Is my moisturizing lotion gluten free? (ingredients listed)

[NoGlutensToday]

Hi folks,

I picked up some moisturizer with SPF. I'm still new to dealing with my celiac, so I can't tell if any of these ingredients contain gluten. Could someone help me with this?

Medicinal Ingredients: Homosalate 10.00%, Menthyl Anthranilate (Meradimate) 5.00%, Octinoxate (Ethylhexyl, Methoxycinnamate) 5.00%, Octocrylene 2.00%, Zinc Oxide 6.3%.

Non-Medicinal Ingredients: Water, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Behentrimonium Methosulphate, Cetearyl Alcohol, Carbomer, Ceramide AP , Ceramide NP, Ceramide EOP, Cholesterol, Dimethicone, Disodium EDTA, Glycerin, Hydroxyethylcellulose, Methylparaben, Niacinamide, Propylparaben, Phytosphingosine, Sodium Hyaluronate, Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate, Xanthan Gum

[cyclinglady]

Looks good to me!  Lots of chemicals though (necessary in preventing skin cancer), so avoid eating it.  Wash your hands and dry with a paper towel or old towel. Sunscreens stain!  Ugh!  

 

[Beverage]

I recommend Andalou skin products, which are marked "gluten verified." I've never had any problems.  If you sign up for their newsletter, they send out discounts for ordering on their internet site.

[MarciaP]

This is the list I use to start. And then if there is tocopherol/Vitamin E in anything, even if it states it is gluten-free, I write or call the company and find out their source of Vitamin E. If they don't know or won't tell me, I avoid the product. 

http://www.glutenfreemakeupgal.com/gluten-info/not-safe/possibly-gluten-filled-ingredients

[NoGlutensToday]

Thank you all for your replies. 

[cyclinglady]

Thought I would add this.  I still wear (and make my kid wear) old-fashioned zinc oxide on my nose, cheeks, ears, and top of forehead in addition to other sunscreens when we are surfing. There is a lot of reflective sun exposure!  It gets rubbed off, so I can visually see that we need to apply more.  You can even buy it now in colors which can have a warrior effect if you play water polo!  (We wear wetsuits usually so we get either full body or partial body coverage from the suit.)  Wearing zinc oxide is not the best look, but it works!  This works too for a full day boating at the lake, where my family lives, but this is definitely not a southern look at all!  Neither are rash guards (swim shirts), but what fashion starts in California usually makes its way across the country.  Seeing more of those shirts in use finally, even in adults.  

[RoxPet]

I researched this to death last year. Only Zinc Oxide products do not have gluten ingredients.  I've been using Blue Lizard. This year Coppertone came out with a new product that is organic and gluten free. I called them personally to find out and they assured me it is gluten free

[MarciaP]

Did they confirm the source of the tocopherol is gluten-free? (thanks!)

[Beverage]

Formulas change all the time.  The problem with it not being labeled gluten-free is that if one of the ingredients (like the tocopherol) which might be currently from a non-gluten source, can be changed to be from a gluten source, and so you would have to call then every time you bought a new bottle.

[kareng]

I think there is too much concern over tocopheral.  Please read this great explanation.  Also, please remember, that gluten must be ingested to cause a Celiac reaction .  

https://www.glutenfreedietitian.com/vitamin-e-from-wheat-germ-oil/

[MarciaP]

With much respect —

a. The idea that anything we put or use on our hair or skin doesn’t at some point end up in our mouths is naive. 

b. My concern about tocopherol was born of hives and rashes. It angers and frustrates me that we continue to deny that topical products can cause a response to someone with celiac disease. Perhaps I have an undiagnosed allergy to tocopherol derived from raw ingredients that contain gluten. But please don’t suggest that being covered with hives or a rash isn’t an issue of concern. 

[RoxPet]

Ladies- I have very sensitive reactive Celiac Disease. 1) yes anything you put on your skin ends up traveling through your body. I used prescription topical estrogen for 15 years so I know medications have similar effects on the skin. But I can testify since I put that picture up of new Coppertone lotion that I have used it all over my body every day for the past week.  If it had any sort of gluten in it I would be sick by now.  Don't overthink this ladies. And personally anything that gave me hives or a rash I would consider myself allergic to and it doesn't have to have anything to do with gluten. 

[kareng]

  On 5/6/2019 at 3:37 PM, RoxPet said:

Ladies- I have very sensitive reactive Celiac Disease. 1) yes anything you put on your skin ends up traveling through your body. I used prescription topical estrogen for 15 years so I know medications have similar effects on the skin. But I can testify since I put that picture up of new Coppertone lotion that I have used it all over my body every day for the past week.  If it had any sort of gluten in it I would be sick by now.  Don't overthink this ladies. And personally anything that gave me hives or a rash I would consider myself allergic to and it doesn't have to have anything to do with gluten. 

Expand Quote  

Everything you put on your skin cannot end up “ traveling through your body”.  Skin keeps things from getting into your body.  There are a few things, like your estrogen, that are specially made to go through the skin barrier.

 Lotions may appear to go through your skin or be “ absorbed” but they are going through the dead skin layers on top.  

