Question: I frequently injure my skin due to my work. I get scars when the skin heals. A friend told me that vitamin E capsules could be opened and applied to my scars to lessen the thickening and redness. Is this true and do you recommend it?

Answer: Vitamin E has many anecdotal reports with regard to wound healing.  Many people swear by it and it seems everyone has heard a story about vitamin E helping scarring and wound healing.  The science behind the usage of vitamin E with wound healing and scar improvement is not favorable.  Multiple studies have compared using emollients (like petrolatum, e.g. Vaseline) to emollients with added vitamin E to see if the vitamin E group would have better healing and scar appearance after skin surgery.  No study has shown any difference between a “base” emollient/cream applied to a scar versus a vitamin E cream/emollient with regard to healing or improved scar.  Furthermore, vitamin E applied topically can cause a skin reaction called dermatitis in about 20% of people.  Typically, I do not routinely recommend vitamin E creams or vitamin E applied to the skin for wound healing or scar improvement.