“The darkness was overwhelming and the tension unbearable” reports one Yayo special correspondent upon recalling the scenes prior to deployment. “We waited for the silence to be broken - a booming voice did so...”

“Listen up maggots!” cried General Toco Pherol as his troops bravely formed rank to prepare for battle. “Our objective today is simple and it is critical for the continuation of this company of heroes. Large groups of free radicals have been identified occupying Skingrad, it is our task to liberate that fine city and reinforce its existing defenses. The call to arms has been sounded, this is not a drill. A day may come when the strength of natural remedies will falter, the day where the legions of oxidants and of free-radicals overwhelm our defenses, the day that infection and inflammation rules. But that day has not yet come, and today is not that day! Today we fight, comrades, with all our might, with our creator's blessing and with god on our side. To victory!” 

And with that, the pot was unscrewed, blinding light flooded the container and the first troops began to be airlifted to their deployment; so were the scenes as YAYO customer 255719-b - a Hull native and tattoo enthusiast - began to apply their favorite tattoo butter...

Okay okay, sure the events listed above may be slightly exaggerated - there have been very few reports of customers hearing faint battle cries as they apply their favorite Yayo aftercare products. Nevertheless, according to the wise words of Peter Dinklage - “there’s nothing in the world more powerful than a good story”. As such allow me to tell you the story of Vitamin E, Free-radicals and our hero Tocopherol in this week's edition of Flower Power Hour; The ABC's of Vitamin E.

Vitamin E:

So what is Vitamin E? Why do we use it? And is it as effective as the stories tell us? 

Vitamin E, as the more astute reader will likely have guessed, is a Vitamin. More specifically, it is the name given to a group of compounds - oil-soluble antioxidants to be exact. It is naturally occurring in many plants and helps to maintain healthy skin and eyes. 

There are around eight different forms of Vitamin E - the one used in our skincare products, and our hero, is called Tocopherol. This form has many different uses, but most importantly aids skin repair. It does so by acting as an antioxidant. 

Antioxidant:

Everything is exposed to oxygen and, as such, everything reacts to it. A car, for example, will begin to rust due to the oxidation process. Your skin may not rust but molecules known as free-radicals on your skin will still react with oxygen. This is due to free-radicals having an unshared electron particle, therefore making it highly reactive to oxygen. This leads to the formation of reactive oxygen species or ROS. These reactive particles not only damage cells but could contribute to heart disease and cancers. 

Antioxidants like our hero Toco Pherol stop the production of ROS formed when fat undergoes oxidation, thereby strengthening the body's natural defenses against infection and promoting longer cell life. It does this by sharing an electron with free-radicals, thereby stabilizing them so they don't bind to molecules of skin, cell-membranes or even DNA.

So Vitamin E is, scientifically speaking, very effective at eliminating these free-radicals. Therefore, when your skin is damaged and tissue is exposed to oxygen - I.e during and after the tattoo process - Vitamin E is the perfect healing tool, that's why it’s used in an oil-soluble form in skincare products like our Clean and Clear tattoo butters.

Safety and Usage:

So we know what Vitamin E is, how it reinforces the skin's natural defenses by eliminating free-radicals, but is it safe?

As I previously mentioned, Vitamin E is naturally occurring in plants and is, in fact, highly important to our diets - it can be found in everything from sunflower seeds to spinach. This means that it’s not an unnatural toxin or an unstable chemical etc. - it is, after all, completely vegan!

However, just because it is vegan it does not mean that everyone can, or should, use it. Peanuts are vegan but prove to be an allergen to many people. Whilst over 1% of the population are allergic to peanuts, the estimate for people allergic to Vitamin E products seems to be less than one percent so , in a sense, Tocopherol is safer than peanuts.

Furthermore, allergic symptoms tend to be relatively minor - causing symptoms such as irritation and rashes in select cases. Therefore it is not always recommended for people with very sensitive or acne prone skin etc.

That being said, there is also evidence to suggest that Vitamin E could be used to help treat eczema; it is important to remember that Vitamin E is oil soluble, meaning that it can be administered in higher or lower concentrations. Higher concentrations could prove to be harsher on the skin, so it is recommended to try Vitamin E skincare products such as moisturizers before branching out to oils in order to see what works best with your skin. 

To Round Off:

Ultimately, the skin is the largest organ on the human body and is often prone to many more dangers than other organs, yet is also often neglected. If you look after your skin, your skin will keep looking after you so remember to treat your skin to some TLC every once in a while, it’s trying its best and deserves a treat, especially if it is damaged.

So make sure to send in General Tocopherol and his army of free-radical eliminating Vitamin E molecules next time your skin is damaged or prone to oxidation!

If you are interested in finding out more about our products, and for a full list of products containing Vitamin E, just search “Vitamin E” on our website. 

Words and content by Kirk Diggler