Using Vitamin E

[Candybee]

I did a search and found info on using vitamin E but not the info I am looking for. I want to know how many "I.U.s" of vitamin E to use per 1lb of soap?

Anyone have an answer to this? Maybe I'm doing the search wrong.

[itsmejeffd]

I don't know what it equals in I.U.'s but I use 1/10 oz of T-70 Tocopherol per lb of oils. You have to use more than that if you're using T-50.

[Candybee]

I guess what I am looking for is how many I.U.s of vitamin E in say a 4 oz bar of soap will have an effect on your skin when you wash with it?

Injesting vitimins is one thing, washing with it is a whole different matter. Maybe it doesn't matter cause you end up rinsing off anyway. But it seems to me that enough vitamin E in your soap will help your skin look younger or reduce wrinkles. Or so that is what its supposed to help your skin with.

So how much in your soap would make a difference?

[Scent Cellar]

I put Vitamin E in all my soap batches.

[blazerina]

Don't pin me down on this, but far as I know, there are NO official studies or recommendations for which grade or intensity of International Units to use in a topical application. I would say using the highest that you can get would give you the most benefits. But that's not to say that any less does nothing. I think it's just like anything else... some Dead Sea Salt is good to have in a scrub... a bit more- even better... but at some point it does nothing more than affect consistency and you aren't getting bookku benefits from the extra.

If you are asking in relation to the extended shelf life of the oils in the same product- then that's probably a more definite one way or the other thing and I have no idea (except to say the highest available would work- but is probably not necessary and would be a waste of money) Robininor would be a good person to ask about how many IU's are recommended for anti-oxidant effect on oils.

Good luck with it:)

[Candybee]

Thank you Blazarina! That answers my question. I am using gel capsules that I pop open and squeeze the Vitamin E out into my soap base. They contain 400 units per capsule and I just wasn't quite sure if the amount of the I.U.s in each capsule would make any difference if I used 1 or 2 capsules per lb of base.

[blazerina]

Hi again-

Since I really don't fully understand it all myself, and I don't want to mislead you at all, I looked up a bit of info and here are some links.

http://www.answers.com/topic/tocopherol-1

And then there is this - it explains IU's:

International Units of Vitamin E

The vitamin-E content of a food or recipe is sometimes measured in milligrams of alpha-tocopherol (often written as "a-tocopherol"), and sometimes in International Units (IUs). There is a mathematical relationship between the two measures: one IU is 0.67 milligram of alpha-tocopherol. Hence:

· To convert IUs of vitamin E into milligrams of alpha-tocopherol: multiply the number of IUs by 0.67.

· To convert milligrams of alpha-tocopherol to IUs: multiply the number of milligrams by 1.5.

(These conversion factors are for natural vitamin E, which is technically called d-alpha-tocopherol. For the synthetic form of the vitamin, called dl-alpha-tocopherol, the conversion factors are 0.45 and 2.2, respectively.)

I need to say that in EVERY SINGLE web site, link that I followed there was mention of Vit E being a common cause for dermatitis (general term for skin inflamation/itching and general issues related to an irritant) So I would not personally use more than the 400 IU's. I highly doubt a few caplet fulls of oil into a lb of anything is going to be harmful. Personally, I use it in the same way. Mainly for added shelf life extension, emoilent qualities and in the end... label appeal. I add them all to the entire batch, but amount wise, I try to figure one caplet (400IU) per each 4oz jar. I've only gotten raves so far. But if you want to look deeper into it, I'm guessing that there is a difference between the synthetic and natural as to the dermatitis issue. ? I'm not sure which mine is :embarasse at the moment. I also remember that my drug store sells vit e oil in the skin care aisle... next to the PONDS and such. There are a few different companies that sell it even. But to my recollection none of them are mass high amounts of IU's, and in fact I don't think ANY of them tout any amount of IU's come to think of it. The oral dosage recomendations are as low as 10-15 IU's. But up to 1200 for certain specific treatments. Based on this info, I'm happy with the 400 in any application.

Hope any of that can help ya!

[Candybee]

That was pretty interesting. I suppose it could be a skin irratant if too much is used. I am going to stick with my gel capsules and the formula I have been using. I am getting a really nice bar of soap and like the idea of adding a bit of Vitamin E to enhance it.

Thanks for your help Blazarina!