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Gluten-Free Makeup In Dept. Stores


wannabhealthy

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wannabhealthy Newbie

Can anyone tell me which eye makeup products are gluten free and safe please? I've found some in the US (Joelle) and some Canadian (Arbonne -- very expensive), but wonder about Maybelline and Cover Girl? I've been looking at ingredients and e-mailed their sites, but haven't received anything conclusive. Anyone know anything about it? I'm a celiac and very sensitive to anything with gluten, even on my skin. Thanks for any help!


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GFreeMO Proficient

I just got out of a chat with a Cover Girl rep. If you go to the website and register, there is a chat button where you can live chat with someone. The person was very helpful. I found out that Cover Girl Clean foundation for sensitive skin and the Cover Girl professional loose powder are gluten free. If you find a product and go to the chat, they wil look it up for you.

GFreeMO Proficient

I went to Walgreens last night. The Cover Girl powder is not gluten free as it has oat flour in it. The foundation is okay though.

mbrookes Community Regular

How much of this make up do you plan to eat? Except for lipstick, I would think that very little would be ingested. From my understanding, Celiacs have problems when the gluten enters the digestive system, not by external contact.

I am suspicious that a few companies are making quite a lot of money by playing on our fears.

ravenwoodglass Mentor

How much of this make up do you plan to eat? Except for lipstick, I would think that very little would be ingested. From my understanding, Celiacs have problems when the gluten enters the digestive system, not by external contact.

I am suspicious that a few companies are making quite a lot of money by playing on our fears.

Gluten can be absorbed through the mucous membranes which will trigger antibodies. Some countries test for celiac using gluten filled swabs or suppositories and then biopsy the membranes to look for antibodies to diagnose especially when someone has been gluten free for a while. This antibody reaction includes the eyes and nose as well as the mouth. Some are able to use gluten filled toiletries with no issues but many of us need to avoid gluten ingredients in toiletries to stop the antibody reaction.

jackay Enthusiast

How much of this make up do you plan to eat? Except for lipstick, I would think that very little would be ingested. From my understanding, Celiacs have problems when the gluten enters the digestive system, not by external contact.

I am suspicious that a few companies are making quite a lot of money by playing on our fears.

I think anything put on your face could easily get into your mouth.

glutenfr3309 Rookie

bare minerals make up is a little more expensive than cover girl, etc but they are gluten-free and they last quite a while. i have used their foundation, blush, eye liner, eye shadows and mascara without any problems.


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cap6 Enthusiast

my reason for wanting personal products gluten-free is shampoo can run down across the mouth if not ultra careful. To me it doesn't make sense to wash my hands in a soap containing gluten, put lotion on my hands that contains lotion and then go touch food. I don't go over board on making personal products gluten-free but those items I am pretty careful about. I haven't had problems as far as getting sick with "unknown" products (soap in restrooms etc) but when I have a choice I make it gluten-free. I just figure that even if it doesn't make me sick it may be doing damage inside. Just a personal thing.

ECUmom3 Explorer

Not only is it possible to accidently ingest these products (ex. place contaminated hands in mouth, etc.) but many of us have DH (dermatitis herpetiformis), so yes we do need to be extra careful, not only with what we take in, but also what we put on our skin.

Like many of the other who responded, I started using Bare Essentials. It's a little more expensive but seems it will last for a while.

  • 1 year later...
buffandpuff Newbie

bare minerals make up is a little more expensive than cover girl, etc but they are gluten-free and they last quite a while. i have used their foundation, blush, eye liner, eye shadows and mascara without any problems.

