Natural vitamin E

Tocopherol, natural vitamin E, is obtained from vegetable oils. In skincare it plays a double role, which is the interesting thing about it: it acts on the skin and protects the product at the same time.

Every formula built on botanical oils has one awkward enemy — oxidation. The unsaturated fatty acids that make rare oils valuable are also what turns rancid in air. Vitamin E stands in the way of that process, which is why it goes into almost every oil serum or balm. Without it, an oil composition would have a markedly shorter life.

The second role is on the skin. Vitamin E is a fat-soluble antioxidant, so it sits comfortably with the lipid layer at the skin's surface and rounds out the conditioning composition. It works best paired with vitamin C: the two restore one another, so the pair lasts longer than either alone.

On a label it appears as Tocopherol, sometimes as Tocopheryl acetate. The first is the free form, which acts straight away; the second is a more stable ester that must first be split in the skin. Neither is better or worse — each suits a different formula.

We use vitamin E in three products: the No1. Two Phase Cleanser and both finishing No4. serums, day and night. In the day serum it accompanies coenzyme Q10; at night, the vitamin C ester and gamma oryzanol. It is not the ingredient a product is bought for, but it is one of those without which the others would not last.