Body Lotions

[Alexandra Rosenberg]

Hi everyone, I am new to the boards and I was just wondering, if a body lotion has gluten in it can I brake out from it? I recently have been very sensitive to most lotions and was just wondering if that has to do with gluten or that maybe I am allergic to something else in the product. Thanks in advance.

[Lisa]

Yes, lotions can have gluten ingredients. I tend to use Dove products and Lubriderm (without oats).

[jerseyangel]

Hi everyone, I am new to the boards and I was just wondering, if a body lotion has gluten in it can I brake out from it? I recently have been very sensitive to most lotions and was just wondering if that has to do with gluten or that maybe I am allergic to something else in the product. Thanks in advance.

The concern with lotions that contain gluten is that it can get into your mouth--anything that you get on your hands can find it's way into your mouth.

I would suggest reading the ingredients on the bottles and not using ones that contain wheat or oat. Of course, even if there are no gluten ingredients, you could still be sensitive to something else.

[Ursa Major]

I used a lotion once without reading the ingredients (before I knew about gluten intolerance), when I had been found to be intolerant to the combination of grains and fruit (I am intolerant to all grains and most fruit, but the combination is even worse). This lotion contained oat bran and apple something. As soon as I had rubbed it all over my arms, they started burning, turned bright red with a rash and started swelling. Both my arms where one huge hive within a minute!

I washed it off immediately with soap, but it took two days for the rash and the itching to subside. I was also feeling ill. It was scary.

I find that lotions, shampoos or soap that contain gluten will give me itchy rashes. Not as horrible as that time, though.

Since I have started using shampoo without gluten or salicylates, my scalp isn't driving me crazy any more with extreme itchiness.

So, yes, you can absolutely have a skin reaction to ingredients in lotions and other personal care products. Plus, as Patti said, you can also get an internal reaction (getting glutened) if you inadvertently get some into your mouth. And really, you can't avoid that if you use lotion with gluten. Or lipstick, shampoo etc.

[ravenwoodglass]

Suave makes some great gluten-free lotions and hair products. And you don't have to be a chemist to figure out if they are safe. They do make a couple with oats but they are labeled clearly. A new skin line that I found and verified many products on is Garnier Nutritioniste I started using their products on my face a month or two ago and have been very happy with them.

[Alison1971]

I have noticed a LOT of Lotions have Wheat Germ Oil or Vitamin E. Vitamin E can come from wheat sources and I did some research to find out which Vitamin E is not wheat. Anything that is labeled 'd-alpha tocopherol' is not made from wheat. It is very hard to find good lotions with this in them.