In their quest to find a natural resource with anti-inflammatory properties, TocoCare founder Shiva was introduced to tocotrienol, a purer form of vitamin E, by her partner Tobias – and this discovery truly changed their lives. People with sensitive skin need skin care that is nurturing but free of harsh chemicals, and that’s where TocoCare comes in: they offer products with few yet highly effective ingredients – and their star player? None other than tocotrienol. Seeking to debunk general misconceptions regarding tocopherols & vitamin E in cosmetics, Shiva answered a few of our most pressing questions about her incredible products… Now, discover the power of a completely natural vitamin E complex!

What is the essence of TocoCare?

At the heart of TocoCare is a young family: Shiva, Tobias and, more recently, our son. We are what is commonly referred to as “digital nomads” – although our roots are in Munich, our home is anywhere that the three of us are together, living.

When we decided to start our own business with TocoCare in 2016, we were also able to come up with the name pretty quickly. “TocoCare” is a combination of tocotrienol (“Toco”) and care (“Care”). And this very clearly expresses the core of our product. Tocotrienol is the better part of vitamin E. Although almost everyone knows how important vitamin E is, hardly anyone knows the details of the composition. In fact, vitamin E consists of 4 different tocopherols and 4 different tocotrienols. The tocotrienols are what give us the effect that we desperately want our skin to receive.

Why even many doctors and pharmacists do not know the difference is still a mystery. In any case, science has been studying tocotrienol with increasing interest in recent years.

How has tocotrienol become such an important part of your life?

When I met my husband, he had to fight again and again with inflammatory diseases. This has been shown by many different side effects – above all leading to food intolerances, mostly through autoimmune processes. But this is different for every person.

While searching for strong & natural anti-inflammatory medicine, my father-in-law came across the tocotrienol extract. We were so astonished by its results that we endeavored in further research, observing many other positive effects. Since some of these studies fall into the medical field and may not be published under German law until proven, we usually do not communicate that it promotes collagen production and helps protect against radiation as well as oxidative stress – for cell protection, in general, or for the treatment of scarring.

That’s why we are very convinced by the products we have and their effects on the skin. When it’s applied to burns or injuries, tocotrienol shows the full range of its power.

Who would you say benefits most from your products?

We are all getting older. And our skin changes naturally. But there are also external influences which demand a lot from our skin. The strongest factor is by far the sun – but there’s also extreme sports, mono-dieting, one too many glasses of wine, or even cigarettes.  All of these things can cause our skin to age faster than it would naturally.

We are not the type of company that promises a life without wrinkles. However, anyone who has ever used TocoCare after too long in the sun – or to help with the dark circles that come after a long night – will have seen the sustainable effect it has on the skin.

Moreover, there are many people who can’t use most skin care products due to eczema or other similar reasons. Even certified natural cosmetics often contain a small (or hidden) amount of preservatives or fragrance. Our products contain only substances that we would also eat without any hesitation. And because of this standard, our products are also a solution for those who have very sensitive or sensitized skin but still want to do something good for their skin.

What are the benefits of tocotrienol?

The biggest advantage of tocotrienol is its molecular structure. Don’t worry, we won’t make it too complicated – but the main advantage of tocotrienol is that, due to its structure (as a triple-unsaturated side chain), it can also penetrate the cell membrane and engage itself there.

This side chain is called NFkappaB, and it is able to regulate inflammatory processes. This is why tocotrienol also has an anti-inflammatory effect. Additionally, tocotrienol has a positive effect on the aging processes of the cells: cells that would otherwise undergo oxidation by free radicals are saved by its antioxidative effect. The skin’s normal aging processes are greatly slowed down, as well, due to an increase in the cells’ collagen production (as the cells are now being supplied with tocotrienols).

Tocotrienol is found in nature, and we naturally obtain it for our products. It contains no chemicals or petroleum-derivative ingredients. It is found in lower concentrations in various oils naturally, but it can become highly concentrated via light extraction processes. This rich vitamin E concentrate is the highlight of all our products.

What is the main difference between your products and other products which contain Vitamin E?

As already explained, vitamin E consists of 4 tocotrienols and 4 tocopherols.  Because alpha-tocopherol is easily and cheaply synthesized, many brands have worked exclusively with the synthesized version in the past. Even research has long been limited to studies using only this component.

Even to this day, most of the products that mention vitamin E have only a synthetic amount of tocopherol. And its effect is nothing like that of tocotrienols. So forget all about what you’ve done thus far with vitamin E.

More explicitly, however, tocopherols and tocotrienols even have opposite effects. So you could, for example, say that tocopherol can become pro-oxidative in high doses, and can thus damage the skin and body. The positive effect that we offer our customers is possible much more consistently through the use of tocotrienols.

For which reason(s) did you decide to change where you source your vitamin E?

