Glutened By Hair Color?

[morningstargirl]

Hi Everyone,

I'm sorta new to this whole thing (3 weeks gluten-free) and I'm wondering if it is possible to have a reaction to wheat in a hair coloring product. I've been trying different herbal/low chemical hair colors due to scalp issues and tried a new one (Natrutint) on Saturday morning. By Saturday evening, I felt achy and bloated again; Sunday I got a sore in corner of my lip. My reaction to gluten is a little un-standard--I blow up like a balloon, get achy muscles, sores at the corner of my lips and constipation. Saturday, I got all of the symptoms except the constipation. Yesterday, I felt horrible all day but started feeling better shortly before bed. Today, I feel fantastic--like my old self again.

My family went through great lengths to make sure there was no gluten in anything I ate for Thanksgiving dinner and I've been very careful about what I put in my mouth. The hair color is the only thing I can think of. "Wheat" is one of the ingredients listed on the box ("WHEAT - HYDROLYZED VEGETABLE PROTEIN"). Could gluten in my hair color cause this much problem? I haven't seen anything in all my readings about being glutened through your skin.

Thanks in advance for your responses.

Connie

[loraleena]

Yes, if you accidently got a little in your mouth or on your hand which you then transferred to your mouth.

[GFinVA]

I use Garnier Nutrisse haircolor and I've never had a problem. I do remember having a reaction to ColorSilk brand but that was at least 2-3 years ago and the ingredients may have changed.

Good luck!

[ravenwoodglass]

Yes it is possible. I stopped coloring my hair so I can watch the gray go away After losing a lot of it and being almost white on top and in front my hair is growing back in brown. Loreal makes some gluten free hair colors, I used to use their semipermanent one although I can't think of the name now. They will tell you though if you call or email what to look for, there may even be a post with the list so you might want to do a quick search. When I colored often I would have not only a gluten reaction but also a rash and hairloss after coloring (or any accidental glutening) , some don't react at all though.

[morningstargirl]

Hi Everyone!

Thank you for all the responses and advice. I'm pretty sure I didn't ingest the hair color (it smells, so I think I would taste it if I did); it must have been absorbed through my skin. I'm going to continue to search for natural/low chem hair color WITHOUT wheat in it. Unfortunately, I'm not able to use any regular (OTC or salon quality) hair color as I have some sort of chemical allergy as well. One run-in with a "normal" hair color and I get seborrheic dermatitis that can take months to reverse. Urgh!!! When I find a low chem, gluten free hair color, I'll post to let everyone know about it.

Thanks again for the support.

Connie

[Guest Kathy Ann]

Have you ever tried henna from the health food store? It's messy, but I REALLY like it. It adds color AND serious conditioning at the same time. But again....it's MESSY!

[Judyin Philly]

I'm pretty sure I didn't ingest the hair color (it smells, so I think I would taste it if I did); it must have been absorbed through my skin. I'm going to continue to search for natural/low chem hair color WITHOUT wheat in it. Unfortunately, I'm not able to use any regular (OTC or salon quality) hair color as I have some sort of chemical allergy as well. Connie

Have you ever tried henna from the health food store? It's messy, but I REALLY like it. It adds color AND serious conditioning at the same time. But again....it's MESSY!

My chiro says henna should be ok.

Hi There are several threads about hair colors on here but don't know how to pull up to copy.

I'm the same as you.

After 20 years at the same salon, using the same shampo and conditioners, I NOW CAN NOT USE ANY OF THEM AND now take all my own shampoo, conditioner and color. All the salon's have 4-5 inged of wheat.

I went to the Loreal web site and looked up the color i thought would be mine and called the company and the one is use does not have wheat in it and i can tolerate it with out burning like my head is on fire..if i dont eat tomatoes the day before. my hair dresser puts a packet of sweet and low in it..seems to do something and works for me.

if you call and know what color the salon used if Loreal, and they can tell you the otc one is closest to it.

been looking for 10 for the card with info and can't find. but think it is

LOREAL PREFERENCE 9G,

hope this helps.

judy

[lovegrov]

Hair color is not made to be absorbed through your skin. If you were absorbing it through your skin, you'd probably get pretty sick, and not just from gluten.

You can't absorb just ANYTHING through your skin. We have a highly resistant and pretty amazing skin barrier to keep that from happpening, otherwise we'd be absorbing everything we come in contact with and we wouldn't survive very long. Those medications on a patch? We absorb those only because the patch has a specially engineered carrier to penetrate the skin barrier. And even then it can't work with all medications. Skin mositurizers? They moisturize the upper layers but not past the skin barrier.

