Vitamin C vs Vitamin E for skin & hair
Short answer: For skin & hair, more users report improvement with Vitamin C — 97% of 29 reports, versus 80% of 5 for Vitamin E.
Vitamin C has 738 meta-analyses and 2,072 randomized trials on PubMed; Vitamin E has 680 and 1,761.
Based on 928 reports about Vitamin C and 212 about Vitamin E. Not medical advice.
| Vitamin C Supplement | Vitamin E Supplement | |
|---|---|---|
| Users say it helped | 64%helped204 reports · high confidence | 47%helped36 reports · medium confidence |
| Verdict | Mostly positive | Mixed |
| Research | AResearch: Strong | AResearch: Strong |
| Meta-analyses / RCTs | 738 / 2,072 | 680 / 1,761 |
| Mainly used for | ||
| Immunity % reporting improvement | 90% (40) | — |
| Energy % reporting improvement | 94% (34) | 100% (3) |
| Skin & hair % reporting improvement | 97% (29) | 80% (5) |
| Mood % reporting improvement | 88% (25) | — |
| Anxiety % reporting improvement | 94% (17) | 100% (2) |
| Common side effects | kidney stones, stomach issues, insomnia, bone pain | carcinogenic at, cancer risk, diarrhea, dizziness |
| Typical dose reported | 2000 mg / daily | 400 mg |
The failure of vitamin C supplementation to reduce the incidence of colds in the general population indicates that routine vitamin C supplementation is not justified, yet vitamin C may be useful for people exposed to brief periods of severe physical exercise. Regular supplementation trials have shown that vitamin C reduces the duration of colds, but this was not replicated in the few therapeutic trials that have been carried out. Nevertheless, given the consistent effect of vitamin C on the duration and severity of colds in the regular supplementation studies, and the low cost and safety, it m
Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2013 ↗“I know people say you get enough vitamin C from diet but I feel and look better when I supplement it.”
This study suggests the potential ability of vitamin C and E in alleviating pain symptoms experienced by individuals with endometriosis.
PLoS One, 2024 ↗“Vitamin E is the most effective supplement I've taken for anxiety, depression, lethargy, and anhedonia...even more effective than the SSRI.”
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Percentages come from first-hand user reports and are not clinical outcomes. Talk to a doctor before starting, stopping or combining anything. How we rate