 

[cyclinglady]

People can react to any ingredient found in topical products, however for you to have a celiac reaction, wheat, barley, rye or sometimes oats, must be ingested.     If you are healing from celiac disease and your immune system is still out of wack or you  are dealing  with another illness (like autoimmune hives, which may or may not be linked to celiac disease, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, or allergies), you will have to address those items that could upset your immune system. Celiac disease is part of the four types (maybe seven now) of hypersensitivity (google it) and you can have more than one type.  

Just from my personal experience, I had an unknown gluten exposure which triggered a bout of daily, (hives which covered my body from head to toe).  It took six months to resolve.  My allergist thinks it was due to Hashimoto’s.  A year later, I had a repeat endoscopy due to lingering systems and found that my small intestine healed, but I was diagnosed with autoimmune Gastritis.  So, all three of my autoimmune issues seems to be linked, or will flare if one is activated.  Too bad the trigger for Hashimoto’s or AIG is unknown!  The lesson I learned is that not everything is due to celiac disease.  

Does anyone ever ingest sunscreen on purpose?  No, but I suppose kids might.  Make them wear hats, wetsuit, clothing and seek shade when possible just like they did in my Grandma’s day.  

I use Equate (Walmart) for our sunscreen (recommended by Consumer Reports) and add some zinc-based sunscreen to my face only because I sweat so much on a bike ride and sunscreen can run into my eyes .  My brand, Banana Boat Baby does not sting my eyes.  I use a lot of sunscreen and I also never buy the sprays because they tend to jam and they are wasteful (I am frugal) and who wants to inhale all those chemicals!  

I am going to check out the new sensitive skin products from Coppertone, but I want to make sure it works.  There was a product line developed by an actress that was supposed to be super healthy, but was not effective and people got burned.  

Here is some safety information about sunscreen by EWG:

https://www.ewg.org/sunscreen/report/8-little-known-facts-about-sunscreens/

 

[Beverage]

As my doctor said when I was diagnosed ... anything you touch can end up in your mouth ... your eyes, ears, nose, and mouth all drain down to your stomach !  Don't forget it.

[CEZ]

Hi, can my teenager use Mustela Eczema cream which contains Ceramide NP derived from which I believe is derived from Wheat Germ Oil on his skin if he has a Wheat allergy but not a Gluten allergy? We didn't know if he would absorb it or not? We have been told by many that he lacks the ability to make his own Ceramides to protect his own skin. His skin is so dry and we are at our wits end of what he can use. Everything seems to have Wheat Germ Oil or Vitamin E derived from wheat. They add Vitamin E (Alpha - Tocopherol or Tocopherol) into everything. We have been managing with applying Vaseline to extra dry parts but it occludes and does not enrich or make his skin supple or healthier. We just repeat to help relieve the repeated daily dryness! Bath soaps are pretty much out. Clothes soap is hypoallergenic and double rinsed. He does take a Vitamin D3 supplement 2000mg a day and 1 tbsp of Chia seed a day. We are running scared with all the  products on the market and their added chemicals! If someone could just please let me know if he would absorb any of the Ceramides NP into his system or recommend an alternative body moisturizer without Vitamin E or Wheat Germ derived additives. He didn't show allergic to milk but a slight peanut allergy. We stopped dairy because that is what everyone states to do. Even though we have been purchasing organic. We tried Almond milk then noticed it has Vitamin E supplemented in all the ones we found. We are really lost at this time. Please help? God bless and thank you. Very miserable Texas teenager.

       

[GFinDC]

Hi Cez,

First off, is he eating gluten-free?  They put gluten in a lot of foods besides bread and cookies.  So it is easy to make mistakes and eat something that causes a reaction.

I don't know about the product you asked on.  But you can make your own skin lotion or balm.  That way you know what it is in it.  A simple recipe is beeswax and olive oil melted together.  Adjust the oil amount to make it as thin or thick as you like.  Before making a batch I suggest you test each ingredient individually on his skin.

They say sheep skin oil (lanolin) is pretty similar to human skin oil.

Edited January 25, 2020 by GFinDC

[Ennis-TX]

Typically the Vitamin E derived from wheat has had the proteins people react to removed. Much like me with my corn allergy many things made from corn have been processed so the protein that my immune system reacts to is not present anymore. |
I use BagBalm for really dry skin...very old proven skin moisturizer and it can even soften dry hard calluses.
https://www.amazon.com/Vermonts-Original-Bag-Balm-Moisturizer/dp/B01AASJCPA/

[MisterSeth]

No gluten in that list. There are some bad ingredients though.

[cyclinglady]

Cez, 

This product appears to be safe per this website (and it should be safe for a celiac based on the manufacturer’s website and I would use it), but talk to your doctor.  

https://www.skinsafeproducts.com/mustela-stelatopia-moisturizing-cream-for-dry-eczema-prone-skin-fragrance-free-6-7-oz

How allergic to wheat is he?  Was he diagnosed by a board certified allergist?  Does he carry an EPI pen?  Allergies can be severe like anaphylactic or mild like rash, or eczema flaring.