Connie, you said you've been at this for just three weeks so my bet would be that you made some other mistake at about the same time you used the hair color. It would be pretty unusual for a person to not be making mistakes three weeks in. OR, since three weeks isn't much time, your system isn't really cleaned out. Finally, everybody with celiac experiences "phantom" glutenings, episodes that can't be definitively traced to anything. One cause of this is a trusted processed product that shouldn't have gluten, but was cross contaminated somewhere.

By all means, change to a color without wheat. It's best to get away from wheat as much as possible.

richard

[DILIROTH]

When I was diagnosed I never considered wheat in hair products but finally I connected the two together. Its amazing how many things wheat are actually in besides food products.

Wheat in hair products also makes my head feel like its on fire! I only color my hair with specific Loreal products- that I personally check with the company to be sure its safe - its not worth the risk!

Additionally, last summer I used a cream on my face that caused it to break out and it also had wheat germ in it - I should of checked first but I tend to learn the hard way.

Theresa

[Judyin Philly]

Hair color is not made to be absorbed through your skin. If you were absorbing it through your skin, you'd probably get pretty sick, and not just from gluten.

You can't absorb just ANYTHING through your skin. We have a highly resistant and pretty amazing skin barrier to keep that from happpening, otherwise we'd be absorbing everything we come in contact with and we wouldn't survive very long. Those medications on a patch? We absorb those only because the patch has a specially engineered carrier to penetrate the skin barrier. And even then it can't work with all medications. Skin mositurizers? They moisturize the upper layers but not past the skin barrier.

richard

You know how much I have always respected your opinions.

I know what you said is 'accepted fact'

can you please help me.

I know that the shamoo and conditioners were not getting in my mouth in the salon..

yes of course it could be from something else I've eaten...but here's my dilema on this..It was everytime and i know i wasn't glutend.

About a year before going gluten-free I was just starting to get occasional burning on my head after the hair dye was applied.

this is the same hair dresser for 20 years. Then after going gluten-free I noticed that my hair/scalp itched after going to hair dresser and b/c the shampo never bothere me before, I never guessed it was the cause.

then with info on all the places gluten can be, i looked at her shampoo and conditioner and as i said inprevious post, each had 4-5 wheat ingred.

If gluten can't be asorbed through the skin, why does my skin itch terribly with certain shampos lotions etc when i KNOW for sure it's not something i've eaten..

I'm not doubting you ...I'm trying to understand it as it aludes me ....

can it be a contact allergy or something like that...

If i wear my watch and get gluten the skin up it breaks out...i know that..so that's a contact issue right?

please help me hear as i have always so respected your opinion.

please dont tell me to stop dying my hair ... .I did for 7 months and i looked as old as i feel most day.

hope you will reply to my message.

judy

[CarlaB]

Judy, I'm not Richard, and I hope he answers this, but I think the answer is that some people have a secondary allergy in addition to the gluten intolerance. Gluten on your skin cannot cause a celiac reaction, but if you also have a slight allergy to wheat, you might get the rash. I get rashes easily and cannot use shampoo with wheat, but I don't get "glutened" from the shampoo, just a rash, unless I were to get it in my mouth, of course.

[Judyin Philly]

Judy, I'm not Richard, and I hope he answers this, but I think the answer is that some people have a secondary allergy in addition to the gluten intolerance. Gluten on your skin cannot cause a celiac reaction, but if you also have a slight allergy to wheat, you might get the rash. I get rashes easily and cannot use shampoo with wheat, but I don't get "glutened" from the shampoo, just a rash, unless I were to get it in my mouth, of course.

thanks Carla

I think that's it

i haven't been alergy tested with.

i just know certain body washs and soap, just make me scratch and itch like crazy

so appreciate you wading through the long post.

do you color your hair way the way if you don't mind me asking?

judy

[CarlaB]

thanks Carla

I think that's it

i haven't been alergy tested with.

i just know certain body washs and soap, just make me scratch and itch like crazy

so appreciate you wading through the long post.

do you color your hair way the way if you don't mind me asking?

judy

I haven't been allergy tested either, just learning by trial and error.

I get my hair colored at the salon. I don't know if it's gluten-free or not, and I don't worry about it since she washes it out when she's done. If I were to wash it out, I'd be more concerned about whether it had gluten. I get foils on the top of both a light and a dark color, then I get a full color on the underneath of a dark color (way darker than my natural color, which is a little lighter than my daugther Morgan in the pic).