I actually had quite a discussion with the customer service reps at Bare Minerals 2 days ago. Apparently, they have re-formulated some of their products to now contain wheat ingredients. They do offer a list of products that are not made with wheat, barley, rye or oat ingredients, but Bare Escentuals places the disclaimer that they are all made in the same facility as their products that do contain wheat. So be careful. I found this out by accident while I was trying to re-order a tried and true product and I happened to stumble across the ingredient list by mistake. Thankfully, I found this out before I placed the order. By the way, there is not a warning on their website that indicates that any of these products have been re-formulated. I'm very disappointed. I'm switching to Afterglow products -- made by a Celiac for celiacs.

kareng Grand Master

I actually had quite a discussion with the customer service reps at Bare Minerals 2 days ago. Apparently, they have re-formulated some of their products to now contain wheat ingredients. They do offer a list of products that are not made with wheat, barley, rye or oat ingredients, but Bare Escentuals places the disclaimer that they are all made in the same facility as their products that do contain wheat. So be careful. I found this out by accident while I was trying to re-order a tried and true product and I happened to stumble across the ingredient list by mistake. Thankfully, I found this out before I placed the order. By the way, there is not a warning on their website that indicates that any of these products have been re-formulated. I'm very disappointed. I'm switching to Afterglow products -- made by a Celiac for celiacs.

Which products now contain wheat?

Gemini Experienced

How much of this make up do you plan to eat? Except for lipstick, I would think that very little would be ingested. From my understanding, Celiacs have problems when the gluten enters the digestive system, not by external contact.

I am suspicious that a few companies are making quite a lot of money by playing on our fears.

Yup, you have that right but that kind of thinking doesn't always play well with some. I wear make-up everyday, nearly died from this disease when I was diagnosed, and still wear make-up, like before. I only screen the most obvious things like lip products and body/hand cream. I am careful and have a routine that has worked well for 7 years. Never, ever have had a problem with make-up and I am about as sensitive as it gets. I agree that many companies will use this to get more money from those who can least afford to pay it.

Unless you shove your make-up up your nose or ingest it into your mouth, OR have a topical allergy to an ingredient, there is no need to worry about this.

Gemini Experienced

Not only is it possible to accidently ingest these products (ex. place contaminated hands in mouth, etc.) but many of us have DH (dermatitis herpetiformis), so yes we do need to be extra careful, not only with what we take in, but also what we put on our skin.

Like many of the other who responded, I started using Bare Essentials. It's a little more expensive but seems it will last for a while.

Did you know that you will not have a DH outbreak from touching gluten? Like classic Celiac, the reaction comes from within...you still have to ingest gluten to cause a DH outbreak. Having said that, I would assume that anyone with the skin version of Celiac may also run a very high risk of having a topical allergy to wheat. That may be why people break out when touching wheat/gluten products.

  • 3 years later...
Oceana Rookie
On 4/14/2011 at 4:36 PM, mbrookes said:

How much of this make up do you plan to eat? Except for lipstick, I would think that very little would be ingested. From my understanding, Celiacs have problems when the gluten enters the digestive system, not by external contact.

 

I am suspicious that a few companies are making quite a lot of money by playing on our fears.

My son is also diagnosed with celiac, and so I find that I don't want to wear any powders, blushes, or foundations that have gluten in them at all, because if he kisses my cheek, he could get gluten in his mouth.  The word is still out on whether gluten can enter the skin.  Some places, like the Mayo Clinic, says that the gluten molecules are too large to enter skin.  As a certified aromatherapist and a certified herbalist, I have learned that everything you put on your skin enters your system.  I'm waiting for the medical establishment to catch up with the program here.  Because of this, and because of how topically applied essential oils and plant essences do get into the bloodstream through the skin, I have chosen to be extremely careful with makeup.  Wheat is a plant.  It just makes sense that of course if you put it on your skin, it's going to get into your body, and at the very least, it's risky that it could get into your mucuous membranes, a cut or abrasion, or your mouth.

Also, most makeup out there has so many toxins in it, it's ridiculous.  I'd steer clear of lipstick, period, unless it was made with natural ingredients and gluten free, simply because I care about my health.  There's been plenty of research and are graphs online where one can see precisely what percentage of lipstick has arsenic and lead, etc in it.

I've been researching makeup for a while now, and there are many companies that claim gluten free, but they have no idea where their tocopherol is sourced.  Often it comes from wheat germ.  If they don't know, I won't touch it.  They also can claim gluten free ingredients, but cannot guarantee whether the facility is gluten free.

After my personal research, in an effort to help my son thrive and because I don't want to take any chances whatsoever with his health, I want nothing to do with a company that makes their products in a factory with wheat also being processed there.