Palm fruit is an ingenious plant that can protect other fruits (which are usually exposed to strong sunlight) with potent vitamins. No other plant produces more fruit and oil per square meter of acreage, making it the plant that protects our woodland the most.

Nevertheless, the public has decided against the use of palm oil, and with good reason: in the EU, fuel has recently been written into the law as a food product – as an attempt to balance out CO₂ emissions. Most of it now ends up in the tank of cars. Using palm oil as a food or cosmetic ingredient is the best ecological alternative. Yet while the palm oil still happily ends up in our gas tanks, we have nevertheless found a new source for our tocotrienols: rice.

We would like to develop our products, including any future ones, in close consultation with our customers, and are therefore pleased to receive any feedback and suggestions concerning them.

How does the place in which you currently live affect your work with TocoCare?

Here in the National Park of Costa Vicentina, Portugal, we are surrounded by nature – away from department stores and neon signs. There is fresh produce and herbs at the markets, as well as many sellers offering local produce. This approach of focusing on the resources that nature gives us is what inspires us every day.

When it comes to taking care of your own skin, we have lost the old knowledge. Our skin is a mirror of our health. Therefore, in addition to the treatment of symptoms, every consumer should know which basic factors are most important for radiant and healthy skin.

That’s why we’d like to discuss the issue of skin health – and also general health, in a larger framework – on our blog in the future. We want to educate our clients on how the skin and our body work together, and on what actions we can take to help them regain their luster.

To what extent does sustainability play a role in your production process?

We are constantly looking for ways to reduce our carbon footprint. Sustainability is an important feature at several levels. TocoCare ingredients come from selected sources and are each individually certified organic. In our opinion, the environmentally friendly cultivation of agricultural products can best be guaranteed by this minimum standard.

We have also taken care to use as many natural materials as possible – and of course, we as a company are obliged to participate in the two-way recycling system in Germany. This means that we have already paid our share of the recycling costs before the product packaging is disposed of.

Looking at the structure of TocoCare as a whole, we have outsourced as much as possible and thus manifested no new business premises. In that regard, we work together with an organic oil mill, which fills the products for us in compliance with all industrial regulations set by law. The head office is our personal residence, and “going to the office” means going to where one already lives. So our company is very tight-knit, and nobody has to commute daily to an office space.

The next step is the delivery to the customer: as much as possible, we try to reduce the CO₂ emissions generated by our packing materials and shipping to a minimum… In those areas where this has not been possible, we will continue to look for ways to compensate for these emissions. In the coming year, we plan to switch to natural fillers, so that less (and eventually no) plastic arrives to the customer.

All in all, the relationship we have to our customers – who receive skin care products that are completely chemical- and microplastic-free – is our biggest action towards a sustainable life on Earth. We are convinced that the hurdle for sustainability is not total abandonment, but rather the willingness to abandon old habits.

What is the future of TocoCare?

TocoCare grows with its customers and companions. We are a small and flexible company, and therefore develop our products closely with our customers. Still in the planning: a sunscreen, a cleanser for the skin and hair, a body oil that can act as a replacement for body lotion, and a deodorant that lives up to its name.

We’ve decided to continue to grow organically and focus first and foremost on the recommendations made by our customers. We cannot promote the many benefits of our regenerative skin care products in Europe, in accordance with applicable laws. And we also want to remain authentic, and therefore consciously refrain from using statements like, “reduces wrinkles visibly in X days” … Nevertheless, the effect of our products is our best argument, and the customer can only find that out for themselves.

Because of this, we are free of any pressure from lenders and banks. We are not forced to increase sales at the expense of quality and are able to determine for ourselves where our journey is headed.

Are there any final words you want to share with our readers?

Changing to natural / organic cosmetics is like a detoxification of the skin and therefore, it sometimes starts with aggravated skin. But it makes sense to deal with it and to take the step consciously. It’s like quitting smoking. At first, it may be that the skin craves more oil after its daily dose, before it eventually learns to regulate itself again.

In the long run, your skin will be very grateful if you only treat it with ingredients that you would also eat without a guilty conscience. But if you just aren’t ready for that, TocoCare can also be used like a vitamin E skin cure for the time being, as a way to enhance your existing skin care routine – this way, you can make a slower shift.

A very important note at the end: Many customers are so enthusiastic about the effect of a product that they end up applying too much of it. That, however, is not at all helpful – i.e. too much oil can clog the pores and prevent the skin from “breathing”. Therefore, it is always best to follow the instructions. With our products especially you only need a few drops, as they are all quite rich.

All of our products contain fresh ingredients (no preservatives) and should therefore always be well-sealed and protected from both light and heat. This will ensure that the value of the tocotrienol remains in the bottle.

If you enjoyed reading this article, you can get an update of what’s on the magazine dropped right into your e-mailbox. Sign up here for our newsletter!