[jerseyangel]

Judy,

I'll add that your chemistry is different now since you've been gluten-free. Things that have never bothered me (foods, makeups, lotions, shampoos, etc) before now can definately "feel" different. Not that I'm always having a *bad* reaction, but I just react differently.

Another thing, and this could or could not be related, is that anyone can develop an allergy to products they've been using a long time. Especially hair dye. It is suggested that we do a patch test *every* time because of this. There are other ingredients in hair care, especially, like soy. As we develop additional sensitivites (like I have and I know you have), those can also become a problem.

I can totally relate to you not wanting to give up your color. I think at this point, a patch test would be a good idea. Inconvenient, I know, but better than your whole head getting inflammed.

Have you tried a demi-permanent color (the kind that washes out gradually)? Those don't have all of the harsh ingredients as the permanent ones.

The shampoos are relatively easy, cuz you can just bring your own. I can't use Giovanni, which is gluten-free, I suspect the soy. It irritates not only my head, but all the skin it comes in contact with. It's very much a trial and error thing.

It's also a controversial subject, but natural practioners will commonly say that things can indeed be absorbed by the skin--my Kinesiologist says it takes only about 8 seconds! I'm not arguing about what is right, cuz again, I don't really know. I just tend to err on the side of caution, and listen to my own body.

[Guest Kathy Ann]

One more interesting comment about the use of henna. I had used it for about 20 years and really liked the results. The color was always very natural looking and henna smooths the hair shaft down to avoid the frizzies.

Recently, I started adding eggs to the henna mix for extra protein conditioning. And suddenly I was breaking out in hives after doing my hair. Couldn't figure it out. Instead of suspecting the eggs, I assumed I had somehow set up an allergy to the henna and reluctantly quit using it.

It didn't dawn on me until a week ago that it wasn't the henna, it was the EGGS! I'm allergic to eggs! Duh! So I'm back to the henna. I love the stuff.

[lovegrov]

I think jerseyangel hit it on the head. After being diagnosed and going gluten-free I suddenly started getting an underarm rash from a deodorant I had always used. I also developed psoriasis, another autoimmune condition. I also think -- although I have no scientific evidence and most certainly am not a doctor or an expert -- that some folks develop more of a skin sensitivity to gluten. This is different, however, from gluten that reaches your intestines.

richard

[Judyin Philly]

I think jerseyangel hit it on the head. After being diagnosed and going gluten-free I suddenly started getting an underarm rash from a deodorant I had always used. I also developed psoriasis, another autoimmune condition. I also think -- although I have no scientific evidence and most certainly am not a doctor or an expert -- that some folks develop more of a skin sensitivity to gluten. This is different, however, from gluten that reaches your intestines.

richard

Thanks so much all of you

esp Richard and Jersey...now this makes total sense to me. I'm sure your right on the 'skin sensitivity to gluten'

oh my, such info to keep researching.

I was so happy to see you answer Richard even tho i knew what you'd say on the subject, I also knew you would probably be able to help me figure it out.

nite

judy aks (tired of itching and burning )

[PeaceAngel22]

I am allergic to sulfur, sulfa, and sulfites which are usually found in hair color. I can have extreme burning sensations on my scalp. If you are allergic to eggs, which are sulfur, you might have this type of allergy.

[Judyin Philly]

If your allergic to the 'drug' sulfa, would this be the same? I can eat eggs.

and why does it burn terribly one time and only alittle the next time, like patti was saying, maybe what other things are going on in 'your own internal chemisty' at the time..like me not having tomatoes the day before a hair coloring.

judy

[ravenwoodglass]

I agree a lot has to do with internal chemistry. I also think that whether or not you have any open sores, even a small pimple in the area you are coloring can allow some of the stuff your body dislikes to enter your bloodstream. Also while the gluten protein may not cross intact skin it can be absorbed by the mucous membranes. If you get the stuff in your nose or mouth you've been got. There has been some work to develop a form of testing that uses the mucous membrane for biopsy to detect celiac instead of the rectum. Some countries consider the gluten challenge to be dangerous and will test a suspected celiac by use of a gluten suppository and biopsy of those tissues a couple hours later. They are developing the oral testing because it is less traumatic especially for children.

I would also be careful if you are using the semiperment type of color, I think that is more likely to give us problems as it is designed to be removed from our hair a bit at a time as we shampoo. Some of the problem chemicals like a wheat germ oil might be rinsed away fairly quickly but there could be others that we are not aware we have a problem with that have more resilency. Allergies can develop suddenly so always do a patch test.