Here at Susie Q Skin we have some very specific requirements for all our ingredients. Susie is adamant that not only are the oils raw, virgin, fair trade, and organic if possible, but she is also very particular about not using products that contain soy. Reducing inflammation and hydrating the body from the outside and the inside is the best way to have a healthier, younger looking body. This includes having beautiful, healthy skin.
Vitamin E is an ingredient that so many people recognize. We hear about it in so many skin care advertisements, we hear about it in supplements, and we hear about it in food. Vitamin E is a highly moisturizing, very effective anti-oxidant and one that our bodies definitely need. The key, though, is to ensure the source of your vitamin E. This is where the particular nature of Susie’s personality comes in to play.
In our minds, yes. There are many sources of vitamin e out there. You can get completely synthetic vitamin e. This specific version probably originally started from a plant at some point but has been so adulterated that it no longer has any real plant material in it.
You can get “vegetable” based vitamin e, which can come from any variety of plant. The most common plant used in “vegetable” based vitamin e’s is soy. I don’t personally like soy. There is plenty of research out there that will show both that soy is good for you, and that soy is bad for you. Over the last 15 years, all Susie has done is research ingredients and formulas and in her opinion, soy is bad. A lot of our specific research is around minimizing cancer in the body, and what you put on the outside is absorbed to the inside.
The other “vegetable” based vitamin e is sunflower based vitamin e. I am sure you can guess, but that is the vitamin E we choose to use here at Susie Q Skin. Not only is it sunflower based, but the sunflower oil is non-GMO, which is another thing we are particular about.
Vitamin E serves two purposes in skin care products. The first is that it helps your body fight free radicals, which means reducing inflammation, generating healthier looking skin, and reducing the signs of aging. The second is as a natural preservative for skin care products. It is not a broad-spectrum preservative, so water based/emulsified products cannot just have vitamin e as the only preservative, but in truly all-natural oil and butter based products like those sold by Susie Q Skin, vitamin e works great to keep oils and butters from oxidizing.
Vitamin E should only be used in small amounts for skincare. Vitamin E is a very heavy oil and, sometimes, can cause breakouts in certain individuals. There are so many beneficial oils and butters out there that have a wealth of skin benefits, adding a small amount of vitamin e to products is the ideal way to incorporate vitamin e. That way you get the healing benefits of all the oils and will not be as prone to breakouts. I will say that when I was 22 and took Accutane, I put straight up vitamin e oil on my lips. I thought they were going to completely shed right off my face they were so dry. It was great then, but I have so much more ingredient information now. If I were suffering from chapped lips now, the Rose Fig Cream is all I would use.
Vitamin E is most ideal when mixed with vitamin C. The combination of the two ingredients in one product can create a certain level of natural sun protection. We have blended these two in our KINDNESS Black Seed-C Creams and I love to use this when I’ve been out in the sun.
Vitamin E is excellent to help repair severely dry skin. Because vitamin e oil is such a heavy oil, and because it has such a high free racial profile, it works to penetrate that top layer of dead skin and work to bring healthier, more supple layers to the top.
One of the biggest requests I have from ladies is for a product that will help lighten or remove those pesky age/sun spots. As we age, and as we spend time in the sun, we can develop melanin issues. For some of us, these show up as small freckles, for others, they are what used to be called liver spots, more commonly now referred to as age or sun spots. Little brown patches of skin and they can show up anywhere! Vitamin E oil, especially when combined with a vitamin c, helps to fade those sun spots!