Should I Avoid Skin Care Products and Cosmetics that Contain Gluten?

This is a tricky question – at least the part about skin care products is. The scientific answer about gluten in skin care products is that they can’t enter the digestive track from your skin so you don’t need to avoid products that contain gluten unless you’re going to ingest them. However, some people feel that skin care items that contain gluten affect their health negatively so they avoid using them for skin and hair care.

When it comes to shampoo, it stands to reason that someone (especially kids) might get some of it in their mouth when washing their hair, so some people avoid shampoos that contain gluten. Others simply avoid anything and everything that contains gluten. It can be difficult to do this because it’s hard to find companies that will state their products are gluten-free. Like with food items, this issue is improving, and some companies are better than others when it comes to confirming the gluten-free status of an item.

Though it’s more of a personal choice whether or not to avoid products for the skin and hair that contain gluten, there is no question that we need to avoid gluten in anything we know we’ll ingest. For women, that means lip liner, lip gloss and lipsticks need to be gluten-free. Everyone who is avoiding gluten for medical reasons needs to use gluten-free toothpaste, mouthwash, lip balm and dental floss. I’ve not heard of floss that contains gluten but when it comes to this pesky protein – anything is possible.

The companies that make personal hygiene products have stepped up their game over the last few years. Sometimes you can confirm the gluten-free status of these personal products faster than you can many food products. I find this rather perplexing actually, but in a good way. Most major mainstream brands of mouthwashes are gluten-free and many types of toothpaste are as well. These items usually have a toll free number right on the product so you can call the manufacturer from the store and inquire about ingredients before purchasing the item. I choose not to worry about gluten in my skin/hair care products (that I’m not ingesting), after speaking to several educated doctors about the issue – and listening to my own body. Everyone should do what is best for them, of course.

Finding gluten-free cosmetics can be rather difficult, depending on the manufacturer you’re dealing with. The toll free number for most companies is listed on their website. Arbonne and Nu Skin have many gluten-free cosmetics and Afterglow Cosmetics is a completely gluten-free product line. Wet-N-Wild is the lowest priced cosmetic line that makes gluten-free lipsticks that I’m aware of. At least the last time I contacted them, a company representative confirmed their lip liners and lipsticks were gluten-free. That does not mean that they are gluten-free today. Most cosmetic companies now keep a list of which of their products are gluten-free, but as with food items, the ingredients in products can and do change from time to time.

Most supplements that are gluten-free will marked as such on the label, though this will usually be included with a long list of things the product is “free from”. Medications can be checked here and at GlutenFreeDrugs.com. Recently, Cynthia Rudert M.D. of Atlanta suggested to our support group members that GlutenFreeDrugs.com was a great way to check the status of a medication in question. Each of these sites covers both over the counter and prescription medications.

Lately some of the larger drug store pharmacies have started keeping a gluten-free log of medications but I find it much easier and less exasperating to check online than to deal with an overly stressed pharmacist regarding gluten in medications.

Have a question about the gluten-free diet which we haven’t covered yet?  You can now submit your questions here! (Note: All medical questions should be directed to your physician)