Many people with celiac apparently have few to no symptoms.  Many have terrible symptoms and reactions.  Because I'm one of the ones without many symptoms, but who's cheated over and over again through the years because of it, I have four other diseases that have developed.  I am finally paying attention.

And so...regardless of reactions to gluten particles, I do not plan on "eating makeup" and I am also choosing to take excellent care with regards to what I put on my face and in my body.

I hate that many of these companies are making so much money off of our disease.  However, in researching what goes into making makeup that is gluten free and has excellent, healthy ingredients, I'm realizing that they pretty much have to charge those prices to stay in business.  I am planning on owning enough makeup to get by, and to have those particular items be a quality that will keep me and my child healthy.  

 

Gemini Experienced
3 hours ago, Oceana said:

My son is also diagnosed with celiac, and so I find that I don't want to wear any powders, blushes, or foundations that have gluten in them at all, because if he kisses my cheek, he could get gluten in his mouth.  The word is still out on whether gluten can enter the skin.  Some places, like the Mayo Clinic, says that the gluten molecules are too large to enter skin.  As a certified aromatherapist and a certified herbalist, I have learned that everything you put on your skin enters your system.  I'm waiting for the medical establishment to catch up with the program here.  Because of this, and because of how topically applied essential oils and plant essences do get into the bloodstream through the skin, I have chosen to be extremely careful with makeup.  Wheat is a plant.  It just makes sense that of course if you put it on your skin, it's going to get into your body, and at the very least, it's risky that it could get into your mucuous membranes, a cut or abrasion, or your mouth.

Also, most makeup out there has so many toxins in it, it's ridiculous.  I'd steer clear of lipstick, period, unless it was made with natural ingredients and gluten free, simply because I care about my health.  There's been plenty of research and are graphs online where one can see precisely what percentage of lipstick has arsenic and lead, etc in it.

I've been researching makeup for a while now, and there are many companies that claim gluten free, but they have no idea where their tocopherol is sourced.  Often it comes from wheat germ.  If they don't know, I won't touch it.  They also can claim gluten free ingredients, but cannot guarantee whether the facility is gluten free.

After my personal research, in an effort to help my son thrive and because I don't want to take any chances whatsoever with his health, I want nothing to do with a company that makes their products in a factory with wheat also being processed there.

Many people with celiac apparently have few to no symptoms.  Many have terrible symptoms and reactions.  Because I'm one of the ones without many symptoms, but who's cheated over and over again through the years because of it, I have four other diseases that have developed.  I am finally paying attention.

And so...regardless of reactions to gluten particles, I do not plan on "eating makeup" and I am also choosing to take excellent care with regards to what I put on my face and in my body.

I hate that many of these companies are making so much money off of our disease.  However, in researching what goes into making makeup that is gluten free and has excellent, healthy ingredients, I'm realizing that they pretty much have to charge those prices to stay in business.  I am planning on owning enough makeup to get by, and to have those particular items be a quality that will keep me and my child healthy.  

 

There is so much incorrect information in this post, I felt the need to respond. My intention is not to ruffle any feathers so bear with me.

The word is not still out on whether gluten is absorbed into your skin.  Everything that you put on your skin does not enter your system. You cannot compare essential oils and plant essences to gluten. The Mayo Clinic is correct.....the molecule is too large to pass through the dermal barrier and this is long established science. If everything you put on your skin was fully absorbed, we would have far shorter life spans due to all the toxins out there which would be absorbed and make us very sick or even worse, kill us. The skin is a neat design which protects us from many things.  I don't think the medical establishment needs to "catch up" on skin absorption because it's a pretty well understood science. It's why we have meds specifically formulated to be absorbed as another delivery option.

If you choose not to wear lipstick, that's fine.  But many of us do and we obviously are not being poisoned by it. I have yet to hear of death by lipstick so if those of you who like wearing it want to continue, just make sure it is gluten free and you'll be fine.

Tocopherols.......safe!  They are so highly processed and the amounts are so miniscule, they are considered safe for Celiacs by many of the mainstream Celiac organizations.

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