Antioxidant levels in the skin are reduced as a result of UV exposure, but vitamin E levels in the stratum corneum have been demonstrated to increase and thus offer protection against lipid peroxidation even upon use of rinse-off products containing only 0.2% alpha-tocopherol or less (Ekanayake-Mudiyanselage et al., 2005).

Vitamin E supply to the epidermis and the dermis ± is via two routes: penetration of topically applied vitamin E, and via sebum, i.e., the secretion of sebaceous glands, which is high in vitamin E. Therefore, oral supplementation with vitamin E will bolster the skin's antioxidant defences and thus offer photoprotection, especially when given together with its `antioxidant partner' vitamin C, as has been demonstrated in several human trials (Ekanayake-Mudiyanselage and Thiele, 2006).

More recently, specific effects of alpha-tocopherol were discovered in cellular signalling cascades which are also present in photoageing. Alpha-tocopherol inhibits the age-related increase in MMP-1 in vitro (Ricciarelli et al., 1999), and may thus contribute to prevention of photoageing (Fuchs et al., 1989).