Nourish, Soften and Enhance Your Hair with Vitamin E Oil

How do I apply vitamin E oil to my hair? This is a question I’ve received a few times. There are several ways you can get the benefits of vitamin E oil for your hair. 

With the recipes shared below, you can improve the look of dry and dull locks and achieve soft and bouncy hair with vitamin E oil.

What is Vitamin E Oil?

Vitamin E oil is an active ingredient in many skin and hair care products for good reason.

It is a potent and versatile healing oil that’s rich in antioxidants. Vitamin E oil can be utilized for a significant number of hair and skin issues and is well known for providing nourishing benefits.

With its ability to enhance soft, shiny, and lustrous strands, vitamin E oil has become of the top ingredients for use in natural hair care.

Vitamin E oil is derived from plant oils and falls under the family of tocopherols (TCP) and tocotrienols. 

If you take a look at the ingredient listing on any number of hair care products you have, it’s likely you will see vitamin E oil listed.

Vitamin E oil stabilizes products and helps elongate the shelf life of formulations. Vitamin E oil can also be listed as alpha-tocopherol on products.

Vitamin E oil has a thick and sticky consistency, which can be annoying to work with but don’t let this deter you.

It can easily be thinned down with suitable complementary oil and remains one of the best natural oils for hair.

9 Benefits of Vitamin E Oil for Hair

1. Softens Hair

Vitamin E oil is a strong antioxidant that helps nourish and soften the hair.

A 2010 trial also indicated the antioxidant properties in vitamin E oil help reduce oxidative stress on the scalp.

Oxidative stress can lead to hair loss if not addressed ASAP. When using vitamin E oil for a scalp massage, use this scalp massage method for the best results.

2. Increases Scalp Circulation

Vitamin E oil increases circulation to the scalp area, which improves overall hair health. I use 5 – 10 drops of vitamin E oil in over 80% of my hair recipes. 

Vitamin E oil is also one of the ingredients in Arewa Hair Styling Oil. Use vitamin E oil in your scalp massage oil to get the benefits for scalp circulation. 

3. Provides Scalp Nourishment

Vitamin E oil’s antioxidant properties help combat oxidative stress on the scalp which leads to a healthier environment for healthy hair growth.

4. Improves Hair Texture and Shine

Vitamin E oil enhances the quality and texture of the hair rendering it shinier over long-term use. It’s one of the best treatments for dry and dull hair.

Vitamin E oil smooths down the cuticles and controls frizz. It forms a protective barrier on hair and improves the shine factor. 

With this incorporated into your hair treatments, hair loss is reduced. You can’t really go wrong with oil in your hair care regimen.

5. May Help With Greying Hair

Some people say it helps them with greying hair but I prefer mustard seed oil and sesame seed oil for greying hair.

6. Guards Against Split Ends

Vitamin E oil may protect the ends of the hair and guard against split ends as it nourishes the hair shaft and improves elasticity.

Vitamin E oil can also coat and protect already split ends while you’re trying to come to terms with trimming it off bit by bit.

7. Mild Preservative

Due to its powerful antioxidant properties, vitamin E oil can act as a mild preservative in your DIY formulations.

8. UV Protection

Regular use of Vitamin E oil may provide an added layer of protection against damage from UV radiation.

9. Natural Emollient for Increased Moisture

Vitamin E oil is a natural emollient. It can help lock in moisture and prevent moisture from evaporating from porous hair.

Can Vitamin E Oil Be Applied Directly on Hair?

There’s nothing wrong with applying vitamin E oil directly to your hair.

However, the consistency of vitamin E oil is quite thick and viscous. It’s difficult to work with it in pure form. 

For a more efficient process, it’s better to dilute vitamin E oil with another oil or a suitable product.

I’ve shared some great vitamin E oil recipes for hair below as well as other oils you can use to dilute pure vitamin E oil. 

Can Vitamin E Oil Make Hair Grow?

Vitamin E oil can make hair grow when included as a complementary product in your other hair growth oil recipes.

On its own, it can help eliminate issues that lead to hair loss but for hair growth, combine it with other oils targeted for hair growth.

