How terrible is conditioner that contains gluten...?

Lucy_B · Post by **Lucy_B** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 8:04 pm

Hi, folks! Just realized today that my expensive conditioner from Aveda (which I have a giant half-full bottle of) contains "hydrolyzed wheat protein". How big of a deal is this? It's only going on my hair, but I guess it's possible a small amount might be absorbed into my skin when I apply/rinse it (or inhaled via the steam, who knows). The problem is that this is literally the one conditioner I've been able to find that will work on me...nothing else does the trick like this stuff. And I've tried many, many products. I would hate to give it up (in addition to pretty much every food under the sun :) but I will if I have to. Are there any gluten intolerant folks out there who are able to tolerate hair products containing gluten? Thanks!

Lucy

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:20 pm

A lot of the 'natural' products all have wheat, oat and soy.....
Wait till you start checking every product for soy.... It's everywhere....

With your high enterolab results I would avoid wheat and soy as much as possible.
Down the track when you are not inflamed, Once a week small contact would maybe be ok, daily contact is more likely to cause issues...

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:21 pm

Also check your lipsticks and lip balms... Quite a few have gluten....

Lucy_B · Post by **Lucy_B** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 9:49 pm

Yeah, that's what I figured. Oh well. :) I only use Burt's Bees lip products and I saw where someone posted that they are GF. Hopefully that's still the case. I checked on my toothpaste, as well- thumbs up. Need to double check my face creams...I've been using Clean and Clear moisturizer recently but normally switch to Neutrogena anti-aging cream when the air starts to get dry again. Face soap is Cetaphil. I didn't see anything suspect listed on that, thankfully (unless I'm overlooking it...).

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:01 pm

From memory burts bees has soy... The products that were sold in Aus do.

Lilja · Post by **Lilja** » Mon Oct 26, 2015 11:48 pm

Conditioners, perfume, soap, textiles, paints, toys, rinsing products, etc contain a lot of chemicals, Phthalates and Bisphenol A among others. Phthalates are used to soften PVC products (food packaging, toys etc).

These chemicals are dangerous to our health.

https://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/ph ... e-and-men/
http://www.breastcancerfund.org/clear-s ... lates.html

Lilia

DJ · Post by DJ » Tue Oct 27, 2015 5:05 am

From what I've read, we don't absorb gluten through our skin. With lipstick, lotion, and conditioner, the bigger issue is having it on your hands or near your mouth. Life is complicated. I'm wondering if anyone else on our board has heard differently???

Erica P-G · Post by **Erica P-G** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 2:21 pm

Yep Burts Bees has SOY...Grrr...my reason for having to give it up....

I now use Lipsyl from Sweden (found it at Walmart

) it works great.

I need to re-examine my hair products as I am currently using John Frieda brand Blonde lightening - so far so good though.

Had to ditch my eye liner cheap Sally's pencils has SOY in them, I picked up an Almay pencil and Almay mascara, they seem to be ok, but I don't use the pencil every day either (only things I put on my face!)

Erica

Lucy_B · Post by **Lucy_B** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 7:37 pm

Yeah, soy is pretty darned insidious, especially when it comes to beauty products. You were right, Gabes!

Post by **tex** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 10:22 pm

DJ,

In chapter 14, pages 182–184 of Microscopic Colitis, you can find a discussion that includes my opinion of why the "experts" are wrong about the safety of skin products that contain gluten:

Can gluten in skin care products be a problem for someone who is gluten-sensitive?
The experts appear to be unanimous in their opinion on this issue; they are convinced that there is no way that skin care products that contain gluten can cause any problems for people who are sensitive to gluten, as long as the products only contact the skin and are not ingested. Unfortunately, the personal experiences of many people who have microscopic colitis or celiac sprue, indicate that the experts are wrong.

I have a theory to explain how the experts may be confused on this issue
The epithelia of the intestines contains vertically-elongated cells known as enterocytes, between which lie the tight junctions (the zonula occludens). After the digestive process breaks down molecules of food into peptides and individual amino acids, the tight junctions regulate the passage of these nutrients into the bloodstream. The outer layer of the skin is an epithelia, very similar to the epithelial lining of the intestines, except that it does not contain a mucosal layer (because there is no reason for it to be able to produce mucus). The skin is set up somewhat differently, in that instead of having a single layer of enterocyte cells, that surround the tight junctions, the skin is composed of multiple layers of keratinised squamous cells, but the tight cell junctions still play a vital role in the barrier function of the skin just as they do in the epithelia of the intestines.

Since the intact gluten molecule is too large to pass through the tight junctions of the intestines, it certainly would not be unreasonable to assume that it is also too large to pass through the tight junctions of the skin. The experts cite this as the reason why gluten in skin care products cannot cause problems. In my opinion, this is where the experts miss the boat, because unfortunately, this observation is totally irrelevant to the issue at hand.

