photo credit: anders_hh
Before that incident, I had no idea that there were wheat or gluten ingredients in personal care products. I never thought about makeup as being a potential problem for women who are gluten-free. But there are many gluten-based ingredients used in many ways in cosmetics, often with names that don’t sound like wheat or gluten.
Even though they are not ingested, the gluten ingredients can enter the bloodstream through the skin.
I discovered a website, Gluten Free RN, that is a good resource for those of you with celiac disease or who are gluten-free. They provided a list (about 2 years old) of gluten-free cosmetic companies that included Red Apple Lipstick, Everyday Minerals, Afterglow Cosmetics, Joelle Cosmetics, and Gluten Free Beauty. Bare Minerals and NARS are also gluten-free.
But it can be tricky. Some brands, like Smashbox and Hourglass, have certain products that are gluten-free but others that are not. For instance, the New York Times recently recommended gluten-free Hourglass Cosmetics Immaculate Liquid Powder Foundation, but other Hourglass products are not GF. Burt’s Bees used to be gluten-free, but since the company was sold, no longer are all of their products gluten-free. Their website says to contact the company regarding information on individual products.
Even more interesting, Gluten Free RN provided a list of ingredients in cosmetics in which gluten may hide so you can check the ingredient list yourself:
Avena Sativa (Oat) Kernel Flour
Cyclodextrin
Dextrin
Dextrin Palmitate
Hydrolyzed Malt Extract
Hydrolyzed Oat Flour
Hydrolyzed Vegetable Protein
Hydrolyzed Wheat Flour
Hydrolyzed Wheat Gluten
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein
Hydrolyzed Wheat Protein/PVP Crosspolymer
Hydrolyzed Wheat Starch
Secale Cereale (Rye) Seed Flour
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Extract
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Germ Oil
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Gluten
Triticum Vulgare (Wheat) Starch
Wheat Amino Acids
Wheat Germ Glycerides
Wheat Germamidopropalkonium Chloride
Wheat Protein
Wheatgermamidopropyl Ethyldimonium Ethosulfate
Yeast Extract
Vitamin E, tocopherol, is frequently derived from wheat germ, so it’s important to check on its origin in any product you may be using. It can be derived from other acceptable sources such as rice bran.
In the future, I will try to provide information on whether the products I review are gluten-free.
My assumption is that as more and more people avoid gluten, more companies will reformulate their products with gluten-free ingredients. Are there any gluten-free products or brands you can add to the list?
Thanks for the great info. It will help me make sure I don’t get sick from beauty products again!
Chances are you already have the ‘ingredients-to-avoid list’, Laura, but I thought it might be helpful to you and others just in case…
Definitely never knew this was an issue for folks who eat gluten-free. Very helpful!
Tina @ My Highest Self recently posted…Berry Flirt from The Sweethearts Collection at Bath & Body Works
I was surprised when I first learned about it. Shampoo often contains hydrolized wheat protein and is a big offender. Spread the word among your GF friends 🙂
Hi Allison,
Thanks for your comment in my blog, http://www.classiblogger.com/20-simple-tips-to-get-traffic-to-your-blogwebsite/#comment-226.
Before using “Google Adwords”, go to Google.com. Enter the keywords or title in the search box in Google.com within the double quotes. For ex: “Gluten-Free Makeup” and click search. If the result for this title is within 10,000 you can use these title for better search results. Otherwise don’t use it.
Now go to Google Keyword Tools, and enter your keyword, search the keyword less than 5000 and it should be “Low” or “Medium”. Then use that keyword. That’s it.
If you are interested, write guest post for my blog. By doing this, you can get backlink from my blog. For Details, visit: http://www.classiblogger.com/write-for-us/
M Nirmal Anandh recently posted…Upcoming Hollywood Movies – 2013
Thank you for the info. Frankly, the tool hasn’t been much help in the majority of my posts. Posting with the product name or the brand name is usually what beauty blog readers search on. Nevertheless, I do look at keyword tools every now and then but it has seldom provided any useful terms. The next thing I have to tackle is how to find all of the thousands of backlinks I have garnered in 7 months, and figure out how to get rid of some of them. I seem to have been affected by Penguin 2.0 because I have too many backlinks from lower-rated sources. I am surprised by this because I don’t know how they got there! Alexa says I have 35 links lol.
https://m.bareescentuals.com/on/demandware.store/Sites-BareEscentuals-Site/default/CustService-FAQS
Absolutely love the site. It’s really well composed and beautifully assembled. Thanks for posting.
Thank you, Eloise. I hope you’ll visit again when you get a chance 🙂
Many Bare Minerals products are gluten free (GF). However, there are several products that are not GF. In fact, the 5-in-1product contains cyclodextrin. The new seven day chemical peal contains alcohol which is typically not-GF. Other products including their lip gloss and mascara can cause contact skin reactions similar to those caused by gluten contact.
Rose, thank you so much for the information on gluten-free products. I am a market research moderator and just did a project for a client on gluten-free baked goods, but with regard to makeup, I am less well-informed. I didn’t realize the alcohol for cosmetic use often comes from a gluten source. Over the past several years, Bare Minerals has moved beyond their earlier line-up of mineral products, so it is not surprising that there are some non-gluten-free ingredients or ingredients from sources that may have come in contact with gluten. When it comes to tocopherol, who knows unless the company specifies, and many companies don’t give out detailed info on the sources of their ingredients. I believe Tarte’s products are gluten-free. Another blogger, Gluten-Free Makeup Gal, I believe, may be a better source for brands and specific products that are GF.
Rose, thank you so much for the information on gluten-free products. I am a market research moderator and just did a project for a client on gluten-free baked goods, but with regard to makeup, I am less well-informed. I didn’t realize the alcohol for cosmetic use often comes from a gluten source. Over the past several years, Bare Minerals has moved beyond their earlier line-up of mineral products, so it is not surprising that there are some non-gluten-free ingredients or ingredients from sources that may have come in contact with gluten. When it comes to tocopherol, who knows unless the company specifies, and many companies don’t give out detailed info on the sources of their ingredients. I believe Tarte’s products are gluten-free. Another blogger, Gluten-Free Makeup Gal, I believe, is a better source than I for brands and specific products that are GF.