Why Should Celiacs Maintain A Gluten Free Beauty Routine?

[Ev7777]

Why Should Celiacs Maintain a Gluten Free Beauty Routine?

Some Doctors still insist that it's not necessary to adhere to a gluten-free beauty routine. However, according to The Good Housekeeping Institute up to 60% of a product applied to the skin can be absorbed into the bloodstream.

Read more: Open Original Shared Link

[Gemini]

Why Should Celiacs Maintain a Gluten Free Beauty Routine?

Some Doctors still insist that it's not necessary to adhere to a gluten-free beauty routine. However, according to The Good Housekeeping Institute up to 60% of a product applied to the skin can be absorbed into the bloodstream.

Read more: Open Original Shared Link

I wouldn't count on the Good Housekeeping Institute for medical advice. This has been discussed at length on this forum and what it boils down to

is personal choice. You have to ingest gluten into the gut for it to cause an autoimmune reaction. Into the gut does also mean in the mouth, up your nose or in your eyes. If you have cosmetics or medicines that go into either of these three, yes, you have to use gluten-free products. Hand cream and lipstick are two other wise gluten-free choices, for very obvious reasons.

However, the blood stream by passes the gut. This is why you do not have to be concerned about injections by a doctor, other than the fact they wouldn't be putting anything with gluten in an injection anyway. In order for something to pass through the skin barrier, it has to be manufactured to do so, like patch meds. Not everything automatically passes through the skin, if the molecule is too large. Most Celiacs who have taken the time to learn about this disease and how to navigate it successfully already know this. If a person chooses to go completely gluten-free, that's perfectly fine but it's not necessary for many cosmetics. Lots of people manage this just fine and have the blood work and health to back it up. New Celiacs need to be aware of this. No need to create more fear.

[ravenwoodglass]

When gluten contacts any mucous membrane it can trigger the antibodies into action. Since my reactions are much more than just GI related I choose to not have the antibodies activated and avoid gluten ingredients in all products.

Perhaps some who don't have as much autoimmune impact as myself might feel safe using these products and that is their choice.

For me it is not worth the 3 weeks of misery that I get with even a small amount of CC so I chose to use only gluten free topicals as well as food.

[sandsurfgirl]

This is the thread that never ends.... la la la! LOL

Okay I'll jump in. I think unless you're meticulous it's impossible to keep those products out of your mouth for many people. I have long hair and when I wash it the shampoo and conditioner run down my face. I always put conditioner on and then put my hair in a clip to let it sit on there for awhile. The conditioner gets all over my face eventually and I'm certain it gets in my mouth some way or other.

Lotions and soaps stay on the hands and then you eat. If you wash your hand with soap that contains gluten and then you prepare your food you've just glutened yourself. Add some gluten hand lotion and it all adds up.

I don't know about the blood stream thing but the docs know jack about this disease. They can't even test right! How many people have had jacked up testing experiences? Yes they may say that ONLY ingesting gluten can cause a reaction... now, but how do they really know that? They discount many of the symptoms that we report. Studies discount anyone who hasn't been diagnosed by endoscopy. Lots of people report having reactions from gluten on their skin here on this website, so I think that the right research just hasn't been done yet. Some day they may find that yes indeed, gluten can be absorbed through the skin and cause reactions in celiacs.

You have to decide what works for you. Gemini has said I'm adding another layer of fear by advocating gluten free products, but It's nothing to do with fear. It's about being proactive. Often the people crying the loudest that they don't need to change their products are the ones moaning about lingering symptoms.

I'd love someone to do a test like that dentist thing where they color your teeth pink and then you brush. I'd like someone to color their beauty products and see how much ends up in their mouths.

If you aren't getting better and this is the last thing you haven't done, the try it. If you get a rash when you use those products, then cut them. It's not that hard to do. I have posted lists of products on many occasions.

For me, I did not start really healing until I got rid of all the wheat in my products and many of my products had it. I spent two hours in a high end beauty supply reading labels and nearly every salon quality product contains wheat. They brag about it. Tri wheat, wheat germ oil, wheat infused, wheat wheat wheat. Personally I don't take the risk.

[Reba32]

Personally, I'd suggest ensuring that lip balm/gloss/stick, hand soaps, body lotions, shampoos, conditioners, and face cleansers and lotions are gluten free. When I was first diagnosed I tossed out all my cosmetics, and read the ingredients on everything else. I had hand lotions that had wheat germ in them, and I had been using them, and then lean my chin on my hand and fingers get in the mouth and I was still getting sick. It's easy enough to find things that don't have gluten in them.

[sahm-i-am]

I checked my makeup, toothpaste, mouthwash, lipstick and chapstick and body/hand lotion. I did the same for my husband's products. BUT, when it came to my hair products I couldn't give up my beloved brands. I keep using them and love them. I did have my one year followup last week and all my Celiac blood test results came back showing declining numbers. So, I must not be reacting to the gluten in my shampoo, conditioner and styling product, since my numbers are going down (all are negative except one which is now borderline negative). Am I wrong to think this is ok? Some will say yes. But unless something drastic changes in my health that tells me otherwise I am going to keep using them as long as my numbers are down/decreasing.

[Leper Messiah]

Think it's all up to the individual both in terms of what they believe and how they react.

It's widely reported that the gluten protein is too large to be absorbed through the skin and secondly, if you had broken patches of skin and rubbed a weetabix into it then it's unlikely to cause an atypical autoimmune reaction, however this is not to say you won't have a rash or that it will not give you other issues which could be wideranging.

However I think it's reasonable to infer that because the forum is not loaded with people constantly getting a typical glutened reaction that gluten in shampoos, shower gel etc is not causing an autoimmune reaction but this is not to say it's not causing a reaction at all.

I agree with sandsurfgirl but when you can't rely either solely or partly on empirical evidence your turn to clinical evidence and I'm basing this entirely on the wonderful clinical evidence collated on a daily basis here.

[Katrala]

I wouldn't count on the Good Housekeeping Institute for medical advice. This has been discussed at length on this forum and what it boils down to

is personal choice. You have to ingest gluten into the gut for it to cause an autoimmune reaction. Into the gut does also mean in the mouth, up your nose or in your eyes. If you have cosmetics or medicines that go into either of these three, yes, you have to use gluten-free products. Hand cream and lipstick are two other wise gluten-free choices, for very obvious reasons.

However, the blood stream by passes the gut. This is why you do not have to be concerned about injections by a doctor, other than the fact they wouldn't be putting anything with gluten in an injection anyway. In order for something to pass through the skin barrier, it has to be manufactured to do so, like patch meds. Not everything automatically passes through the skin, if the molecule is too large. Most Celiacs who have taken the time to learn about this disease and how to navigate it successfully already know this. If a person chooses to go completely gluten-free, that's perfectly fine but it's not necessary for many cosmetics. Lots of people manage this just fine and have the blood work and health to back it up. New Celiacs need to be aware of this. No need to create more fear.

Amen!