When vitamin E acetate was applied topically to mouse skin, it got absorbed and converted into active vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol)—the form that actually works as an antioxidant. The conversion happened significantly more when skin was exposed to UV-B radiation, suggesting sun exposure may actually help your skin utilize this ingredient better.

Researchers applied vitamin E acetate to hairless mice daily and measured how much accumulated in their skin, with some groups exposed to UV-B rays and others kept in the dark. They tracked both the acetate form and the converted active vitamin E form.

Funding not disclosed in abstract