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Confused About Gluten Free Products..

hspichke

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hspichke Apprentice
hspichke
Posted

I am newly gluten free. I understand I cannot eat anything with gluten and have been doing okay with all of that but I am confused about topical gluten, if that even makes sense ha. I have heard two things, you cannot have any makeup made with gluten touch your lips. I have also heard you cannot use anything with gluten on your body period. I do get the DH rash, but I have never found it came from a certain product, so I assume it was the food I was eating. Could some explain this to me please :)

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mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

Many of us avoid all gluten because it is just not worth the risk of getting shampoo in your mouth when showering, or gluten off your hands from lotion or gluten in watering eyes from mascara. It doesn't mean we would react but it just seems so much easier for me to get the gluten out of the house entirely and not even think about it.

Krystal K. Rookie
Krystal K.
Posted

I'm newer to this too, but I asked my Dr. and he said that topical gluten is fine but like Mushroom said if it gets ingested at all it can become a problem...So I've gotten rid of mascara and some lotions chapsticks and my Big Sexy Hair shampoo :/ to me its just not worth the risk!

peanuts Newbie
peanuts
Posted

I'm newer to this too, but I asked my Dr. and he said that topical gluten is fine but like Mushroom said if it gets ingested at all it can become a problem...So I've gotten rid of mascara and some lotions chapsticks and my Big Sexy Hair shampoo :/ to me its just not worth the risk!

How do we go about finding out if our daily favorite products for skin, hair, makeup etc. contain gluten? It makes sense to not use topical gluten as our skin absorbs these products. :(

mushroom Proficient
mushroom
Posted

You need to familiarize yourself with all the different ways that gluten hides. Anything that says wheat, oats, barley, avenin (oats) is of course out, although some claim hydrolyzed wheat protein is okay but I avoid it. You can call or email the manufacturer or there are iphone apps available. Here is a link: Open Original Shared Link that has other links.

rosetapper23 Explorer
rosetapper23
Posted

Quite frankly, I don't believe the "experts" who say that gluten must be ingested to cause DH. There simply have been no real studies done on this. All I know is that if I use a shampoo that contains wheat, my scalp and face break out all over in DH. Back when I didn't know I had celiac, I wore lipstick (only in my teens)....and my lips would swell up and turn purple. It wasn't from ingestion of gluten--it was from the gluten touching my lips. DH is quite a different animal from celiac, I believe, and it definitely needs to be studied more.

Gemini Experienced
Gemini
Posted

I am newly gluten free. I understand I cannot eat anything with gluten and have been doing okay with all of that but I am confused about topical gluten, if that even makes sense ha. I have heard two things, you cannot have any makeup made with gluten touch your lips. I have also heard you cannot use anything with gluten on your body period. I do get the DH rash, but I have never found it came from a certain product, so I assume it was the food I was eating. Could some explain this to me please :)

That is very astute of you to recognize the connection between a DH break-out and it being connected to the food you are eating! That is supposedly the way it works as the reaction comes from within but I think that anyone who has skin issues with Celiac probably runs a higher risk of having an additional wheat allergy, which is different to an intolerance. Coming into contact with the offending product would cause that type of reaction.

You must not use gluten containing lip products, whether you have DH or classic Celiac. You ingest what you put on your lips and that's why you have to screen lipstick. As far as body lotion is concerned, that can be personal choice but you have had issues with skin products so you might want to find one that isn't a problem and just stick with that. I always screen hand lotion, for obvious reasons, and just use that on anything else. Otherwise, I don't worry about stuff I won't ingest.

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ciamarie Rookie
ciamarie
Posted

Another ingredient to look out for that is derived from wheat is panthenol, and I agree with mushroom and rosetapper23!

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

I also agree with mushroom & rosetapper23 & ciamarie!

Another reason not to use gluten containing topical ingredients is that Vit E is absorbed through the skin. Now if that Vit E happens to be wheat derived then what do you think is going to happen?

I have dh ~~~ I know that NOW. But for 7 or 8 years I have not been able to wear makeup of any kind. It would itch me so! And my face, particularly my eyes would swell up. I would wear it, come home & right away wash it off ~~ still had reactions. Tried 20 or 30 products ~~~ with the same results. Guess what? Now that I found out I am celiac & with dh & looked for gluten-free makeup. I found Afterglow (online) which is gluten free ~~~ pricey but gluten-free. I tried it. I'm a very happy girl! For the first time in years & years I can wear makeup. It's like a miracle.

Bellanovia Newbie
Bellanovia
Posted

oh my god..I just solved my makeup allergies! my eyes can not tolerate anything...and I never understood..until this thread. thank you so much!

squirmingitch Veteran
squirmingitch
Posted

Welcome to the board Bellanovia. It's amazing the things we learn are connected to celiac. So many things make sense now that I couldn't figure out before or that I thought were just an odd problem I had.

hspichke Apprentice
hspichke
Posted
  • Author

I also agree with mushroom & rosetapper23 & ciamarie!

Another reason not to use gluten containing topical ingredients is that Vit E is absorbed through the skin. Now if that Vit E happens to be wheat derived then what do you think is going to happen?

I have dh ~~~ I know that NOW. But for 7 or 8 years I have not been able to wear makeup of any kind. It would itch me so! And my face, particularly my eyes would swell up. I would wear it, come home & right away wash it off ~~ still had reactions. Tried 20 or 30 products ~~~ with the same results. Guess what? Now that I found out I am celiac & with dh & looked for gluten-free makeup. I found Afterglow (online) which is gluten free ~~~ pricey but gluten-free. I tried it. I'm a very happy girl! For the first time in years & years I can wear makeup. It's like a miracle.

OH MY GOSH!! I used to use certain makeups that would make my face itch and turn bright red and I just wanted it off asap! I wonder if it could have been something with the gluten...however, now I wear numerous different kinds. So is most foundation contain gluten? :(

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