Absorbing Products Into Your Skin?

[Salax]

Guys,

I am trying to find out if makeup/lotions/soaps and etc really do get absorbed into the skin? Read a couple articles saying that the chemicals do get absorbed into the skin and go directly to the blood stream. If that's true then any gluten in these products would get into our bodies, thus we are glutened!

Thoughts? Please tell me what your research has shown and articles or some proof? I don't have a topical reaction to gluten, however...if it truely is going into my body, shouldn't I not use those products to be truely gluten free?

Thanks all!!

[Lisa16]

Salax, this is a hot topic here.

I am going to link you to a recent thread, and you can see how heated the discussions can get.

Some people truly believe that you cannot and other people just as strongly believe and have experienced that this is so. In the end, you will have to figure out which is the truth for you. It appears to boil down to sensitivity (which gets defined all sorts of ways.)

https://www.celiac.com/gluten-free/index.php?showtopic=56181

You will also find a kajillion threads about gluten-free toiletries, makeup and household products. Search a product and you will see what I mean.

Good luck.

[Salax]

Thanks Lisa. I see that it is definitely a hot topic. My apologies. I did not mean to "start a fire" again.

I guess my question is now....Can a person with Celiac Disease develop DH? According to my doc and several posts here it appears as those allergies can and do increase in people with Celiac. My doc also says the same thing. With that since we are prone to further auto-immune diseases as we progress....does that mean that DH can develop? Just a thought.

No fighting though. hehe.

Thanks-

[mushroom]

Can a person with Celiac Disease develop DH? According to my doc and several posts here it appears as those allergies can and do increase in people with Celiac. My doc also says the same thing. With that since we are prone to further auto-immune diseases as we progress....does that mean that DH can develop? Just a thought.

The consensus is that DH is by definition Celiac disease. If your question was, can you develop DH later after having been diagnosed with celiac, the answer is yes. My husband was diagnosed with "borderline" celiac, whatever that means. I have asked him to get the results. He went gluten free at the same time I did, but last summer he cheated with sourdough bread and beer, because after all he was just "borderline". He subsequently developed DH, which went away as soon as he went back gluten free.

[N.Justine]

All I know is that I got DH like skin irritation from too much flour in the air when I was working in the bakery and when I taught classes. But it's a Hot Topic in the medical community as well -- just check out these three differing opinions:

from Celiac Disease Center at Columbia website:

Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) is the skin manifestation of celiac disease. All patients with DH have celiac disease. It is an intensely itchy rash that usually occurs in the same place for each patient. This may be on the hands or fingers, forearms, buttocks or scalp or anywhere on the body. The rash typically consists of very itchy, small red dots that may develop into blisters or pimples. They are intensely itchy.

The diagnosis is clinical and can be confirmed by biopsy. The biopsy, for best results, needs to be taken from just adjacent to a lesion. The biopsy needs to have special immunofluorescence tests performed on it.

Treatment is first and foremost a gluten-free diet. This results in resolution of the lesions and will prevent new lesions. The diet also will prevent the development of lymphoma, that occurs at an increased rate as in patients with celiac disease. Drugs (Dapsone) may help patients recover from a severe episode, but are not a substitute for the diet. Patients with DH are very sensitive to small amounts of gluten.

Mayo Clinic:

Question

Celiac disease: Can gluten be absorbed through the skin?

If I have celiac disease, do I need to be concerned about sunscreens, shampoos and cosmetics that contain gluten?

Answer

Gluten can't be absorbed through the skin, although this is a common misperception. Celiac disease is triggered by consumption of gluten. For this reason, people with celiac disease must eliminate all gluten from their diet. Gluten-containing skin-care products and cosmetics aren't a problem unless you accidentally swallow them. For this reason, you should avoid using such products on your lips or around your mouth. Also, avoid using gluten-containing dental products, such as mouthwash and toothpaste. If you're uncertain about whether a product contains gluten, check the ingredient list on the product label or call the manufacturer.

Some people develop a form of celiac disease called dermatitis herpetiformis (DH), which causes an itchy, blistering rash. This skin disorder is also linked to gluten intolerance. But although it involves the skin, DH is caused by ingesting gluten, not by skin contact with gluten. So, eliminating gluten from your diet will help clear up DH as well.

If you use a cosmetic or skin-care product that contains gluten and you develop a skin reaction, seek the advice of your doctor or dermatologist to help identify the cause. It is possible to have an allergy to wheat or another grain that could cause a skin reaction.

