Concerns about gluten in skin care products
The risk may be low, but many people who suffer from celiac disease, or are gluten intolerant, choose to avoid gluten in all products. Here’s why:
- For people who suffer from celiac disease, eating gluten can damage the lining of the small intestine which causes problems with the digestive system. Those who are gluten intolerant also experience digestive system symptoms. The only way to manage these conditions is to follow a gluten-free diet.
- Some people develop a form of celiac disease called dermatitis herpetiformis which causes an itchy, blistering rash. Although the reaction involves the skin, it is actually triggered by gluten ingestion, not from using products that contain gluten on the skin. There is relatively little risk to using personal care products containing gluten unless the product gets into the mouth or an open sore. Concerns may arise from the use of toothpastes, mouthwashes, lipsticks and lip balms that come in contact with the mouth. Creams, lotions, make-up, sunscreens, and hairspray can get into the mouth when applying or can be transferred by hands and fingers to mouth or food.
- Cosmetic manufacturers can change formulas and ingredient suppliers without notice. There is also a risk of cross-contamination from gluten used in other products that run on the same line. In order to avoid gluten, you have to know which ingredients to avoid. As challenging as that may be, it is important to read the label before using any personal care product.
Ingredients you may want to avoid
Gluten can be found in wheat, barley, rye, triticale and their derivatives. If you want to avoid gluten in personal care products, here are some tips:
1. Avoid ingredients with wheat, gluten or triticum (Latin for wheat) in the name including:
- AMP-isostearoyl hydrolzyed wheat protein
- hydrolyzed wheat protein (HWP)
- hydrolyzed wheat gluten
- triticum lipids
- triticum vulgare
- wheat bran extract
- wheat germ extract
- wheat germ glyceride
2. Avoid ingredients with barley, malt or hordeum vulgare (Latin for barley) in the name such as:
- barley extract
- hordeum vulgare extract
- malt extract
3. Avoid ingredients with rye or secale cereal (Latin for rye) in the name.
4. These ingredients derived from oats or avena sativa (Latin for oats) may be cross contaminated with gluten:
- sodium lauroyl oat amino acid
- avena sativa extract
Choose gluten-free skin care products
If you suffer from gluten intolerance or celiac disease and you want to avoid gluten in your skin care products, learn about our gluten-free moisturizers, sunscreens, cleansers, hair care and more at www.vanicream.com. All of our personal care products are free of the above ingredients and have been tested to be gluten-free based on the FDA proposed guidelines in foods labeled gluten-free. They are also free of common chemical irritants such as dyes, fragrance, masking fragrance, lanolin, parabens and formaldehyde releasers. Ideal for those with sensitive skin.
References:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/celiac-disease/expert-answers/celiac-disease/faq-20057879
https://www.skinsmatter.com/hair-dye-without-ppd/
http://livingglutenandgrainfree.com/2011/02/14/gluten-free-personal-care-products-2/
https://www.drkarafitzgerald.com/2017/02/02/hidden-sources-gluten/
FDA Proposed Rule-72 FR 2795, January 23, 2007: Food Labeling; Gluten-Free Labeling of Foods. Federal Register, 72 (14);2795-2817, 2007