The point is, none of us react to the gluten molecule when it’s inside their intestines, either. Actually, we react to certain peptides that are cleaved from the gluten molecule when it is broken down by the digestive system. Specifically, when the amino acid chain that comprises the gluten molecule is broken down by the digestive system, certain segments of the chain cannot be digested into individual amino acids, and some of these short to medium length chains (known as peptides) are responsible for causing the reactions associated with gluten sensitivity.

Though I don’t have the luxury of a well-equipped research laboratory to verify my theory, it seems rather logical that if these peptides can pass through the tight junctions of the lining of the intestines, then there is a very good chance that they might also be capable of passing through the tight junctions of the skin, as well. After all, this isn’t rocket science. And if any of the peptides should be successful in passing through those tight junctions into the skin, then there is a very good chance that they might also be capable of triggering a reaction of some type, because if the immune system recognizes them as foreign invaders when they are absorbed in the gut, then it will very likely view them as foreign invaders if they penetrate the skin, as well. After all, the same immune system that is so dedicated to protecting the tight junctions in our intestines is also in charge of monitoring the tight junctions in our skin.

Of course, skeptics will immediately raise a question regarding how those peptides might be present in a skin care product. I think the answer is rather obvious. Have you ever read the complete ingredient list on any of those products? They contain many, many ingredients, and some of them are pretty potent chemicals, with the potential to generate, or enhance, various reactions with other chemicals. It is quite likely, in my opinion, that one or more of those chemicals used in certain products, or the processing steps that are used in manufacturing the products, may be capable of partially breaking down the gluten molecule, to produce some of the same peptides that our digestive system produces when we attempt to digest gluten.

Furthermore, most skin care products are formulated with a chemical ingredient known as a chemical penetration enhancer (CPE) that’s specifically included in order to enhance the absorptivity of the skin. In fact, that's often a selling point and what it means is that the CPE is there to artificially force the tight junctions in the skin to open, thus allowing any gluten-derived peptides that might be present to pass through the tight junctions, so that they will have easy access to epithelial mast cells.31 Obviously, this could create the potential for a mast cell reaction and possibly other adverse immune system events if those products contain antigenic peptides.

Certainly, as the experts point out, just having gluten in the product would not necessarily cause a problem. But if the right combination of chemicals, or processing, is used so that the gluten molecule is somehow broken down into peptides, then clearly, an immune system reaction could occur, because the peptides would almost surely be able to pass through the tight junctions, triggering a reaction of some type. The reaction might be restricted to the skin, but depending on the chemistry involved, it might also cause systemic effects.

Probably not all of us would be affected, and not all skin care products that contain gluten would necessarily cause a reaction. To be on the safe side though, if you choose to use skin care products that contain gluten, and you are sensitive to gluten, keep the risks in mind and carefully test any skin care products that you might want to use, before wholeheartedly accepting them for regular use.

And here is reference number 31 from that quote:

31. Karande, P., Jain, A., Kaitlin Ergun, K., Kispersky, V., & Mitragotri, S. (2005). Design principles of chemical penetration enhancers for transdermal drug delivery. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(13), 4688–4693. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC555729/

Tex

Gabes-Apg · Post by **Gabes-Apg** » Tue Oct 27, 2015 11:11 pm

I dont know about gluten in body products, but i know for sure that my gut reacts to moisturizers that are high in Soy based Vit E whether it is put on my feet, legs, arms, face - I react

and look at the success by many here using transdermal magnesium!!
Additionally many compounding pharmacies are making transdermal natural creams for hormone treatment, Pyrolle treatment and for children methylation treatment for (who can not handle tablets) our cells most definitely absorb stuff through the skin

Before my MC diagnosis, after I had hard to resolve eye issues, i could never wear eye pencil or mascara again without major irritation and inflammation. I have not worn eye make up for over 8 years and never will again.

I think we are more likely to react when there is mega inflammation / increased histamine etc.

it doesnt worry me, pure lanolin, coconut oil are super cheap (way cheaper than commercial products with Soy) pure rosehip oil for my face is on par cost wise with most commercial products.

crervin · Post by **crervin** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:34 pm

I know Arbonne products are gluten free, not sure about soy. Haven't had a chance to investigate yet.

crervin · Post by **crervin** » Wed Oct 28, 2015 8:42 pm

Arbonne is pricey...

Lucy_B · Post by **Lucy_B** » Thu Oct 29, 2015 9:00 am

Omg, I LOVE Arbonne. One of my friends used to sell it. But yeah, I can't afford it unless I throw a hostess party. ;)