How Do I Apply Vitamin E Oil to Hair?

Vitamin E Sealing Oil Recipe

• Mix 5 drops of vitamin E oil with 1 tablespoon each of avocado oil, sweet almond oil, and marula oil.
• Apply to the length of my hair before styling.

There are many other oils you can use in this recipe such as mafura oil, crambe oil, babassu oil, castor oil, and moringa oil.

Vitamin E Oil Deep Conditioning Recipe

As part of your deep conditioning process, add 5 – 10 drops of vitamin E oil into your deep conditioning mix before applying it to your hair.

When used this way, your hair will be so soft and shiny afterward. Ensure you apply heat as well

Which Foods Contains Vitamin E?

Fortunately, there are a lot of foods that contain vitamin E so you won’t have an issue with deficiency.

Some of the top vitamin E food sources include:-

• Green leafy vegetables such as spinach, rocket leaves, kale, collards, and kale
• Unsalted almonds
• Sunflower seeds
• Hazelnuts
• Fruits such as avocado, papaya, and kiwi
• Mango
• Pine nuts
• Palm oil
• Sweet potato
• Tomatoes

Do not take vitamin E oil supplements unless prescribed by a doctor. You should get all the vitamin E you need via food. 

What is the Best Vitamin E Oil for Hair?

It’s important to go for the purest form of vitamin E, which can be determined by the IU (international unit) label on the bottle.

The IU can be as low as 200 or as high as 90, 000. While vitamin E oil with 35,000 – 50,000 IU is fine, I use vitamin E oil with IU starting from 70,000.

The most popular brands of vitamin E oil with over 70,000 IU include:-

• Sundown Naturals Vitamin E Oil – 70,000 IU
• Puritan’s Pride Vitamin E Oil – 70,000 IU
• Leven Rose Vitamin E Oil – 75,000 IU
• Tropical Holistic Vitamin E Oil – 75,000 IU
• Rejuve Naturals Vitamin E Oil – 85,000 IU

Though these bottles may be small, a little goes a long way and can last for quite some time.

You can also buy it in capsule form to puncture and extract the oil but this sounds like a lot of work if you have long hair.

Is Vitamin E Oil Good for Eyebrows?

Yes, it is. You can use vitamin E oil to grow out your eyebrows and eyelashes. An earlier article shared a great recipe for achieving this with just three ingredients.

Read Grow Thick Luscious Eyebrows & Eyelashes Naturally with this Castor Oil, Vitamin E & Aloe Vera Serum.

Other Vitamin E Oils

Some other natural oils with high vitamin E content include:-

• Wheat germ oil (highest concentration)
• Sunflower oil
• Hazelnut oil
• Walnut oil
• Peanut oil
• Olive oil
• Poppyseed oil

Healthy Hair Care Resource Recommendation

Want to learn about what you can do with natural oils for hair?

Have a look at How to Grow Hair Healthy & Long with Natural Oils: Choose the Right Oil & Learn How to Use Them for Optimal Health & Length.

Vitamin E Oil Hair Products

A significant amount of products for curly hair include vitamin E oil in their recipes. Vitamin E oil is usually labeled as tocopherols on products.

• Arewa Hair Styling Oil
  OGX Healing + Vitamin E Shampoo and Conditioner
• Majestic Pure Cosmeceuticals Argan Oil Restorative Shampoo and Conditioner
• DERMA E Restoring Shampoo Volume & Shine
• Briogeo Farewell Frizz Smoothing Shampoo
• Urban Hydration Castor Oil Mask Leave-in Conditioner
• Giovanni 2chic Ultra-Moist Conditioner Avocado & Olive Oil

Abi is a curly hair expert who delved into the world of natural oils after severe hair loss issues. Through her research, study, and testing, she was able to regrow her bald spots & a healthy head of hair. She is the founder of Healthy Natural Hair Products & Ade Ori Hair Care, and the author of the highly-rated Healthy Hair Care Series. She continues to study hair science, Ayurveda, and natural and healthy solutions for hair and skin. Learn more about our Editorial Guidelines…