Vitamin E Oil For Lips: 5 Benefits For A Thirsty Pout & How To Use It

No worries, though: This beloved vitamin is easy to incorporate into your routine (you can find it in a host of lip balms, lip masks, and such). Below, find out exactly what makes vitamin E oil so stellar for chapped lips. 

Typically, manufacturers will extract vitamin E and dilute it with a carrier oil (jojoba, argan, and the like), but you can also find straight vitamin E oils on the market—pure options are quite thick in consistency, almost gel-like. Some people even cut open a vitamin E capsule and apply the goop directly to their skin, an age-old antidote for chapped lips and hyperpigmentation.  

Here's how the beloved vitamin can help your pout: 

"Vitamin E oil has humectant properties, which means it helps to hydrate, and emollient properties, which means it helps to support the skin barrier," says board-certified dermatologist Hadley King, M.D. "Emollients are saturated and unsaturated variable-length hydrocarbons, which help in skin barrier function, membrane fluidity, and cell signaling, leading to overall improvement in skin texture and appearance," she reminds us about the ingredient category. 

And let's not forget: The skin on your lips is especially delicate and is pretty susceptible to drying out. See, your lips do not contain oil glands, which means they do not have natural moisturizing capabilities. That's where oils like vitamin E come in handy, as they coat the area and supply the fragile skin with the moisture it needs. 

As if that weren't enough: These antioxidant properties can also provide soothing, anti-inflammatory effects. Specifically, vitamin E can calm irritated skin "by decreasing production of inflammatory mediators such as prostaglandins2 and interleukins," says dual board-certified dermatologist Brendan Camp, M.D.

"Moisturizing the skin helps it to look plumper and more hydrated," notes King. Because vitamin E oil acts as a humectant and emollient, it helps parched lips instantly rise with moisture (think of how you might run a dry sponge under water and watch it fill up with hydration), and it conditions lips and keeps them plush. 

Anecdotally, applying vitamin E topically can speed up wound healing—that's why many swear by popping open a capsule and rubbing it on areas of scarring or hyperpigmentation. For lips, this means it can help heal chapped areas and soothe uncomfortable lip cracks.  

Yes, your lips can experience sun damage, resulting in flakes and dryness. Thanks to vitamin E's antioxidant properties, the ingredient can provide photoprotection3 and, because of its soothing effects, help calm the skin post-sun. When paired with vitamin C, it makes one stellar duo: "Topically applied combinations of vitamin C and vitamin E have been shown to be more effective in preventing photodamage than either vitamin alone4," says King.

That being said, if you do have acne-prone skin, you might want to keep the oil within the lip border, so you don't clog any pores around the area. It's very uncommon, but topical vitamin E can also cause contact dermatitis for those with sensitive skin, so make sure to patch-test vitamin E oil before applying it directly to your face. Of course, these warnings only apply if you're using pure vitamin E oil on your lips. Lip balms that contain vitamin E likely include it at lower concentrations and add other soothing ingredients to the mix. 

Vitamin E oil is a star player for lips: It moisturizes, soothes irritation, protects from sun damage, and even has subtle plumping properties. Truly an ingredient that can do it all.