11/06/2012 (New Straits Times) - It’s not just good for cooking. Vitamin E-rich palm oil is used in cosmetic products to help prevent ageing, fight free radicals and as a sunscreen, writes Tan Bee Hong

Harvesting oil palm fruit

Our hot, humid climate and exposure to the ultra-violet rays of the sun can damage our skin, causing it to age faster. Protection from the sun, especially, is very important.

Most of us apply lotions and creams with SPF (sun protection factor) to ward against UVA and UVB rays. This is in addition to the moisturising creams we use to keep skin smooth and soft.

Many cosmetic products are made with palm oil. Palm oil contains tocotrienols, which are members of the vitamin E family. Indeed, palm oil provides an all natural-source of alpha, gamma and delta tocotrienol. Vitamin E is a strong antioxidant that helps the skin to fight free radicals that damage the skin and cause fine lines and wrinkles.

Tocopherol, a common form of vitamin E, has long been used to treat many skin ailments and is found in many anti-ageing products.

But studies have shown that tocotrienols are far more effective than tocopherol in preventing ageing and damage caused by free radicals. Used topically, tocotrienols are able to penetrate deep into the skin’s layers to enable healing and protection from the base up.

AGEING SKIN
When skin ages, the epidermis and subcutaneous fat layer grows thin and there are fewer melanocytes. Age spots appear and skin strength and elasticity is reduced. Blood vessels become fragile and the sebaceous glands produce less oil.

What causes skin to age? Well, chronologically, as a person grows older of course but exposure to the sun (photoageing) can do this as well. So a farmer who works in the fields and is exposed to the sun daily will appear more wizened and wrinkled than a man who sits in the office all day long.

According to the US Environment Protection Agency (2010) “photoageing causes 90 per cent of damage and visible changes in the skin’s appearance”.

Blame this on the sun’s UVA and UVB rays. The latter is the one of the main causes of skin cancer and sunburn while UVA is responsible for photoageing as it can penetrate deep into the skin to cause damage to the connective tissues and supporting structures. Signs of photoageing are dry skin, sagging skin, loss of elasticity, deep wrinkles, furrows and pigmentation.

UV radiation is also the major cause of non-melanoma skin cancers.

The good news is that Vitamin E in all forms, acts as an effective sunscreen. Tocopherols and tocotrienols have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that reduce radiation damage.

Topical application of palm oil can effectively enrich the skin with Vitamin E and carotenes.

Seven signs of ageing
• Lines and wrinkles
• Sagging skin
• Tone
• Pigmentation/dark spots
• Blotchiness and redness
• Dryness
• Open pores