne by clearing away dirt from your skin's pores.
- Clean away dead skin cells, which can also lead to blemishes and prevent your skin from looking as radiant and useful as possible.
- Prevent your skin from drying out over time.
- Give your skin the vitamins and minerals it needs to perfectly regenerate itself each day and look and feel its best over time.
In other words, the best thing you can do for scar tissue is to maintain a healthy skincare routine at all times. Fortunately, this is very achievable with the right products, including vitamin E as a core ingredient.
Vitamin E, as an antioxidant, is a major part of skincare products like cleansers, moisturizers, and face serums. You’ll also find it combined with other ingredients like vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, and so on.
Combined, all of these ingredients and skincare products will keep your skin healthy and help your scars look as good as possible. Even if your scars can't be erased entirely, any scars you do have will look a lot better if your skin is healthier.
Summary
At the end of the day, scars are something we all have to live with as we collect them. They are reminders of old stories and injuries and are proof that we survived to the present. While vitamin E can be a great skincare ingredient, it can’t permanently alter your skin’s appearance.
It’s still a great ingredient to target, especially when it is part of holistic supplements that are great for your skin and body overall. Hope Health’s Immune + Organic Supplement is the ideal example, packed with non-GMO ingredients like Vitamin C, moringa leaf, and elderberry. With supplements like Hope Health’s optimal solutions, you’ll feel and look better than ever.
Hope Health’s skincare products incorporate ingredients like vitamin E, hyaluronic acid, and CoQ10 to help combat irritation, minimize fine lines, and lead to younger-looking skin. Try them today!
Sources:
The effects of topical vitamin E on the cosmetic appearance of scars | NCBI
Vitamin E | The Nutrition Source | Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health