THE CLAIM

Vitamin E helps remove scars

THE FACTS

Home remedies for scar removal run the gamut from lemon juice to aloe vera gel. But one that stands above the rest -- in popularity, at least -- is vitamin E.

Depending on whom you ask, a little vitamin E dabbed on the skin can remove stretch marks, clear up scars and even heal wounds. Discovered in 1922, it can be found widely in moisturizers and creams.

But according to most studies, its scar-busting properties are overstated. One of the largest studies to investigate the claim was published in 1986 in The Journal of Burn Care and Rehabilitation. In it, scientists followed a group of 159 people who had suffered burns over the course of a year, randomly selecting some to regularly apply vitamin E to their scars and others to use a different topical cream. Those in the vitamin E group showed no noticeable improvement in the size, thickness or appearance of their scars by the end of the study.

In a 1999 study, scientists at the University of Miami followed a group of patients who had recently had minor surgery. Each patient was given two ointments labeled A and B -- one with vitamin E, the other without -- and told to apply each to a separate half of their scars twice daily for four weeks. After that, the scars were evaluated by the patients, the scientists and an independent observer.

The vitamin E not only had no beneficial effect on the appearance of the scars, it made matters worse. Almost a third of the patients had an allergic reaction known as contact dermatitis, leading the authors to give vitamin E the thumbs down.

THE BOTTOM LINE

According to studies, vitamin E does not remove scars.

-- The New York Times