If you have Celiac Disease / Gluten Allergy/ Intolerance, it can cause any of the following skin conditions:
- Acne
- angioedema - rapid swelling of skin
- atopic dermatitis - a long-term (chronic) skin disorder that involves scaly and itchy rashes.
- dermatitis herpetiformis -Dermatitis herpetiformis, an itchy, stinging, blistering skin rash, occurs when your skin reacts to gluten antibodies circulating in your system. Some people call dermatitis herpetiformis a "gluten rash" or a "celiac disease rash" because it occurs in conjunction with Celiac Disease
- eczema - a long-term (chronic) skin disorder that involves scaly and itchy rashes.
- urticaria - hives
Who knew, right? I thought the non-food areas of the store were safe. But I'll apparently be reading ingredient labels for eternity. Look out for the following ingredients in your skincare products (and i'm not saying this list is complete, so you should probably do your own research too)
Gluten Ingredients to avoid in products:
Gluten Ingredients to avoid in products:
A:
- amp -isostearoyl hydrolyzed wheat protein
- avena sativa
B:
- barley derived ingredients, extracts, lipids
- beta glucanoat extract
C:
- cyclodextrin
- dextrin
- dextrin palmitate
- disodium wheatgermamido peg-2 sulfosuccinate
F:
- fermented grain extract
- floursodium lauroyl
G:
- germamidopropyldimonium hydroxypropyl
H:
- hordeum vulgare (barley) extract
- hyrolyzed malt extract
- hydrolyzed vegetable protein
- hydrolyzed wheat gluten
- hydrolyzed wheat protein
- hydrolyzed wheat starch
- hydroxypropyltrimonium hydrolyzed wheat protein
M:
- maltodextrin
- oat derived ingredients
- oat amino acids
P:
- pg-propyl silanetriol
- phytosphingosine extract
- phytosphingosine extract
- samino peptide complex
- savena sativa (oat) flour
- Secale Cereale
- Sodium C8-16 Isoalkylsuccinyl Wheat Protein Sulfonate
- stearyldimoniumhydroxypropyl
T:
- Tocopherols
- triticum vulgare flour lipids, germ extract, germ oil, bran extract
- Tri- prefixes
- vitamin e derived from wheat germ oil
W:
- wheat amino acids
- wheat bran extract
- wheat germ extract
- wheat germ glycerides
- wheat germ oil
- wheat derived ingredients
Y:
- yeast extract
Now it's time for me to purge the bathroom of bad products...Just in case. I normally break out wherever my hair touches me, I just thought it was because I had sensitive skin, but if gluten was the problem all along, that would make a lot of sense. We will see!
--Update: I haven't purged my bathroom yet, because I've been reading up on this like crazy. Most people online suggest the following brands because of their clearly labeled ingredients, but not all of these brands are purely gluten free. You still need to check the ingredients. Also, if you are trying to avoid skin problems, try and avoid products with soy as well, since soy messes with estrogen levels/hormones. Also, this list is not complete and may not be completely correct. It's just what I've compiled from googling. Please correct me or add to it if you can!
Products to look into buying (read ingredient lists! And look around for coupons.)
Haircare:
- Cheaper end: Dove, Suave, Suave Kids, Pantene, Unilever, Tresemme, Got2Be, Theraneem.
- More expensive: Burts Bees, California Baby and Giovanni, Pure Results by Regis (can be found at TGF salons)
- Aquaphor- hands, legs
- Burts Bees
- Dove
- California Baby - Body lotion and body wash
- Clinique
- Tallulah soaps (great for face and body) http://www.etsy.com/shop/TallulahsSoaps I emailed her and she said the only soaps with wheat germ were: S'mores, Oatmeal and Almond Milk, and French Apple Tarte. But seriously, her soaps are amazing!!
- Bare Minerals (everything gluten-free except 100% natural lip gloss/lip stick)
- MAC
- Avon has a lot and are on the cheaper end
- Clinique
- Crest
- Colgate
- Sensodyne
- Tom's Organic
- Stomach: Pepto bismol (not Tums, Tums have gluten)
- Vitamins: Nature Made, GNC
More Skin Problems After Going Gluten Free??
The majority of stories about going Gluten Free sound fantastic, "oh my skin cleared right up!", "I feel so wonderful", "A week and I notice the difference!" Well none of this has really happened for me. And to top that off, my skin has gotten a lot worse. I read a ton online, and from what I can see, some people have had similar reactions as me, and here is what they say:
- eliminate salt from diet (which I am already doing)
- One person found out he was allergic to specific gluten free ingredients, like xantham gum. He suggested only sticking with ingredients that you have had the derivatives of before, like rice flour or potato flour, etc.
- One person found out the cause was taking a B12 vitamin they had never taken before (which I am currently doing)
- One person was taking a bioflavonoid supplement and also started eating a lot of strawberries and blueberries and was getting an overdose of bioflavonoids because of it. Bioflavonoids = Vitamin P
- One person found dairy to be at fault (which I have cut out of my diet)
- One person said they just went through a phase of increased acne for about 3 weeks and then their skin cleared up.
- One person said taking Biosil in pill form was great for their skin, lashes, and nails. But I would be hesitant to add anything like this without checking with a healthcare provider if you are already on medical foods or supplements.
- One person said that acne prone people should avoid these ingredients in products: cyclopentasiloxane and ethylhexyl palmitate
- One person said that eating nuts made their acne absolutely horrible (well i have started to eat a lot of nuts on this diet, which I never have before)
- One person swears their life on taking Magnesium supplements as a cure all
- A couple people said that when they took salicylates, dairy, and nuts out of their diet, their skin cleared right up ( http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/salicylate-allergy)
As you can see, we are all different people, and different things work for each of us. Maybe one of these people are like you, and this can help. Good luck, and Godspeed.
UPDATE:
I Stopped taking the B vitamin and my skin automatically got better. Then I stopped taking the medical shake as often, I take one about every day or two or three and I fill the whole thing up with aloe vera juice and my skin has gotten A LOT better. I'm not sure what's up with that, but I remembered that when I drank energy drinks, that would make my skin worse and guess what those are chock full of? B Vitamins. Who knows, but I'm not taking them anymore. If I start to take them again I'll take like baby doses or something lol.