Medical Journal Articles:

Open Original Shared Link

BACKGROUND: Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) is a cutaneous manifestation of gluten sensitivity, occasionally associated with other autoimmune disorders, and reportedly associated with an increased risk of lymphoproliferative disorders. We describe a series of patients with DH, focusing on associated disorders (particularly celiac disease), incidence of lymphoma, histopathology, and sensitivity of direct immunofluorescence (DIF) testing and serologic testing with antiendomysium antibodies for the diagnosis of DH. METHODS: The medical records of 264 patients with DH diagnosed between 1970 and 1996 were reviewed retrospectively. In addition, the records of six patients evaluated before the advent of DIF testing between 1932 and 1969 were reviewed. RESULTS: Established celiac disease was present in 12.6% of patients with DH, autoimmune systemic disorders in 22.2%, malignant neoplasms in 10.4%, sarcoidosis in four patients, and ulcerative colitis in six patients. Lymphoproliferative disorders were found in seven patients. The histopathologic examinations showed a marked predominance of neutrophils in the inflammatory infiltrate. DIF testing was positive in 92.4% of the patients tested. Indirect immunofluorescence assay indicated circulating antiendomysial antibodies in the sera of 40 of the 63 patients tested (63.5%). CONCLUSIONS: In this large series of patients with DH from a single institution, patients had a low incidence of symptomatic gluten-sensitive enteropathy, low risk of lymphoproliferative disorders, and associations with other systemic autoimmune disorders. The value of DIF testing in the diagnosis of DH was confirmed. The detection of antiendomysial antibodies by indirect immunofluorescence was less sensitive than indicated by other reports.

[Salax]

Interesting and thank you for the information.

[lovegrov]

There are some people who appear to believe you can absorb anything through your skin, which is patently not true. For instance, skin lotion might soak into your upper layers but it does not permeate the skin barrier and it does not get into your body. Some medications can be absorbed, BUT only because the patches also contain a chemical carrier that takes it into your body. Note that there are numerous medications that you cannot take by this method, and that's because they simply cannot get through the skin barrier.

Every celiac and chemical expert I know of who has a addressed the issue agrees that "gluten" molecules are simply to large to be absorbed through the skin.

richard

[Salax]

Thanks Richard.

Just to play devil

[RiceGuy]

My thoughts are as follows.

It is nearly impossible to avoid getting shampoo into one or more orifices. Can you count the number of times you've tasted shampoo in your mouth while washing your hair? Happens to me all the time. That's all it would take, so gluten-free shampoo seems necessary. Powdery cosmetics easily get wafted up into the air, at which point you'll likely breath in some of it. If you apply skin lotion, then touch any food, that food will be contaminated with the lotion, will it not? Also, how many of us rub our eyes, or touch some part of the face routinely? I think we all do.

The number one method by which contagious diseases transfer from one person to another is by touching an infected surface, not by being coughed or sneezed on. But those germs need a way into the body before they can effect you. So you have to ask yourself how the germs on your hands managed to get into an orifice. And gluten can do just the same.

Open Original Shared Link

Open Original Shared Link

Someone posted a link recently, to an article about how some Celiacs continued to have damage to the villi, even while on a strictly gluten-free diet. It turned out they were breathing in dust from animal feed. This means that it doesn't require getting gluten into your stomach to cause a reaction. It makes sense of course, because the antibodies that form are distributed in the bloodstream. So exposure in any area which the immune system can "see", means every area of the body will be subject to the antibodies.

In my view, it is not a matter of gluten being absorbed, but whether the immune system can detect it in some way. It sort reminds me of Open Original Shared Link. That article doesn't say the compound is absorbed, but it does say there is an Open Original Shared Link. But again, even this isn't a requirement, as it is so easy to get gluten inside the body once it is on the outside, especially the hands.

[jerseyangel]

I'm certainly no scientist or doctor, but my belief falls into the "even if it's not absorbed through the skin, I'm sure as heck not going to slather it all over my head or body since traces of it will find a way into my mouth at some point" camp.

Seriously, I have gotten clear-cut symptoms from hair care products and sunscreen that contained gluten. I simply buy products that don't contain it.

[Salax]

Thanks for the responses. I know this is a controversial topic. I would say that we are adults and we can all agree to disagree. It

[Lisa]

I am chick

[Lisa16]

Hi Salax!

If you are going shopping I have a few suggestions for you to check out-- I am sure you can find many more here too. Read the labels for sure. I use Sephora a lot:

Lipstick:

Chanel (all lpstick and gloss okay)

Clinique (some)

Nars (whole line is gluten-free)

Smashbox (everything but mascara)

EcoNvey (no gluten ingredients)

Lancome (some)

T. Leclerc (whole line appears to be gluten-free)

Guerlain (see list posted here)

100% pure (go through makeup.com or their own website-- everything but mascara)

Mascara:

Nars

Guerlain

Etc. (blush, foundation, etc.)

Everyday Minerals (there is a HUGE thread here)

Nars

EcoNvey

T. Leclerc

Guerlain

100% pure (they make a great thing that is a lipstick/blusher)

check out korres new line too

smashbox (there are some great kits of sephora)

For shampoos:

Lush

Rene Futerer

Phyto

Conditioners:

korres (see post on here-- long lists of okay stuff)

phyto

alterna

Lush

Styling porducts (hair)

Kores soft shine yucca wax

Phyto (many things are okay including karanja oil shine spray, pro hair spray and phytomist)

Lotions and moisturizers:

Sundari

Korres (tons!-- the body butter is fantastic for dry skin)

Lush (tons! I Love helping heands for handcream)

100% pure (they make a nice foaming face wash)

Caudalie (only three things are not okay-- a shampoo and two creams)

I guess you can tell I am a product addict too Happy shopping!

[Salax]

Thank you, thank you, thank you Lisa!!