Pantene

[stephkb]

I am new to celiac.com and was recently diagnosed with celiac disease. I am still trying to figure everything out, have gone through all my food and medicine but still think I have been having a reaction to something so started looking into my bath and beauty products. I have seen on here that some people have reactions to them even though you do not ingest them and I would rather err on the safe side and get rid of everything that has gluten in it.

I have used Pantene products in the past and contacted them to see if their hair gel was gluten free. From the letter they sent me back, I take it that they will not disclose the information. I think they are saying that if the ingredient list says it has wheat, etc. in it it is something they themselves added, if it does not say it has a gluten containing ingredient in it then it still could, but it would come from a supplier in the fragrance and not from Pantene themselves.

Could others provide me with your take on this letter that follows?

I also found it very demeaning that they would refer me to several websites about my condition as if have not already researched celiac more than I'm sure they probably have!

Thanks for your input -- letter follows:

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Thanks for contacting Pantene.

We know Celiac is a serious disease, so we want to give you clear information regarding the use of our beauty care products. If wheat and/or gluten aren't directly added to a product by us, these ingredients won't be listed on our packages. Like many companies, we often purchase the scents for fragranced products from outside suppliers, and the components of these substances are proprietary information belonging to those companies. Therefore it's possible that a very small amount (generally parts per million) of gluten may be present.

We sought advice from physicians; they told us it would be very unlikely a person with Celiac disease would have a reaction from a trace amount of gluten coming into contact with his skin or hair. This is because wheat, rye, barley and/or gluten generally cause symptoms when they're ingested. Since our beauty care products are designed to be used externally on the skin, their use shouldn't be an issue for someone with this disease.

Since gluten sensitivity can vary among people, it would be best if you consulted with your physician about the use of all types of consumable goods, if you haven't already. You might even consider using one of our fragrance free products that doesn't list gluten or wheat extracts on the label.

Thanks again for getting in touch with us. I hope this response has been helpful to you. For more information about Celiac, you may want to check out Open Original Shared Link and Open Original Shared Link

[flourgirl]

This sounds very patronizing to me! Of course....it may just be the mood I'm in, and the fact that I really take offense at being spoken to (written to) as if I were of less than normal intelligence. I have used Pantene in the past....maybe I won't bother to use them in the future. Thanks for sharing, btw, and good luck to you in healing.

[stephkb]

Thanks for you response! That is exactly how I took the letter too. I haven't contacted too many places about whether or not their products contain gluten, so I wasn't sure about the type of response you normally get. But I felt that their letter was very patronizing as well! I am not going to be using their products anymore.

This sounds very patronizing to me! Of course....it may just be the mood I'm in, and the fact that I really take offense at being spoken to (written to) as if I were of less than normal intelligence. I have used Pantene in the past....maybe I won't bother to use them in the future. Thanks for sharing, btw, and good luck to you in healing.

[JillianLindsay]

Sounds to me like they're saying that their products are basically gluten-free but in our lawsuit-happy society, no one actually wants to take responsibility for their products, so they won't actually answer your question directly. Frustrating. I tend to stick to companies that will give me a straight answer as I don't want to support companies who won't take responsibility for their products or make an effort to help people feel safe/comfortable with the products they are using.

[stephkb]

Yep, I think I will just find a different product to be on the safe side. And you are right I'd rather support a company that will give me a straight answer. Whether or not a tiny bit of gluten in my hair will hurt me or not was not the question I asked them. Basically I just said, I have celiac disease is your product gluten free, and they did not really answer my question at all.

Thanks for your take on this, it's good to know some companies will answer your questions straight.

Sounds to me like they're saying that their products are basically gluten-free but in our lawsuit-happy society, no one actually wants to take responsibility for their products, so they won't actually answer your question directly. Frustrating. I tend to stick to companies that will give me a straight answer as I don't want to support companies who won't take responsibility for their products or make an effort to help people feel safe/comfortable with the products they are using.

[homemaker]

I am new to celiac.com and was recently diagnosed with celiac disease. I am still trying to figure everything out, have gone through all my food and medicine but still think I have been having a reaction to something so started looking into my bath and beauty products. I have seen on here that some people have reactions to them even though you do not ingest them and I would rather err on the safe side and get rid of everything that has gluten in it.

I have used Pantene products in the past and contacted them to see if their hair gel was gluten free. From the letter they sent me back, I take it that they will not disclose the information. I think they are saying that if the ingredient list says it has wheat, etc. in it it is something they themselves added, if it does not say it has a gluten containing ingredient in it then it still could, but it would come from a supplier in the fragrance and not from Pantene themselves.

Could others provide me with your take on this letter that follows?

I also found it very demeaning that they would refer me to several websites about my condition as if have not already researched celiac more than I'm sure they probably have!

Thanks for your input -- letter follows:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thanks for contacting Pantene.

We know Celiac is a serious disease, so we want to give you clear information regarding the use of our beauty care products. If wheat and/or gluten aren't directly added to a product by us, these ingredients won't be listed on our packages. Like many companies, we often purchase the scents for fragranced products from outside suppliers, and the components of these substances are proprietary information belonging to those companies. Therefore it's possible that a very small amount (generally parts per million) of gluten may be present.

We sought advice from physicians; they told us it would be very unlikely a person with Celiac disease would have a reaction from a trace amount of gluten coming into contact with his skin or hair. This is because wheat, rye, barley and/or gluten generally cause symptoms when they're ingested. Since our beauty care products are designed to be used externally on the skin, their use shouldn't be an issue for someone with this disease.

Since gluten sensitivity can vary among people, it would be best if you consulted with your physician about the use of all types of consumable goods, if you haven't already. You might even consider using one of our fragrance free products that doesn't list gluten or wheat extracts on the label.

Thanks again for getting in touch with us. I hope this response has been helpful to you. For more information about Celiac, you may want to check out Open Original Shared Link and Open Original Shared Link

I am a soapcrafter and I know that fragrance companies do not divulge their fragrance ingredients to anyone...they say it is proprietary and that is totally legal, not right, but totally legal. I believe their response to very genuine. I have come head to head with fragrance companies and they are all the same....it really should change. Reputable companies attempt to gain full fragrance ingredient list disclosure and they are denied.

[stephkb]

Thanks for the info. I'll keep that in mind. I think I'd still prefer to use a company that can guarantee me that something is gluten free though, also it seems like a company as big as Pantene could at least find out if their fragrance includes any allergens in it without the fragrance company divulging their ingredients. But maybe I'm wrong... Thanks again.

I am a soapcrafter and I know that fragrance companies do not divulge their fragrance ingredients to anyone...they say it is proprietary and that is totally legal, not right, but totally legal. I believe their response to very genuine. I have come head to head with fragrance companies and they are all the same....it really should change. Reputable companies attempt to gain full fragrance ingredient list disclosure and they are denied.