Gluten In Beauty

People ask me all the time–if they are gluten sensitive, is it really necessary to go gluten-free with your cosmetics and skin care products?

In my opinion, as well as that of many of the most renowned “gluten doctors” (i.e. experts with vast experience in the study of this relatively “new” condition), YES.

If you are trying to avoid gluten in your beauty products, I have created a list of some common beauty ingredients to watch out for that may contain gluten (to print, just save and print the image):

Perhaps more to the point, why did I go gluten-free with the products that I was using?  Well, I am no doctor, so you’ll have to take my word for what it’s worth as a natural beauty expert as well as someone who also suffers from severe gluten (and dairy) intolerance, but here’s how it began:

It was my digestive problems that began first, but they were soon reiterated by severe acne on my back and chest, unbalanced oil production on my face as well of patches of rosacea.  So once I was diagnosed with severe gluten intolerance, I intuitively went through all of my products weeding out anything that may have contained gluten.  One area of great concern for me especially, was my shampoo and conditioner.  In my early twenties, I like so many women with gluten intolerance and celiac disease had periods of telogen effluvium during which my hair was shedding as usual, but not also growing–and it was a great confirmation later when I took my first trip back to the hair salon after beginning a gluten-free hair care routine.  The same products the hair stylist had used on my repeatedly in the past caused me to break out in a rash.

For some the idea of going gluten free topically may seem overwhelming.  But in my opinion, with the number of great natural companies producing gluten-free products and even some who are labeling as such, it doesn’t have to be too difficult.  And if you have suffered any topical symptoms due to gluten sensitivity, it just might clear things up.

I have also consulted some of the experts, here’s what they had to say:

Dr. Kenneth Fine, M.D. of EnteroLab.com:

Gluten sensitivity is a systemic immune reaction to gluten anywhere in the body, not just that entering the body via the gut. Therefore, topically applied lotions, creams, shampoos, etc. containing gluten would indeed provide a source of gluten to the body, and we therefore recommend all such products be discontinued for optimal health.

Dr. Vikki Petersen, Author of The Gluten Effect:

There are those people who have what’s called an IgE response to gluten, meaning even a topical application is going to bother them. . . There are others who don’t have that topical problem who use a lotion and get their common gluten response as if they ate gluten, so they didn’t eat it, but they put it on their skin, and their body reacted the same way.  So even though science is telling us that that molecule is too big, people are having reactions . . . I think it’s wise to err on the side of conservatisism.  It’s especially important with certain cosmetics that you unwhittingly ingest.