Mary Kay Cosmetics

[Yellow Rose]

I went to a Mary Kay party Friday night. The consultant checked with the company but they did not have a list. She went to this web site and printed up a list of chemicals to look for. We checked all the packages and found nothing that indicated gluten except one lotion for your hands. So I did the facial. The next morning I was in so much pain I could do nothing the whole day but sit and sleep. Had the whole brain fog and sleepy problem along with the pain. I am better today but still feeling the effects. Anybody else had a problem with Mary Kay products?

[alamaz]

I tried using mary kay about two months ago and broke out really bad. i can't tell if i got glutened from it as well because the time i started using it was also when we went on vacation and i got sick from something and honestly, it could have been anything from the make up to the food to the counter tops at the condo we stayed in. the rep. i went to gave me the listing of ingredients that i should avoid and checked all the products as well. i should have questioned it however since it listed citric acid as a no no and as far as i can tell citric acid is fine since i eat it almost daily in fruit juices etc. when i went to the make up counter at the department store i was talking to the woman and told her about my mary kay experience and she said in general a lot of people react to mary kay products and can't use them. hard to believe it's the best selling brand!!

[dragonmom]

I've been using mary kay for years and my skin is better than it was before. Some people break out when they change what they routinely use on their skin. It's too bad it hurt you.

[tiffjake]

Alamaz, while I am not a fan of MK at ALL, I have noticed that people who want to sell you a DIFFERENT brand, will bash MK in a heart beat.

YellowRose and Alamaz, I was diagnosed while in Director-In-Qualifications with Mary Kay. I was very dissapointed with their "Gluten Free" list (as you mentioned, that suggests avoiding Citric Acid). I did a lot of my own research, and there are about 5 products (as last check) that were totally NOT safe because ot WHEAT STARCH in them.

Those included the Nail Polish, one of the mascaras (I think that one has been phased out now), the concealer, and a popular eye cream. I havn't been in MK for a year now, so I don't remember all of the details, but I did post them here when I found them out, so do a search for Mary Kay on this forum.

But I am betting that at your facial, you used the concealer, and the eye primer, and those both have wheat starch in them. And your consultant can find this out by logging into InTouch and going to Product Knowledge. You can search a product by ingredient, and I searched every "name" for gluten, including wheat, modified food starch, malt, everything I could think of. You really can't go by the company letter.......

Just my opinion......

I will hunt for that post and try to link it here....

[tiffjake]

I did the search bar and searched for "Mary Kay" and "TiffJake" and found the thread. This is the list, but please remember that I posted this over a year ago, so ask a current consultant to look it up online in the InTouch system.

Wheat Amino Acids

Functions:

Amino Acids and Derivatives (Including Peptides) : Used to help maintain healthy skin. These ingredients are the building blocks for proteins, like collagen.

Products containing this ingredient:

Daily Protection Moisturizer With Sunscreen SPF 15 (Discontinued - 9/16/04)

Ingredient

Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein

Functions:

Film Former : Produces a continuous film on the skin or nails upon drying.

Products containing this ingredient:

MK Signature

[Guest Doll]

I think why they say that these products are gluten-free, is because they *technically* are. Anything that says "hydrolyzed" wheat starch has been broken down (hydrolyzed...the bonds are disolved) into individual amino acids. It is technically not gluten anymore and shouldn't cause a Celiac reaction. I don't use MK, so I don't know if it's American, but other countries outside the US consider wheat starch to be gluten-free. I have no idea what they are talking about with the "citric acid" thingy though....

That said, I personally avoid wheat starch in all forms of food (as what North American Celiac groups suggest). Remember what I said in another post about gluten not being absorbed topically and needing to be broken down to be absorbed into the skin (and make the product effective)? This is exactly that. Your skin uses these amino acids, and they can only be absorbed if broken down first from the gluten. If gluten is broken down into individual amino acids, it is technically harmless to Celiacs.

Basically, everything in our body is comprised of amino acids taken from outside sources. You could call them the "building blocks" of life. New bonds are created and broken down all the time.

If someone is reacting to topical products (and that one shampoo was gluten-free anyway), it does sound like you might have localized IgE allergies aside from Celiac. Has your doctor tested you yet? Are the new products you are using too greasy, etc. for your skin/hair type? Lots of products make me break out, gluten-free or not. I have very sensitive and oily skin (thanks mom!).

If I were you, I would use only "hypoallergenic" shampoos, soaps, etc. made for sensitive skin. You may have to pay a bit more, but for some people, they have no choice.

Many people find that Burt's Bees shampoos and Cetaphil facial cleanser work well for them.

Back to the original post: Obviously you should avoid MK products if you react to them. If you have sensitive skin like me or allergies, MK products may not be such a good choice. I hope you feel better soon!